Staff Reporter Karachi
Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Saturday that nobody would believe in the transparency of elections to be held in Azad Jammu and Kashmir today if the AJK’s election commission did not take action against Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur for violating the elections’ code of conduct.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said, “We call upon the election commission to take action against Imran Khan and his ministers as there are video footages showing them distributing money among the people.
Otherwise, tomorrow’s elections will be worst in the country’s history in terms of fairness and transparency,” he remarked.
He added there was interference in the general elections held in the country in 2018, and the PPP had even raised its voice over that.
“But I don’t think that state institutions will ‘interfere’ in the AJK elections,” he said, adding even if some Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ministers openly claimed that the institutions were on their side, they did just to give an impression.
Bilawal said that PPP was campaigning for ‘free and fair elections’ in Pakistan. He said all parties, barring PPP, had sneaked into the power corridors. “It is only the PPP which is the real protector of the people of Kashmir,” he claimed. He accused the prime minister of doing harm to the Kashmir issue.
“Not a single road has been built in AJK during the last three years,” he said, and added it was only the PPP whose services and projects were still fresh in people’s minds.
“How will you hold Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for the woes of Kashmiris when you yourself are not providing them their share in water?” he questioned.
Bilawal alleged the government of utilizing all state resources for election campaign in Azad Jammu Kashmir.
He said that the federal government tried to use its authority in Kashmir, adding that the federal minister was publicly distributing money.
The ECP should disqualify the PTI candidates, if no action was taken, it would be the most controversial election in the history,” he added.
The PPP leader further mentioned that Imran Khan’s government was formed due to rigging. “If there was no rigging then only PPP candidates would be elected,” he said.
We have been defending the Kashmir cause for three generations and the ‘puppet government’ has left the Kashmiri people as destitute. The PML-N government also carried forward the projects of the PPP.”
