DID Press: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of Pakistan’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has accused some elements within the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) of seeking to weaken Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and create divisions between him and his political allies.
Speaking at an election rally in Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday, Bilawal said Shehbaz Sharif had “good intentions,” but that people around him were undermining his efforts because of their own motives.
“A large section of the PML-N wants the prime minister to fight not only his opponents but also his own allies,” Bilawal said.
The PPP chairman also rejected suggestions that his party had launched a “countdown” to the government’s collapse, arguing that internal disputes and the actions of some PML-N figures were primarily responsible for the current political tensions.
Bilawal also criticized the decision to hold the Azad Kashmir elections in multiple phases, questioning whether elections in Kashmir had ever previously been conducted in six stages.
“If Kashmir is one unit, the elections should also have been held on one day,” he said.
He said authorities had justified the phased elections as a measure to ensure calm and facilitate free and fair voting, but questioned whether those objectives had actually been achieved.
“In which phase were the elections free, fair and peaceful?” Bilawal asked.