Bilawal asks ECP to respond to allegation of PTI’s foreign funding

UMERKOT: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will have to address questions regarding suspected support from India and Israel for Pakistan’s Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

He spoke at a public meeting organised here on Tuesday to celebrate PPP candidate Syed Ameer Ali Shah’s win in the PS-52 Umerkot-II by-election on Monday.

He pointed out that the country’s political powers today demonstrated outside the ECP office to demand their response to the issue that has been posed since 2014.

The ECP has not been able to offer an answer to this issue to date,’ he added, and asked the Commission to clarify why the matter had not been taken up over the years.

He insisted that PTI Leader Imran Khan should be excluded by the ECP. If this was not done now,” he said, “the citizens of Umerkot will march to Islamabad to violently overthrow him.

“Mr. Bhutto-Zardari recalled that on certain allegations, his mother and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had been labelled “security risk,” but now “those who brought PTI into power by supporting it from foreign countries must be exposed and excluded by the chosen and supported PTI government.

He thanked the people of Umerkot for using the “right person” for their right to vote.

He reported that farmers and workers had lost their lives “in the inflation tsunami,” and claimed that the man who had raised a hue and cry over supposed corruption turned out to be corrupt himself. “It turned out that his whole party was corrupt,” he said.

The chairman of the PPP said that the citizens of Umerkot had given Islamabad a direct message by voting for the PPP in the by-election and opposing the’ preferred one.’

He said the people of Umerkot have reacted adequately to the “political orphans the way they deserved yesterday and are today with Imran Khan as they were with [General Pervez] Musharraf.”

Bhutto-Zardari, paying tribute to the late MPA, Syed Ali Mardan Shah, said that he had always stood by the PPP and respected the leadership of the party. He said he was sure Syed Ameer Ali Shah would still support and benefit the people of Umerkot, like his late father.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said earlier, speaking at the conference, that the residents of Umerkot had always opposed anti-democratic powers. People need security, and they have always been covered by the PPP,” he said, adding that under Bilawal Bhutto-leadership, Zardari’s the PPP would soon sweep by-elections in Sanghar, Tharparkar and Malir.”

Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah alleged that about “30,000 vandals” were brought to Umerkot on the polling day to sabotage the election process.