The incumbent government was ruling with the help of Pakistan Peoples Party votes, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday as he reiterated that his party was not interested in seeking ministries.

“It is correct that the current government is standing with the votes of the PPP and that is how the budget too was passed,” he said at a press conference in Peshawar. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi accompanied him at the presser.

“This is why we had stressed consultation with us before the budget. The PM and his team paid heed to the issues we raised, and assured us that our input would be considered before certain policies were devised.”

The Sindh-ruling party had decided to boycott the budget session only before Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar convinced them to sit for the session. But the party has maintained that its inputs should have been taken before the budget.

Last month, both sides settled their differences when a Bilawal-led PPP delegation called on PM Shehbaz in Islamabad.

But the scion of Bhutto dynasty admitted on Friday that his party’s strategy before the budget was “weak” as it failed to engage the government in implementing the terms agreed in the written agreement for power-sharing.

At the Peshawar press conference, he said that a PPP delegation would attend the all-parties conference called by PM Shehbaz.

“The party will share its input on the appropriate forums. The PPP’s aim will be to allow for the formation of consensus, as it had also hoped for the budget and the economic policy,” he said and called for “putting our house” to improve the economic and security situation.

Also, read this

Bilawal demands government hold tripartite dialogue to curb terrorism

Bilawal calls for ‘Charter of Reconciliation’ among all political parties

When asked, Bilawal said that the decisions taken with consensus would be better for the “current economic quagmire.”

He was of the view that a visit to Afghanistan would not resolve Pakistan’s problems. “It is in the interest of the people of both countries that we address our mutual concerns. Afghanistan does not have a standing army or counter-terrorism experience, there are capacity issues. However, our issues too carry weight and we should see to it that they are paid heed. If the two countries are to successfully resolve their issues, it will mark an era of economic prosperity for both the nations.”