LAHORE: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has accused the government of spoiling the harmony created by the opposition parties in the wake of recent Indian aggression.

Speaking at a meeting of the party’s senior leaders here on Sunday, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the country was facing dangers on its borders while the rulers were indulging in non-issues.

He said the ministers were creating stir on non-issues both in the National and Punjab assemblies. The ministers would waste the parliament’s time by giving controversial statements there, he added.

Announcing his plans for visiting each town of Punjab, the PPP chairman said he could not sit as a silent spectator because the government had gone to its extreme. He said he would address bar associations and also visit press clubs and other platforms during his mass-contact drive.

Bilawal spells out plan for mass contact drive

He directed the PPP parliamentary party in the Punjab Assembly to raise issues of national interest and avoid wasting time of the nation as well as disallowing hijacking of the house by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) through the latter’s tendency of indulging in non-issues.

Talking to the media along with ­party’s provincial information ­secretary Hassan Murtaza after the meeting ­outside the Bilawal House, Punjab PPP president Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the ministers’ controversial ­statements were spoiling the ­atmosphere of harmony in the country ­created by the efforts of the opposition parties.

He said the national unity exhibited by the nation, media and opposition was spoiled by late Gen Umar’s son (Asad Umar) through his speech in the National Assembly.

He regretted that Prime Minister Imran Khan also displayed a similar attitude (in his speech in Thar) which was condemnable.

Mr Kaira claimed that a grave conspiracy was in the works against the country but the unity shown by the masses and the opposition parties foiled the plot.

Criticising the PTI government, he said that the rulers considered abusing the (opposition) people as their achievement.

Despite this attitude, he said, the PPP had tried to take the government along in the larger national interest.

He said the PPP never sought NRO in the past nor it would do so in future.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2019