PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has called for a regular debate in the National Assembly on the country’s political and governance challenges, saying national and systemic issues should be discussed openly in parliament.
Speaking to the media in London, Bilawal also gave his position on calls to increase the number of provinces, saying the Pakistan Peoples Party values the views of the people and elected representatives.
Bilawal said resolutions on the issue of provinces had been unanimously passed by the Punjab and Sindh assemblies. He said the PPP attaches importance to the opinions of both the people and their elected representatives when discussing the question of creating additional provinces.
However, Bilawal argued that creating new provinces would not address the country’s major economic challenges. He said inflation, unemployment and poverty cannot be solved simply by creating new provinces, stressing that democracy and the power of the people are the real solutions.
Bilawal also warned that the fate of the country should not be decided by a small group of businessmen.
“It is not possible that a few businessmen decide the fate of the country,” Bilawal said, emphasizing the importance of democratic decision-making and people’s power.
Bilawal demands debate on Naqvi’s remarks
Responding to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s remarks about the failure of the system, Bilawal demanded that the matter be debated regularly in the National Assembly.
He said there was already a demand for the issue to be discussed in the National Assembly and argued that problems and shortcomings within the system should be openly examined in parliament.
Bilawal said Mohsin Naqvi has the right to express his opinion, but added that Naqvi should come to the National Assembly and explain his position there.
“Mohsin Naqvi rarely comes to the National Assembly, he should come,” Bilawal said.
‘Why did the system fail?’
Bilawal questioned why the system had failed and said the answer should be sought through parliamentary debate. He said national and systemic issues should be discussed in the National Assembly and maintained that the problems facing the system were not new.
“The problems in the system are not from today,” Bilawal said, calling for an open debate on the issues and flaws that have existed for years.
He added that whenever the matter is debated in the National Assembly, he would speak openly about it.
The PPP chairman said he was personally ready to debate the issue in parliament.
“I am ready to debate any federal minister in parliament,” Bilawal said, adding that he was also prepared to debate the matter himself whenever it comes before the National Assembly.
He further remarked that Mohsin Naqvi would speak in his own way, while he would present his own position.
“Mohsin Naqvi will be speaking his own language, I speak my own language,” Bilawal said.
Bilawal reiterated that the country’s problems and flaws should be openly discussed rather than avoided.
PPP stresses people’s power
Bilawal’s comments underline the PPP’s position that political and economic problems require democratic solutions rather than simply administrative changes.
While acknowledging the resolutions passed unanimously in the Punjab and Sindh assemblies regarding provinces, he stressed that the views of citizens and elected representatives must remain central to the debate.
He maintained that democracy and people’s power, rather than the creation of new provinces, are the way forward to address inflation, unemployment and poverty.
Bilawal also repeated his warning that the country’s future should not be left in the hands of a few businessmen, calling for greater parliamentary discussion of national and systemic issues.
