KARACHI: PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Sunday that governor's rule and the emergency imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could end if the opposition was willing to fight terrorism and agree a plan with the Centre, Dawn reported.
He was speaking to the media after visiting the Karsaz Monument on the 19th anniversary of the Karsaz bombing. A week earlier, the Centre imposed governor's rule and an emergency in KP, citing the provincial government's "deliberate disengagement" from the fight against terrorism.
Addressing the PTI-led opposition, Bilawal said that if they truly wanted to fight terrorists and see the emergency lifted, they should engage with the federal government and politicians on a united policy. Criticising Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, he said that if the CM was not ready to fight, the PPP was — which is why it backed governor's rule.
He blamed the decision by the government of the time, after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, to let militants resettle in Swat, Malakand and the former tribal areas for today's losses. He also said Pakistan faced a "historic economic crisis" that could not be tackled without fighting terrorism.
Bilawal said Governor Faisal Karim Kundi was nominated by the PPP but was now constitutionally a representative of the federation. Asked about a possible compromise with the opposition, he said compromise and politics go hand in hand.
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