Pakistan: Bilawal Bhutto dares Imran Khan over civil unrest, says 'ready to go to jail'

Asserting that he is not afraid of the Imran Khan government, Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said that he is ready to go to jail with all other politicians. While addressing a press conference in Karachi, Bilawal claimed that Imran Khan is using Military as a political bloc and the government appears nervous due to the rallies carried out by the opposition, reported TV channel Dunya News.

He also said the time has come for Prime Minister Imran Khan to "start panicking" as the opposition has launched an anti-government movement.

'Opposition is ready to protest against this system'

"He said that the opposition is ready to protest against this system, adding that we are trying to get the people out of this predicament," quoted Dunya News. Bilawal further said that the army was not an institution of one party and that the Prime Minister should not use it as a political bloc. He also added that the government has pushed the masses against the wall with rising inflation.

As many as 11 Pakistani opposition parties, prominent among which are the PPP, PML-N, Awami National Party, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), at the conclusion of an All Parties Conference (APC) on September 20 announced the formation of a joint platform, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

The opposition parties of Pakistan have alleged that Khan's government had belittled the expectations of the general people and had left them in tatters amid the economic havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Imran Khan-led government have launched multiple crackdowns against several opposition leaders, with the latest case under the sedition law filed against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir "premier" Raja Mohammad Farooq Ahmed Khan on October 1.

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Nawaz Sharif, Maryam booked for 'cyber-terrorism'

The Lahore police registered the FIR on the complaint of a person, citing Sharif's two recent speeches made through a video link from London, in which the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo made blistering remarks targeting the politically powerful Pakistan Army.

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Sharif - who left for London late last year after securing bail for medical treatment in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case and the Al Azizia case - has been targeting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led (PTI) government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as many state institutions, including the judiciary and the military.

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The case was registered under sections 10 (cyber-terrorism), 120-A (definition of criminal conspiracy), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against Pakistan), 123-A (condemning the creation of the country and advocating the abolishment of its sovereignty), 124-A (sedition) and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (2016) and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

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Ready to go to jail & protest against system: Bilawal Bhutto dares Imran's 'nervous' govt