Bilawal calls KP emergency a political 'atomic bomb', urges PTI to talk

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned that imposing governor’s rule or an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be a political “atomic bomb”, and urged the PTI to abandon what he called its “politics of extremism” and return to parliament.

“Imposing an emergency in K-P is an atomic bomb and will only be considered as the last resort,” Bilawal said on Friday while inaugurating a 25-acre Karachi Metropolitan Corporation sports complex in Baldia Town, The Express Tribune reported. He warned that such a step could shrink political space for parties across the country.

‘No space for political engagement’

Bilawal said the PPP had always favoured dialogue over extraordinary constitutional measures. But he questioned why Chief Minister Sohail Afridi seemed unwilling to talk, saying the provincial leadership was narrowing the room for negotiation.

“We do not want that the last option for the PPP of governor’s rule or emergency should be exercised, but it seems that the K-P CM is leaving no space for political engagement,” he said. He added that the federal government and the wider political system had been prepared to consider an emergency about a week earlier.

He also cited the province’s security situation. “Given the security situation in K-P and the refusal of the provincial government to cooperate in terrorism, how can I legally say that an emergency should not be imposed in the province?” he asked.

A message to the PTI

Bilawal said the PTI had public support but kept disappointing people through confrontation with other parties, the federal government, parliament, the judiciary and the establishment. He urged it to:

• return to parliamentary proceedings and committees
• engage with other political parties
• join the new parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, which he said the PML-N had agreed to set up after several months

“If you do not participate then how will we stop rigging in the future?” he asked, suggesting that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman could help facilitate talks.

“If the PTI renounces the politics of extremism, then they will save their politics, their government and also, sooner or later, their political leadership,” he said. He noted that imprisonment had not ended the career of his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, but warned that continued confrontation could keep Imran Khan in jail long enough to surpass that record.

Bilawal joins Judicial Commission

Bilawal and PML-N Senator Rana Sanaullah have also been appointed to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), which recommends judges for the superior courts, Geo News reported. They replace PPP Senator Farooq H Naek and PML-N’s Sheikh Aftab Ahmad. Bilawal will represent the treasury benches in the National Assembly, and Sanaullah the Senate.

The appointments follow reported PPP dissatisfaction after Naek proposed 33 candidates for the high courts, including 16 for the Sindh High Court, without securing approval for its preferred names. Sources told Geo News that differences between the coalition partners had eased, though neither party has publicly confirmed any understanding. The JCP’s next meeting is due on October 13.

Why it matters

As the PTI’s long march continues, the PPP, a key coalition partner, is signalling that it opposes emergency rule in KP but no longer rules it out. Bilawal’s appeal places the onus on the PTI and Chief Minister Afridi to return to talks.

This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune and Geo News.