Foreign Minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed helplessness to release MNA Ali Wazir after his speech was interrupted by sloganeering during the closing ceremony of Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressed the closing ceremony of the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore yesterday.
He termed the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion as progress for democracy in Pakistan. He also said that democracy will be further strengthened in Pakistan in the coming days.
The PPP chairman expressed hopes that the precedent would be continued in the future as in the past, prime ministers were exiled, hanged or killed in bomb explosions. He said that the democratic system of the country has made progress as a prime minister was sent packing through the parliament.
He also criticised former PM Khan for being the first premier to launch a suicide attack on the national economy.
During his address, several people from the audience stood up and chanted slogans to demand the release of the incarcerated Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from South Waziristan and co-founder of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
وزیر خارجہ بے بسی کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے! pic.twitter.com/KOK0kTjSzq
— Zubair Ali Khan (@ZubairAlikhanUN) October 23, 2022
When his speech was interrupted several times, Bilawal asked the protestors to demand his release from those who have the power to release him. He said, “You should go and protest in front of those who have the power to release him [MNA Ali Wazir].”
Analysts said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari exhibited powerlessness to act as a true democratic leader by giving such remarks in response to the protest demanding an MNA’s release. They said that Ali Wazir is imprisoned since December 2020 and is currently kept in prison in Karachi.
They questioned why Bilawal Bhutto Zardari couldn’t use his powers to order the Sindh police to release MNA Wazir as his political party is ruling the provincial government.