Pakistan: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari accuses former allies of being "scared" and "running away from elections"

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 11 (ANI): Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday said that his party’s allies in the erstwhile Pakistan Democratic Movement-led ruling coalition were “scared” and “running away from elections," Pakistan-based Dawn reported. 
While addressing the public at the inauguration ceremony of the Hussainabad Water Filtration Plant in Pakistan's Hyderabad, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said, "I have been telling my allies for the past 18 months that if you get scared, you die [in politics]."
He further said, "Unfortunately, the rest of our political allies have been scared. They are afraid. They run away from by-elections and local government elections, and maybe, they now want to run away from general elections." 
His remarks seemed to criticise the PPP allies for prioritising delimitation over holding elections within the constitutionally mandated 90-day period after the dissolution of assemblies, Dawn reported. 
The PPP was one of the major allies in the coalition, which included Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl), that came to power after ousting former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion in April last year.
The coalition term in the government ended on August 9 with the premature dissolution of the National Assembly, three days before its constitutionally mandated period, according to Dawn. 
According to Article 224 of the Constitution, elections should be held within 90 days, which implies November 9. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan has ruled out elections being held this year, citing the need to hold fresh delimitation of constituencies after the notification of new 2023 digital census results. 
The PPP has called for holding elections within three months and taking a stance against its former allies who appear to be supporting ECP's decision to hold polls after the completion of the delimitation process, which could stretch them beyond the constitutionally mandated limit of 90 days.
Meanwhile, PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said that "completing the delimitation exercise was necessary before holding polls," Dawn reported. However, when Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was asked about his statement that appeared to be a deviation from the PPP's stance, he spoke about his preference to stick by decisions made by the party leadership, i.e. polls within 90 days instead of his party's stance. 
Responding to a reporter's question regarding his father's statement, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said, "You should ask Zardari Sahib [why he issued this statement]," Dawn reported. 
"I can only say that it was the party’s decision [to demand elections within 90 days]. We both jointly chaired the CEC (central executive committee) meeting where our legal experts were sure that the Constitution demands elections within 90 days," he further said. 
He said that he is bound by Asif Ali Zardari in his "family matters." However, he will follow the party's workers and CEC over the decisions related to party policy and the constitution. 
Last week, Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said that the general election can be conducted before January-February, 2024, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.
In an interview with Pakistan's local channel, the interim PM said that deciding the dates of the election is in the hands of the Election Commission but still the polls can take place before 2024.
He said that they were waiting for the date so that they could complete their preparations for the conduct of free and fair elections in the country. He further said that if the Supreme Court (SC) issues an order regarding the upcoming elections, the caretaker government would also comply with it. (ANI)