LAHORE: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has criticised the “bad governance” of the PML-N government, saying it increased the country’s debt by 35 per cent during the last four years.

“The Nawaz government has increased total public debt of the country by an unprecedented 35pc (Rs5 trillion) since it came to power in 2013, while during the 66 years since independence the debt stood at Rs13 trillion. Trade deficit has risen to $11.71 billion as exports have declined by a whopping 16pc during the PML-N government, which is a big challenge to the national economy and next government,” Bilawal said while conducting interviews of candidates for party slots from Dera Ghazi Khan division - Layyah and Rajanpur, and Multan division - Khanewal and Vehari, of south Punjab at Bilawal House, Bahria Town here on Saturday.

Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood, Natasha Daultana, Shaukat Basra, Bashir Riaz and Abdul Qadir Shaheen were also present.

The PPP chairman claimed the PML-N had launched attacks on his partyleaders and workers in Punjab and had been spending billions of rupees on media campaigns showing “fake and false development schemes”.

He asked the workers to get ready for a “final showdown” with the opponents in the next elections as PPP organisations would fight for the federation and democratic rights of its federating units and masses.

Bilawal also pledged that his party would continue pursuing the mission of a strong and egalitarian Pakistan for which the country’s nationalist and democratic leaders such as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and thousands others laid down their lives fighting overt and covert anti-Pakistan elements.

“We are not fighting a war for power, instead it is a war of ideology and the PPP is the torchbearer of ideology of Pakistan professed by our founding fathers and their successors, who embraced martyrdom but never accepted any adulteration in the ideology,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2017