Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday said the country is moving away from democracy and sliding towards authoritarianism and dictatorship under the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Addressing a gathering of lawyers hosted by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), Bilawal said, it was widely perceived that Pakistan was transitioning towards democracy - one step forward, two steps back and two steps forward, one step back.
However, he said, it was now clear that during the government of Imran Khan the country was not transitioning towards democracy but away from it, towards dictatorship, Dawn newspaper reported.
Stressing that Pakistan needed a fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and efficient accountability system, Bilawal said the courts had the responsibility to uphold the values of fundamental rights, fair trial and due process. "Unfortunately, very often the judiciary has failed to do so," he added.
Bilawal stated that the fate of the judiciary of Pakistan and democracy was in the hands of the lawyer's community. Telling the lawyers that the PPP had decided to challenge the regime, he urged them to, once again, stand with the party as they had stood shoulder to shoulder with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani newspaper reported.
Talking about the march against the ruling government, the PPP leader said his party decided to march on Islamabad to save democracy and the Constitution, to save the economy and the country.
Bilawal said the PPP would run a campaign against the "selected" government of Imran Khan with the people of Pakistan who lost faith in the prime minister, Dawn newspaper reported.
"We will bring a no-confidence motion and democratically challenge this government," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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