ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday said that the country is facing a “perfect storm” of crises as it battles worsening political, economic and security issues, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while speaking during an interview with The Daily Show, said: “Unfortunately, Pakistan is facing a perfect storm. Not only do we have heightened partisanship and political polarisation, to the extent that political parties or political stakeholders aren’t even in a position to sit in a room and discuss issues amongst themselves, we’re also facing an economic crisis.”
The Daily Show (TDS) is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program.
As the country faces a security threat and crisis following the Afghan government’s fall, he said, it is also suffering from the increasing frequency of terrorist attacks and reeling from the aftermath of the biggest climate catastrophe in history, according to Geo News.
On the ongoing unrest in Pakistan following news of the possible arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan, the foreign minister said that while the country deals with the chaos and simultaneous crises, the PTI chief believes the country’s law doesn’t apply to him.
Heavy police forces on Wednesday morning reached Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence after Islamabad police failed to arrest him amid fierce clashes between the PTI workers and the anti-riot force in and around the party chief’s residence that left dozens of activists and police personnel injured since Tuesday.
“He’s resigned from parliament and ran away from the system. In this particular instance, it’s not a question of me wanting to arrest Mr Khan […] I would never want any politician in my country or any country to go to jail for political reasons. In Mr Khan’s case, he’s under the threat of arrest because of his ego,” the minister said, adding that the former prime minister thinks he’s “too important and won’t turn up to the court,” Geo News reported.
The Foreign Minister called Khan’s decisions a “complete mockery of the judicial system in Pakistan, of rule of law, of the Constitution in Pakistan”.
“We’re caught in a situation where there’s this political chaos playing out on the streets and distracting from the real issues that are affecting everyday Pakistanis,” he said.
On being asked if the state of democracy in Pakistan is fragile, the politician said, “Absolutely. Pakistan has been, for most of our history, under direct military dictatorship.”
He said forces that benefit from “undemocratic rule in Pakistan” didn’t like it when political parties came together after the death of his mother and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. “So they supported Mr Khan and brought him into power. And that’s now blown up not only in those individuals’ faces, but has had severe consequences for our country,” he said, according to Geo News. (ANI)