Bilawal claims PTI members switching allegiances to PPP

PPP Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari claimed on Thursday that members of the PTI were "happily coming to PPP" and switching their affiliation, adding that no one would be allowed to compromise the upcoming Senate elections. Bilawal was addressing a gathering in Karachi to celebrate Yousuf Murtaza Baloch's victory in the PS88 Malir by-election.

According to unofficial results, he won the election with a huge margin. He secured 24,251 votes against Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan's Syed Kashif Ali Shah who got 6,090 votes.

PTI's Jan Sher Junejo bagged 4,870 votes and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's Sajid Ahmed received 2,635, respectively. The

PPP chief said that members of the PTI could see the government was on its way out and would no longer vote on its orders.

"They can see that whether [by]elections happen in Karachi or Sangar, the PPP is dealing a blow to the PTI," he said, adding that because of this, the PTI's members were switching their allegiances. "They are happily coming to the PPP, saying they will give us their votes in return for tickets with the hope to become [the PPP's] candidates in the future."

He said the process was a natural part of democracy, adding that democracies are run according to the law and the Constitution instead of some "Pharoah's orders". Bilawal said another reason for this was the presidential reference in the Supreme Court, which according to him was against the PTI's own MNAs and MPAs.

In December, President Dr Arif Alvi had sought the opinion of the Supreme Court on holding the Senate elections through open ballot and show of hands. The Supreme Court had subsequently constituted a five-member bench to hear the case. In his speech on Thursday, Bilawal termed the move an "admission of no-confidence" in the PTI's own members by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"If the govt has a majority, if it trusts its MNAs and MPAs, then why does it want to come through chor darwazay (back doors)," questioned Bilawal and challenged the government to come "face-to-face" for a political contest. "We won't give any permission to compromise the Senate elections or to steal votes of members of [NA and PA] assemblies."

He said the residents of PS-88 had exposed the "true worth of these puppets" and the big lead the PPP gained had even surprised and "worried the selectors and the selected". "We are fighting and defeating this government on every front," he said, claiming that the government had been facing similar defeats in multiple by-elections. The PPP supremo added that not only the PPP, but also the 10-party alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), was playing its cards in a way that had the government "highly worried" about the by-elections and especially the Senate elections. "PDM will also attack this government in Senate elections not only from Sindh, Punjab but also Islamabad."

Bilawal alleged that the government was now pressuring different institutions and wanted to "fire a gun" from the shoulders of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court.