PTI leaders slam Bilawal over hard-hitting press conference

ISLAMABAD: Shortly after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan and asked him to step down, PTI leaders Ali Zaidi and Dr Shahbaz Gill lashed out at the PPP leader, slamming him for politicking at a time of crisis. 

"I had a good laugh watching his 'show' on TV," said Zaidi, speaking to Geo News. "I can't understand why people take him seriously. If he makes silly statements, he will be called stupid," he added. 

Read more: PPP lambastes Centre over non-provision of protective gear to medical workers

The federal minister repeated the same questions he had asked Bilawal on Twitter, pointing out that the Sindh government's annual budget was Rs1,217bn while Rs114bn had been allocated for the health sector. 

"Where is this money going," he asked. "I don't know who advises this man. This man is a joke on national TV. He doesn't know anything at all and his party is in power in Sindh for the past 12 years," he added. 

Former Punjab information minister Dr Shahbaz Gill lashed out at Bilawal too, saying that the PPP chairman's press conference was an admission of his failure to manage the coronavirus situation. 

"You and your chief minister are responsible for people from Lyari to Landhi, not the federal government," Gill wrote on Twitter. 

He urged the PPP to provide relief to labourers and workers across the province instead of lashing out at the federal government. 

"The propaganda of those who are ruling Sindh for the past 30 years won't succeed," he said. "Bilawal should tell us what the Sindh government is doing apart from hurling accusations at the centre?"

Bilawal slams federal government, asks PM Imran to resign

The PTI leaders were reacting to an earlier press conference by Bilawal in which he reminded PM Imran that he was no longer an opposition leader but instead, was the country's chief executive. 

"Can you imagine Pakistan declaring war and sending its army without guns, bullets, and a uniform?" he had said, criticising the government for not doing enough to supply doctors protective gear. 

The PPP chairman had lamented that the doctors were only demanding two things — protective gear and a reduced burden on hospitals so that they may carry out their jobs more effectively.

"The prime minister has failed to deliver [...] He mentioned daily wagers in all of his addresses, but sadly none of them has received a single dime yet," he had said.

It is our responsibility to provide for them like we would provide for our armed forces, he said, adding: “We are trying to provide for our doctors who are in contact with COVID-19 patients, I know that all provincial governments are playing their due role as well.”

"But the Centre should also play its role in supporting the provinces in the war against coronavirus," he had said.

“These are pressing times, but 74% of our labour force which comprises daily wagers are affected the most during these times,” he said. “In collaboration with the BISP, the Centre disbursed cash to the already registered beneficiaries but the daily wagers did not receive anything.”

The PPP chairman went on to say that the federal government had announced Rs2 billion for daily wagers after which it was revised to Rs70 billion, but none had received a single rupee. “During a national crisis, we cannot afford a delay [in such matters]. The Centre will have to take responsibility.”