Islamabad / Quetta:
The president of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, accused the Pakistani government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) of trying to protect the “crawling corruption” by blocking the peaceful protest of the PPP, calling the move a radical attempt to suppress dissent.
In a statement, Bilawal condemned the use of tear gas against PPP political workers, who went to the streets of KP to protest anarchy and the rise in unemployment in the province.
“It is deeply regrettable that peaceful political workers have been targeted with bombing of tear gas,” he said, adding: “We are not those who are intimidated by such cheap tactics. Our prosecution of this corrupt and incompetent provincial government will continue.”
The president of the PPP also castigated the KP administration led by the PTI-, qualifying his action against unarmed political activists as an act of cowardice. “By releasing violence against unarmed workers, the PTI government has shown its real colors,” he added.
Bilawal said that the “Save The Province Movement” (Suba Bachao Tehreek) had now become the voice of every citizen of KP. “We will not be intimidated by batons and brute force,” he said.
He argued that PPP workers were fully ready to face the corrupt government of the KP government. “The inhabitants of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have now seen the real fascist face of the PTI provincial government,” he added.
Meanwhile, the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Faisal, Karim Kundi, also raised serious concerns concerning the performance of the provincial government, accusing him of general corruption and non-compliance with the law and the order.
While addressing journalists outside the Balutchistan assembly, Governor Kundi criticized the provincial government, saying that the main members of the provincial cabinet, including the Director General, were involved in poor financial misconduct.
He said that mismanagement and diversion involving billions of rupees had weakened the governance structure and left the public without help.
He expressed his alarm in the face of the security situation, alleging that the provincial authorities had effectively ceded the ground to militant elements. “The public suffers, but the officials do not respond. Terrorist groups act freely and the government seems unable to stop them,” he added.
Referring to a recent bombardment that cost several children’s lives, the governor said that the incident had highlighted a repeated security failure model.
He stressed that similar attacks had taken place in the past, especially in Khyber, and deplored that vulnerable communities have remained frequent targets of such violence.
