The Week India - July 29, 2018

JULY 29, 2018 • THE WEEK 45

Bilawal Bhutto is on a breath-

less campaign. He has been on

the road for the past few days,

travelling the length and breadth

of Pakistan. At 29, he is one of the

youngest candidates in the fray.

With his talk about development

and women empowerment, and

his refusal to use the religious

card, Bilawal represents a pro-

gressive future for his country.

And, he believes in better rela-

tions between India and Pakistan.

Excerpts from his exclusive email

interview to THE WEEK:

What are your concerns with

regard to the elections?

I have been repeating my con-

cerns over the past few days. First

of all, there is no level playing fi eld

for the parties that are contesting,

and only one particular party is

being favoured. Others, such

as the PPP, are being harassed

and their candidates are being

forced to switch allegiances to the

favoured party.

There are reports of hindrances

to your campaign, threats and

arrests of political workers.

My election convoy was twice

stopped by the police in Punjab

province. Several times, permis-

sion for our election rallies was

revoked. In recent days, a spate

of suicide attacks has tragically

led to dozens of deaths, and it

has created a climate of fear in

the country. By keeping positive,

peaceful voices for a progressive

Pakistan away from the election,

and by giving free rein to those

representing extremism and big-

otry, the country will be harmed.

There has been a spate of

violent attacks in 72 hours in

Pakistan. In Peshawar, Haroon

Bilour was martyred. Fighting

for democracy in south Asia

comes at the cost of personal

sacrifi ce. No one knows that

better than you. What keeps

you going?

I am not in it for personal power

or glory. I have entered politics

because my mother [former

prime minister Benazir Bhutto]

was martyred, and I am going to

carry on her mission of building

a peaceful and progressive

Pakistan. My commitment to my

mother’s mission is what keeps

me going.

In case there is no clear

mandate, would the PPP be

open to a coalition? Would you

become prime minister?

That remains to be seen. But yes,

we would be open to that possi-

bility, and [the decision] will be

guided by which of our partners

would best help us in implement-

ing our election manifesto.

No level playing

fi eld for parties

■ INTERVIEW

Bilawal Bhutto

chairman, Pakistan

Peoples Party

abroad. Later, their names were taken off the
list, and the hearing of the case against them
postponed until elections were over. “I think this
constitutes poll rigging,” said Khattak. “Zardari is
accused of money laundering.”
Th e judiciary has been accused of zealously
targeting Sharif. Mian Saqib Nisar, the current
chief justice, is as powerful as Iftikhar Muham-
mad Choudhry, the former chief justice whose
dismissal by president Pervez Musharraf had
sparked off a lawyers’ movement. Nisar later
allowed Musharraf to contest the elections, and
disqualifi ed Sharif from parliament.
Nisar had also ordered that the security cover
given to Haroon Bilour, leader of the Awami Na-
tional Party, be withdrawn. Bilour was killed in a
suicide attack in Peshawar on July 10. His father,
Bashir Ahmed Bilour, was killed before the 2012
elections. Both of them were outspoken critics of
the Taliban, which has considerable presence in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Imran Khan, on the other
hand, wants the Taliban to join peace talks. And
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is now a stronghold of the
PTI.)
As chief justice, Nisar has taken several deci-
sions that has put him in direct confl ict with the
government. He has gone beyond his mandate
to assume the powers of the executive, and has
been openly critical of the PML(N). Th e Karachi
Bar Association has questioned his conduct,
accusing him of holding proceedings like a
“reality show”. “By entering courtrooms with doz-
ens of news cameras in tow, disrupting judicial
proceedings and publicly humiliating judicial
offi cers by tossing their mobile phones, the CJP
undermined not only the dignity of the judges
concerned, but his own offi ce as well,” read a
statement issued by the KBA.
Th ere are rumours of faction feuds within the
judiciary itself. Qazi Faez Isa of the supreme
court recently found that his appointment as
Baluchistan chief justice was legally challenged.
He had written a dissenting note in the Panama
Papers verdict disqualifying Sharif from parlia-
ment, suggesting that the same benchmark had
not been applied in Khan’s case. Isa’s appoint-
ment was fi nally upheld, after lawyers took out
protests.
Th e judiciary, as a whole, seems to be fol-
lowing a script. But as the polling day, July 25,
draws near, the ball is in the people’s court. Th e
elections will really be a test of democracy in a
country where it is still to fi nd its moorings.
—Mandira Nayar