Neither we are answerable to Maryam, nor Nawaz Sharif: Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Wednesday that they were neither answerable to Maryam Nawaz, nor former premier Nawaz Sharif.

"I have torn up that show-cause notice and there is no shift in our stance," Bilawal told reporters in Badin.

"Neither we are answerable to Maryam Sharif sahiba, nor Mian sahib."

Bilawal's comments came a day after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi demanded the PPP respond to the show-cause notice served by the Pakistan Democratic Movement. Maryam also backed Abbasi during a press talk Tuesday.

The PDM issued the show-cause notice in April over Yousuf Raza Gillani's appointment as the Senate opposition leader.

But Bilawal said they were only answerable to the party and its supporters.

"[We] want the restoration of democracy," he said. "Instead of opposing the Pakistan Peoples Party, our friends from the opposition should target the government."

Related: PML-N opposes PPP, ANP’s unconditional return to PDM

The PPP Chairman said Shehbaz Sharif was the opposition leader and the PML-N president. "Whatever Shehbaz Sharif sahib would say, his narrative will be considered as the Muslim League's policy."

Bilawal expressed his regard for PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman, but refused to budge on his party's stance.

He said the National Assembly opposition leader was inviting opposition parties to talks on the budget.

"This means that the PPP's stance has been accepted by every PDM party," the PPP chairman said.

His comment was a reference to the PPP's decision to not resign en masse from the assemblies and continue to engage in parliamentary politics.

The PDM was formed in September 2020. It held massive rallies in major Pakistani cities in an attempt to topple Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.

But differences between the PPP and the PML-N emerged over the resignations of the opposition lawmakers, which has rendered the 11-party opposition alliance practically ineffective.

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