Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that any decision regarding the creation of new provinces must be based on public consensus and cannot be imposed through force.
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Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Bilawal said the PPP had already made its position clear on the issue and would support any decision backed by public opinion.
“We will stand with the people,” he said, stressing that the PPP would accept whatever decision is reached through consensus and according to the wishes of the people.
Bilawal said he had held meetings with Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas, adding that consensus among allied political parties was gradually developing.
He reiterated that the PPP had always respected Parliament and wanted the parliamentary system to remain active and functional.
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The PPP chairman said some opposition parties had decided to boycott parliamentary proceedings. He urged them to reconsider the decision and return to parliamentary standing committees, stressing that the committees must also be made functional.
Discussing electoral reforms, Bilawal said government ministers, opposition parties and allied political forces all agreed that Pakistan’s electoral system needed improvement.
He called for all political stakeholders to work together on reforms to improve the electoral process.
Bilawal said the PPP was prepared to accept election results but did not want a situation in which political workers lost their lives during elections.
Commenting on the upcoming Azad Kashmir elections, he said that if the PML-N wanted to proceed with what he described as a controversial election, then he congratulated the party.
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Bilawal also reiterated that the PPP would keep its cooperation with the government suspended until its concerns were addressed.
He said the party would not support legislation except on matters of national interest.
“If the government can pass legislation without the PPP, it can do so,” Bilawal said, adding that no PPP member would vote against the party’s policy.
