KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari threatened on Thursday to launch a protest march to the capital to topple the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The leaders were speaking on the occasion of the 40th death anniversary of the PPP’s founder, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Sindh province.
“It is time for us to march toward Islamabad and oust them [the government],” Zardari said. “I don’t want to do this because I want to be in government; [it is because] he [Prime Minister Khan] has already taken the country 50 years back. If we allow him to remain, he will take us 100 years back.”
Bilawal also spoke on the occasion and warned Khan against repealing the 18th Amendment which was passed in 2010 and empowered the prime minister and parliament and devolved powers to provincial governments.
“Those who are sitting in the Prime Minister’s Office have become a symbol of arrogance,” he said. “Those who are parading the idea of Naya (new) Pakistan should first understand the foundations of the old Pakistan.”
“Since PTI has come to power, they have done nothing with sincerity, except lying,” Bilawal added. “There is a tsunami of inflation.”
Political analysts said the harsh tone of the PPP leaders would not have much effect on Khan’s administration as it was still backed by the military establishment, which exerts great control over the running of the government in Pakistan.
“Although there is no immediate threat to the PTI’s government due to strong backing of the establishment, Imran Khan’s party is certainly in trouble, due to its own problems,” Karachi-based analyst Saeed Khawar said.
Surging fuel prices and inflation, at its highest in more than five years, has shocked many Pakistanis who voted for Khan and his promise to eradicate poverty, create jobs and build an Islamic welfare state.
Zardari is facing a plethora of money laundering cases before Pakistan courts and observers said the threats of a protest march might be a way to pressurize Khan’s government into backing down.
“The PPP leaders have taken this opportunity to pressurize the PTI government, which wants to pursue corruption cases against Zardari,” Khawar said.
Major opposition party threatens march to the capital to topple Pakistan government
Major opposition party threatens march to the capital to topple Pakistan government
- PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari says Khan had “taken the country 50 years back”
- PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warns the government against repealing 18th amendment that granted autonomy to the provinces
Pakistan issues over $7 billion sukuk in 2025, nears 20 percent Shariah-compliant debt target
- Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad says this was the highest-ever Sukuk issuance in a single calendar year since 2008
- Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court ordered in 2022 the entire banking system to transition to Islamic principles by 2027
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad on Monday said the country achieved a landmark breakthrough in Islamic finance by issuing over Rs2 trillion ($7 billion) sukuk this year, bringing it closer to its 20 percent Shariah-compliant debt target by Fiscal Year 2027-28.
A sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate, similar to a bond, but it complies with Shariah law, which forbids interest. Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC) had directed the government in April 2022 to eliminate interest and align the country’s entire banking system with Islamic principles by 2027.
Following the ruling, the government and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have undertaken a series of measures, including legal reforms and the issuance of sukuk to replace interest-based treasury bills and investment bonds.
“In 2025, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) through its Debt Management Office, together with its Joint Financial Advisers (JFAs), successfully issued over PKR 2 trillion in Sukuk,” Schehzad said on X, describing it as “the highest-ever Sukuk issuance in a single calendar year since 2008 by Pakistan.”
Pakistan made a total of 61 issuances across one-, three-, five- and 10-year tenors, according to the finance adviser. The country also successfully launched its first Green Sukuk, a Shariah-compliant bond designed to fund environment-friendly projects.
He said the Green Sukuk was 5.4 times oversubscribed, indicating investor demand was more than five times higher than the amount the government planned to raise, which showed strong market confidence.
“The rising share of Islamic instruments in the government’s domestic securities portfolio (domestic debt) underscores strong momentum, growing from 12.6 percent in June 2025 to around 14.5 percent by December 2025, clearly positioning the MoF to achieve its 20 percent Shariah-compliant debt target by FY28,” Schehzad said.
“This milestone also reflects the structural deepening of Pakistan’s Islamic capital market, sustained investor confidence, and the strengthening of sovereign debt management.”
He said Pakistan was strengthening its government securities market by making it more resilient, diversified, and future-ready, supported by a stabilizing macroeconomic environment, a disciplined debt strategy, and a clear roadmap for Islamic finance.
