Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned that those who want to undo the 18th Amendment or the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award are “playing with fire.”
Addressing a public rally held in Larkana on the 58th foundation day of the PPP, Bilawal said: “If there is any power in any amendment after the 1973 Constitution, it is in the 18th Amendment.”
His remarks came days before the National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting scheduled for December 4.
Referring to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, he said that the PPP recently passed a constitutional tweak in collaboration with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
He said the PML-N had sent a delegation proposing a constitutional amendment related to Article 243 of the Constitution and the executive magistracy system. He added that the federal government intended to remove the constitutional protections that the PPP had secured for the provinces.
He maintained that, due to the PPP, the constitutional protection was not violated.
“We fulfilled the clause of the Charter of Democracy by forming a Constitutional Court and giving equal representation to the provinces,” he added.
“When the PPP itself brings a constitutional amendment, it makes revolutionary legislation,” Bilawal added.
He maintained that they got an opportunity to abolish the amendment made during the “dictatorial era.”
The PPP leader hoped that the Constitutional Court would look into the major issues of the country.
“The Constitutional Court will provide immediate relief to the common people,” Bilawal hoped.
“Some people are trying to make the Constitutional Court controversial,” Bilawal said, adding that the court would prove these people wrong through its role.
He said that legislation is the job of Parliament, adding that they would not allow any other institution to interfere in the House’s sphere.
“PPP will not support any decision that weakens the federation,” he added.
Discussing the country’s overall political situation, Bilawal stated, “There is a political crisis in the country at the moment, and it has to be addressed.”
Speaking on the occasion, the PPP chairman lauded the armed forces for their victory during the recent war against India.
Pakistan downed seven IAF fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.
Bilawal said, “By shooting down seven Indian aircraft, our Air Force has made Pakistan’s name famous all over the world.”
“The enemy is still trying to spread terrorism in the country,” he said, adding that India was adopting conspiratorial methods to destabilise Pakistan.
When it comes to the security of the country, Bilawal said, “We all have to fight together.”
Bilawal said that the PPP is the sole political party in the country that does “positive politics.”
