Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that no one could revoke the provincial rights guaranteed under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.
Expressing his thoughts during the National Assembly session, the former foreign minister said: "Even if someone’s father wished to abolish the amendment, it could not be undone." Bhutto-Zardari has condemned the incidents of terrorism from Karachi to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and urged unity against extremists and anti-state elements.
He said the entire House and the nation must stand together to confront those who seek to harm Pakistan.
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Bhutto-Zardari said: "The terrorists are again trying to raise their heads, but the people and the armed forces had together achieved what the rest of the world, including NATO, had failed to accomplish on Pakistani soil."
The PPP chairman said his party had sought to bring about constitutional reform through consensus. He said he had spoken with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, but the latter decided to pursue a separate course through talks with the opposition. When the constitutional bench was formed, both the JUI-F and the PTI were part of the process, he added.
Bilawal said that after India’s defeat, the Prime Minister had proposed the promotion of the Army Chief to Field Marshal. He stressed that consensus was essential for lawmaking, recalling that during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s tenure, all political parties had united to pass a unanimous constitution. He added that dictators had repeatedly tried to undermine that consensus but had failed each time.
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Referring to the charter of democracy, he said that the provincial rights were established under the 18th Amendment with the agreement of the PPP, the PML-N and other political parties. He asserted that no one had the courage to repeal it.
Bhutto-Zardari said the PPP's central executive committee (CEC) had met for two days and decided to support the government. He said Pakistan’s armed forces had defeated Narendra Modi’s India, and the Field Marshal’s leadership was being recognised worldwide.
He maintained that from this day onwards, constitutional reform would define Pakistan’s democratic framework.
