PNN: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has offered the services of his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, to spearhead the process of political reconciliation in the country, tacitly extending an olive branch to Imran Khan’s beleaguered PTI.
“The political forces will have to find a political path,” Bilawal said while addressing thousands of people at his party’s public meeting held to commemorate the 18th death anniversary of his mother, former prime minister and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
“The opposition parties will have to practice responsible politics, and those in power will have to keep the country’s interests in mind,” he said.
Days after an opposition parties alliance the TTAP announced a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike at the second anniversary of “highly rigged” Feb 8, 2024 general elections, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on December 23 said his government was ready to hold talks with the opposition.
Bilawal said he believed that his father whom he described as the “king of political reconciliation” — was the only pivotal political figure capable of leading the rapprochement.
“What was the last message of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto?” he asked, before answering himself: “It was the message of reconciliation.”
He said his mother’s last book had also discussed and advocated the same political approach of doing away with hostilities in the greater interest of the country, its people, its economy, and democracy.
Bilawal, however, cautioned that incidents like the May 9 attacks and the repeated abuse of institutions have no place in politics.
He responded in the negative when he asked whether his workers would have reacted by attacking the corps commander’s house and other military installations had he or his father been arrested.
Recalling the hanging of his grandfather, former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he said the reaction at that time remained well within the ambit of politics.
He credited his mother for restraining herself within political boundaries instead of provoking violence, even when hundreds of thousands of fervent supporters took to the streets to welcome her in Lahore in 1986.
Similarly, Bilawal praised his father, President Zardari, for raising the slogan of “Pakistan Khappay” following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination on December 27, 2007, even though chants of “we don’t want Pakistan” were being raised at the time.
The PPP chairman regretted that the prevailing culture of hostility in politics has been harmful to the people, the country, democracy, the economy, and national security.
“I believe that if we can pull Pakistan out of this political crisis, we can also lift the country out of the economic crisis and address national security challenges more effectively.”
Bilawal offered his party’s support to the PML-N-led federal government in tackling financial difficulties, but stressed that his proposal focused on decentralization of tax collection, power distribution companies, and other sectors.
He asserted that provincial governments could ensure better tax collection compared to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). “Instead of snatching powers, the centre should assign more responsibilities to the provinces,” he said.
He suggested that utility companies such as Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO) be handed over to the Sindh government, noting that subsidies for the two entities have remained a perpetual burden on federal funds.
Bilawal agreed with the PML-N government’s claim that inflation has declined compared to levels during the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan.
However, he acknowledged that people’s purchasing power remains constrained and that essentials such as food rations, utility bills, education and healthcare have become difficult to afford, describing the situation as an “affordability crisis.”
President Zardari, meanwhile, attributed the slogan Pakistan Khappay to Benazir Bhutto, saying it was coined by her soul. He said he had never asked his party’s workers to take to the streets when he was jailed. “I had rather told them to take care of themselves and that I would myself confront the enemies.”
The president came down hard on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he reminded him about the humiliating defeat which Pakistan’s armed forces slapped on his country in defence against the Indian aggression in May this year.
He reiterated that a larger number of Indian fighter jets could have been downed if the global powers had not shown mercy on India.
Zardari lauded Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir and other commanders of the armed forces for ensuring impregnable defence of the country while at the same time landing a defeat to Indian forces.
He asked Modi to stop making references of ‘roti’ [bread] and ‘goli’ [bullet]. Acknowledging economic and political woes in Pakistan, the president said “a stupid person had destroyed Pakistan’s economy and relations with the world”.
He said the field marshal is also playing a significant role in restoring Pakistan’s relations with the world. “Even Donald Trump refers to him as a field marshal”.
The president described defence as the best offence. “When they came to attack, we were already waiting for them in the skies.”
He said India despite its 10 times bigger population and a far larger economy could not prolong the war for more than four days because the country’s civilian and military leadership lacked the courage which their Pakistani counterparts have been blessed with.
The president underlined that Pakistan does not want war but if aggression is imposed on the country then not only the armed forces but the political workers including of his own party will fight for the country’s defence.