BAGH: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has rejected the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) confidence that it will form the next government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), claiming that the party’s government in Islamabad could also face political difficulties.
Addressing a public gathering in Bagh on Friday, Bilawal said the PML-N had miscalculated its prospects in AJK and claimed that the countdown for the party’s government had already begun.
According to the PPP chairman, the political uncertainty was being fuelled from within the PML-N itself. He alleged that a faction within the ruling party wanted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to enter into confrontation with his coalition partners.
Bilawal said the more significant dispute was not between the PML-N and its allies but within the Sharif family, describing it as a conflict between Islamabad and Lahore.
His remarks came in response to statements by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, who had claimed that the PML-N had secured enough seats to form a simple majority government in AJK.
The PML-N has emerged as the leading party after the first two phases of the AJK elections, securing 24 seats compared with the PPP’s 10.
The final phase of polling is scheduled for August 10 in Bagh and Haveli districts of the Poonch Division, where 11 seats remain to be contested.
Bilawal urged PPP supporters to mobilise for the final round and said his party would challenge the PML-N’s electoral symbol, the lion, in the remaining constituencies. He also expressed confidence that the PPP would form the government in AJK.
Commenting on recent remarks by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi regarding the country’s governance system, Bilawal rejected the claim that the system had collapsed.
He argued that the system had instead been deliberately weakened and would remain ineffective unless the political sovereignty of the people was recognised.
Bilawal said respect for the people’s mandate was essential for the political and constitutional system to function effectively.
