Bilawal Bhutto says time for talks over; will hold any discussion when there's no PM

• Says PTI regime did not feel the common person's pain and PM "should resign"
• Stresses that Pakistani people will be forced to commit suicide if historical inflation, unemployment issues are not resolved
• Says "will snatch the resignations once we reach Islamabad," denies reports of PDM-govt talks
• Regrets "no freedom in either the media or the Parliament"

LAHORE: PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Monday the time for holding talks with the PTI government "is over" and that he would hold any potential discussion when there's no prime minister in the country.

Speaking to the media here in Lahore, the PPP chief said his party's philosophy and manifesto were only focused on Pakistan's poor people. The PTI regime, he added, did not feel the common person's pain and if the prime minister "cannot solve the problems of the people, then he should resign".

The PPP has a solution to the problems of the people, Bilawal explained, adding that Pakistan was currently fighting historical inflation and unemployment. People would be forced to commit suicide if their problems were not resolved, he stressed.

"We did not leave the people alone during our [PPP's] tenure. You're not buying from your farmers but from the world," he said, referring to the incumbent government's decisions.

With regard to the anti-government protests, Bilawal Bhutto said the upcoming "Long March" would take place no matter what and that any related decisions would be taken by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of 11 Opposition parties that aims to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan's regime from power.

"We will take the people with us in the Long March and will snatch the resignations [from the government] once we reach Islamabad," he said, adding that there were no talks going on between the PDM and the Khan administration.

'Time for talks over'

"The time for talks is over, discussions will only take place now when there is no prime minister," the PPP chief said, warning that PM Imran Khan will not be able to escape if the Opposition's people reached Islamabad.

He further underlined how members of the National Assembly (MNAs) had the right to secret ballot. "When the government is in pain, we have a lot of fun," he added.

Speaking of his meeting with Shahbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto said he had gone to offer his condolences to the PML-N president over his mother's demise. "The things that are being talked about in the media at present cannot be discussed in this environment," he said.

"We cannot talk about things that are being talked about in the media in police presence. There is no freedom in either the media or the Parliament," he added.