Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday renewed his call for dialogue with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying he would personally request Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to end the emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) if political conditions were created that made the measure unnecessary.
“Even today, I invite you to come and hold talks with the government and political parties and create conditions in which there will be no need for this emergency in K-P. If you create these political conditions. I will personally stand in this House and request the prime minister that the time has come to end this emergency,” said Bilawal while addressing the National Assembly (NA).
Bilawal maintained that the federal government had made every possible political effort to engage the opposition before taking the constitutional step, saying that the opposition had every right to speak against the decision and oppose it, but argued that PTI could not deny its own role in creating the political, legal and constitutional circumstances that led to the situation.
The PPP chairman accused PTI of carrying out a “political suicide attack” on its own government in K-P, adding that opposition leaders could blame the federal government or President Asif Ali Zardari for the loss of their provincial government, but maintained that PTI, particularly its provincial leadership, had played a significant role in creating the circumstances.
He said responsible figures within the opposition were aware of these circumstances, even if they were unwilling to acknowledge them publicly. He argued that if the federal government had concluded that K-P was facing war-like conditions and that its internal situation prevented an effective response to terrorism, the provincial government should have provided political, legal or constitutional grounds for rejecting the proposed measure.
The PPP chairman questioned why PTI’s provincial leadership had failed to provide any justification that would have allowed President Zardari or the PPP to oppose the decision.
Bilawal said that when the proposal first came before the president and the PPP, their position was that the government should engage PTI and the opposition before resorting to what he described as a “constitutional atom bomb”. He said the objective was to address the federal government’s objections and allegations that the provincial government was not cooperating in the fight against terrorism, thereby removing any legal, constitutional or political justification for taking the step.
He said two representatives of his party, including its parliamentary leader in the Senate, had participated in the committee negotiating with the opposition. Referring to previous experiences of political negotiations, Bilawal said he had initially been uncertain whether the talks would succeed.
However, he said he was informed late one night that negotiations were moving towards success and that PTI and the opposition were likely to agree on measures to address terrorism in K-P.
According to Bilawal, the proposed understanding included the provincial government declaring the areas most severely affected by terrorism as terrorist-affected areas. He said the opposition had also agreed in principle that the federal government, provincial government and K-P chief minister would prepare an agreement outlining how they would jointly combat terrorism.
Bilawal said he had regarded the development as a major political achievement, believing that the government, its allies and the opposition could work together on an issue of national importance. The PPP chairman also stressed the importance of protecting political space for all parties.
He said restricting the political space of one party inevitably affected other political parties, political groups and ordinary Pakistani citizens. Bilawal acknowledged that the PPP and other political parties shared responsibility for the shrinking political space, but maintained that PTI could not deny its own role.
Referring to the security situation, he said K-P was the province most affected by terrorism, while tensions with Afghanistan had created additional challenges. Bilawal criticised the non-functional K-P chief minister for taking an oath from supporters not to cooperate with the federal government’s efforts against terrorism.
He questioned whether such conduct amounted to political suicide and said the PPP, whose leaders and workers had sacrificed their lives in the fight against terrorism, had no justification for opposing measures intended to address the security threat.
Bilawal also referred to President Zardari’s role in restoring the 1973 Constitution and introducing the 18th Amendment, arguing that the opposition had failed to provide him with a constitutional, legal or political reason to reject the proposed measure. Bilawal maintained that the statements and actions of PTI’s provincial leadership had left the president, the government and the PPP with no grounds to oppose the step. However, he stressed that the emergency was a temporary measure and could not continue indefinitely, adding that the decision had been necessary under the prevailing circumstances, but acknowledged that an emergency alone could not provide a permanent solution to terrorism.
Bilawal argued that even if the previous system had failed to cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts, lasting success would require a broader and more effective approach. He said eliminating terrorism from Khyber to Khuzdar required cooperation across the country and urged the opposition to fulfil its responsibilities in the fight against terrorists.
The PPP chairman described the current terrorism challenge as more complicated than in the past.
Referring to Pakistan’s recent military confrontation with India, Bilawal said that Pakistan had inflicted a historic defeat on India, including shooting down six aircraft. He said that India had not accepted the outcome and continued to seek ways to destabilise Pakistan.
Bilawal referred to India’s Operation Sindoor, saying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repeatedly stated that the operation was continuing, saying that India was sponsoring terrorist activities in Pakistan through the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and separatist terrorist organisations.
The PPP chairman also maintained that India had a role in developments in Afghanistan and said Pakistan could not ignore the regional security implications. Referring to Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to promote peace between Iran and the United States, Bilawal said Islamabad had undertaken a major responsibility that would be welcomed by people in Pakistan and around the world. However, he said that “Zionist forces” were interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs and supporting terrorist organisations operating in Balochistan and K-P.
He added that Pakistan would have to confront these threats collectively, saying that even if some political parties refused to participate, the PPP and other parties would not retreat from the fight against terrorism. Bilawal said his party had not feared terrorists in the past and would not fear them now, adding that it would confront both militant groups and those supporting them.
The PPP chairman again appealed to PTI and other opposition parties to recognise that Pakistan belonged to all political forces, regardless of their differences. He said political disagreements could continue, but certain fundamental national issues required consensus. Failure to develop such agreement, he warned, would damage not only political parties but the entire country.
Bilawal argued that the federal government did not want to confront multiple challenges simultaneously, including India, terrorist organisations such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and TTP, and political confrontation with PTI. He said the government wanted political parties to work together against these challenges rather than deepen their differences. Turning to parliamentary cooperation, Bilawal thanked PM Shehbaz and his team for accepting the PPP’s request to establish a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms. He said such a committee would serve little purpose if it included only the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Bilawal stressed that opposition participation was essential, saying that although the committee might not achieve complete improvement, it could still deliver meaningful reforms. He recalled that the National Action Plan had been formulated through political consensus during former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s government, with political parties from both the government and opposition participating.
The PPP chairman urged the opposition to recognise Parliament as a platform for resolving national issues, even if it did not accept other institutions or forums for negotiations. He proposed a parliamentary committee to address terrorism and national security challenges, with participation from both sides of the House. Bilawal said the PPP was prepared to work with the opposition on developing such a mechanism and stressed that decisions should be reached through political consultation wherever possible. He urged PTI not to undermine opportunities for dialogue through its own actions.
The PPP chairman said the constitutional decision regarding K-P had already been taken, but maintained that efforts would continue to defeat terrorism and provide relief to the province’s people. He reiterated that political negotiations remained necessary to create conditions in which the emergency could be withdrawn.