‘Not afraid of monkeys’: Bilawal Bhutto assails opposition for using 'abusive language' during Pak Prez Zardari's address

Islamabad, April 20

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has slammed the opposition for using derogatory language during President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech at parliament on Friday and added that his party has a history of opposing dictators and that they are not afraid of the “jungle’s monkeys,” reported Geo News.

In his address at a press conference on Friday, Bilawal termed the opposition’s conduct and use of abusive language in the joint session as “unparliamentary” behaviour.

The PPP chairman, who held the position of foreign minister in the previous administration, stated that the president presented a plan of action to lead the nation out of its economic crisis in his speech.

The PPP leader criticised the opposition, saying, “Unfortunately, the opposition made its own history.” Additionally, he stated that they would accept criticism from the opposition in the legislative branch, according to Geo News.

His comments were made the day after Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) legislators, backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), mounted a loud protest during the first joint sitting of parliament following the general elections on February 8.

PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan called President Asif Ali Zardari “illegal” in reaction to the “olive branch” he had extended in his first parliamentary speech.

Additionally, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the PTI Chairman, described their demonstration and commotion in the joint session of parliament as a “21-cannon salute” to President Zardari. “We presented a 21-cannon salute to Zardari,” he had said, according to Geo News.

Backing the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s disciplinary action against MNAs Jamshed Ahmad Khan Dasti and Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Bilawal said: “It was necessary to set a precedent.” Earlier today, the NA speaker suspended the memberships of the two parliamentarians for the current session due to their use of abusive language during the president’s address.

Stressing the need for unity on foreign affairs, the PPP leader said: “Politics is your right but everyone should be united on foreign policy.”