Bilawal Bhutto Zardari questions democracy in Pakistan, says 'selected' PM Imran Khan 'dances to the tunes of the umpire’

Dera Ghazi Khan: Firing a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday claimed that the cricketer-turned-politician “dances to the tunes of the umpire” and does not understand that people are the “ultimate umpires” in a democracy. Referring to Khan as ‘selected’ prime minister, Bilawal asserted that a selected government is being imposed on the people of Pakistan. “People from every sector are now screaming but Imran doesn’t care,” Geo News quoted him as saying while addressing a rally here. [caption id=“attachment_4256515” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bilawal Bhutto. AFP[/caption] The PPP leader alleged that there was a huge question mark over the presence of a democratic system in Pakistan, especially when queries are being raised over the lack of political freedom in the country and transparency in the national elections. “Imran questioned (about) four constituencies in the 2013 polls. In the last elections, Form 45 were missing in all constituencies in the 2018 elections,” Bilawal said. “The people of erstwhile tribal areas fought against terrorists but now they should fight against the puppets and riggers. We all have to come out and fight against the selected government,” he added. Continuing his tirade against Khan, Bilawal alleged that the Pakistan Prime Minister sold his country before the IMF and termed the government’s federal budget as anti-poor since it was targeted for the rich people. Several opposition leaders, including those from PPP and PML-N, have been addressing Khan as ‘selected’ prime minister, as they allege that the cricketer-turned-politician was the favoured candidate by the powerful military. They also claim that the last year’s general elections were rigged to make Khan win and become the prime minister of the country. Interestingly, the term was first used by Bilawal himself, while congratulating the cricketer-turned-politician for his thumping victory in the elections during the opening session of the National Assembly last year. Last month, Khan had hit out at the opposition parties for calling him a ‘selected’ prime minister, asserting that those who were “themselves manufactured” during military rule are now using the term to criticise him. “Those talking about (me being) ‘selected’ were themselves manufactured in the nursery of military dictatorship,” he was quoted by the Dawn as saying while addressing the National Assembly. On 23 June, Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Qasim Suri had issued a ruling, banning lawmakers from referring to the Leader of the House as ‘selected’ since it would amount to insulting the House. The order came after Energy Minister Ayub Khan had raised objections that Khan being referred as ‘selected’ was a violation of House rules.