Sukkur, 2nd March 2022: Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman addressed the media during the Awami Long March led by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. She said, “The Long March has been a spectacular display of people’s complete lack of faith in the PTI party as their government has caused a catastrophe throughout the whole country in the last three and a half years. The entire nation has mobilised under the voice of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, as his manifesto has struck a chord with the people who are exhausted by the skyrocketing inflation, disastrous IMF programmes and rampant corruption. Chairman Bilawal’s triumphant Long March has resonated with the nation to the extent that even the puppets in Islamabad have taken notice and it has left them a state of chaos and confusion.”
The Senator continued, “The amnesty scheme is another way for this government to forgo accountability. It was Niazi himself, who had previously said that amnesty schemes were simply a tactic to launder money. Rest assured that, unlike the amnestic slumber from which this government leads, the people have not forgotten his statements. The offer of amnesty schemes will make Pakistan the number one destination for money laundering with a 5% tax rate, which will only benefit this cruel, corrupt government and it will be the hard-working people of the country who will have to pay the price. It is no wonder Pakistan’s Corruption Index has never been worse, as it ranks 140 out of 180 countries – a slide of 16 positions since this government came into power. It is only a matter of time before this country will be engulfed in the FATF blacklist due to this government’s incompetence. ”
She said, “The Awami March is moving towards Punjab and gaining more and more momentum with each passing town or city. Due to the unbearable double-digit inflation, fence-sitting is no longer an option for the people. Men, women and children alike, have taken to the streets to voice their own no-trust motion against this government. To combat this, the government had announced price cuts for the POL products while on the other hand, they increased the price of LPG by a whopping Rs27/kg. The price of a single cylinder in a country where gas supply has become a memory of the past, the price of an LPG cylinder has been increased from Rs2,440 per cylinder to Rs2,758 per cylinder, an increase of a whopping Rs318.74. Not only does our Charter of Demands cover the essential need to provide a supply of gas to the people and the industry, but it also demands that Sindh is granted adequate gas supply as the wellhead of the country as enshrined in Article 158 of the Constitution.”
She concluded by saying, “Unlike the government, our protest will not paralyse the capital for 126 days, nevertheless, the PPP is aware of how to engage in resistance politics. With the exemplary leadership and the legacy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and now with Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s voice reverberating throughout the streets of Pakistan, there is no force that can stop us. The Long March will continue its way towards Islamabad and its momentum will continue to grow.”
