Pakistan: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari calls for immediate announcement of poll date

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 24 (ANI): Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has called for the immediate announcement of the poll date considering the events that took place during the weekend, in an apparent reference to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif's return from London after four years, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said, "Given the events we witnessed over the weekend, I trust there shall be no further delay [in the announcement of the general elections' date]." He made the remarks while addressing the golden jubilee celebration of the 1973 Constitution organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Monday
He said, "elections delayed are elections denied" and urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to fulfil its legal and constitutional obligation by announcing the date before another institution orders it to do so, according to Dawn report.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the aim was to reach a consensus on poll dates in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and general elections. He further said, "Unfortunately, the events of May 9 stymied these efforts, and today, we find ourselves where we are." He termed manipulation in polls a "great challenge," adding that it results in political instability.
He said, "Indeed, manipulated power transfer lies at the root of political instability, and the election schedule must be announced immediately, and a level playing field be ensured for all political parties," as per the Dawn report.
He even criticised the role of judiciary in the past. He said that when dictators abrogated the constitution, the judiciary upheld the move, sometimes in the name of the doctrine of successful revolution and sometimes in the name of necessity.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari stressed that the judiciary was "under threat" and the nation was looking towards judiciary. He said, "It is important to safeguard the Constitution and relentlessly pursue those who have subverted it."
The PPP chairman said that the judiciary became a "partisan actor" in the run-up to the 2013 and 2018 polls "with clear favourites in the elections." He expressed hope that things will be different this time. He recalled the tenure of Pakistan's former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhary and added that the nation witnessed unprecedented judicial activism after 2009.
He said, "We value the independence of the judiciary ... it is a cardinal principle of a democratic society. However, I sometimes feel the independence of the judiciary has been taken too far," Dawn reported.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari stressed that the judiciary's independence should not mean "independence from accountability." He called for reviewing the procedure for the appointment of judges and noted that the President, Prime Minister and parliament "have all become a rubber stamp" under the present system.
On Saturday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif lamented how Pakistan's economy is in dire straits with very high inflation, dangerously low foreign exchange reserves and vowed to redirect the country on the path of growth, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported. He compared how roti, petrol cost way higher today than when he was in power.
"Was I ousted for this reason? What is this decision? You are the public, you tell, do you agree with this decision?"He said that if Pakistan was run on his 1990 economic model, "not a single person would have been unemployed, there would be nothing like poverty [...] but today, the condition is so bad that one has to think if they can feed their children or pay electricity bills". He made the remarks while addressing a massive crowd of supporters at the Minar-e-Pakistan rally in Lahore. (ANI)