PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has lamented the “lack of level playing field” for political parties, as the country heads towards general elections.

“Currently there is a level playing field for some in the country, but not for others, and I object to that [situation],” he said in response to a question after addressing media in Sukkur.

He was in Sindh’s city to condole with the family of journalist Jan Muhammad Mahar, who was killed by armed assailants last month.

Bilawal in the past has also expressed his concerns over the political situation and highlighted that the PPP was always ready for elections while taking a dig at some coalition partners.

He urged that the “old way” of running the country has to be abandoned. The solution to the problems facing the country was Awami Raj [people’s rule], he said and added that the elected representatives of the people must be seated in Islamabad.

When asked, Bilawal said that it was the prerogative of the Election Commission of Pakistan to give the date for the general elections. “So we are asking them to give the date.” Inflation and the economy were also linked to elections, he added as the elected representatives in Islamabad would be able to represent the people and solve their problems.

He condemned the murder of Mahar and lamented that the progress in this case was not done in the way it should have been and many questions have been raised in the matter. “The officers who have been posted in Karachi are from other provinces, so they may not have an idea, but the whole of Sindh is demanding that justice be given to the slain journalist,” he added.

The PPP chairman was of the view that the policemen who were fighting dacoits in the riverine region, locally known as Kacha areas, needed support.

He claimed that the American weapons left in Afghanistan were now being used by terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as dacoits in Sindh’s riverine areas. “How dangerous was Imran Khan’s policy of settling terrorists from Afghanistan in the tribal areas of the country, its effects are now visible,” he pointed out.

Bilawal went on to add that terrorism was rising all over the country because the “policy” of the PPP had not been implemented. Before the 2014 operation, he said all the parties called for having talks with the terrorists, but the PPP was the only party that said that the terrorists must be fought. “Even when no male politician dared to speak, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto fearlessly resisted the terrorists,” he recalled.