LARKANA: Commenting on an election tribunal’s decision declaring National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s election as void, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Friday that the person who banned the word ‘selected’ in the lower house had been de-seated.

He tweeted: “Turns out 65K votes cast could not be verified. Can’t ban the truth. Soon all selected will have to go.”

The PPP leader met with different party delegations at Naudero House in the presence of provincial party president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and heard their grievances and proposals to strengthen the organisation.

These meetings were part of his efforts to boost the by-election campaign of PPP candidate Jamil Soomro, who is facing Grand Democratic Alliance’s candidate Moazzam Ali Abbasi in the PS-11 by-poll.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led government, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said it was an anti-poor political party that was bent upon doing away with 18th Amendment.

Spends a busy day in Larkana in connection with PS-11 by-election campaign

He said that the PTI and GDA were out to eliminate the poor while the PPP was here to eliminate poverty and its only ‘crime’ was that it wanted to strengthen the poor.

He asked party workers to gear up the election work for the victory of Mr Soomro.

Police action in Peshawar condemned

He also condemned the police action against protesting doctors in Peshawar, saying the peaceful protest was the right of the people and it was quite uncalled for to baton-charge the protesters instead of resolving their issue.

He said the rulers who opted to baton-charge the protesters had no right to rule. “How could those talking about the Riasat-i-Madina be firing tear gas shells? It has now become the identity of the selected rulers to use force against the people [raising voice] for justice and rights.”

He said that the students’ unions in Sindh would be restored.

He said the ‘selected’ government, which is devoid of democratic traditions and customs, was applying the instrument of the National Accountability Bureau and police to hush up dissenting voices.

The PPP chairman also condemned the murder of the brother in-law of PPP leader of Malir Nazeer Ahmed Bhutto and demanded the arrest of the killers and expressed condolence with the bereaved family.

The PPP media cell said that the brother-in-law of the party’s Malir leader was killed near Ghotki two days ago during a clash between two rival groups.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2019