Bilawal Bhutto thanks party workers for support

Liaquat Ali

Peshawar: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing gathering in Peshawar expressed his gratitude to the Jiyalas for coming out in huge numbers to support the Party. Chairman Bilawal said that this is an answer to those who used terrorism and weather as an excuse for delaying the elections. The Jiyalas have compelled them to participate in the elections. The PPP too faces security threats but the difference between us and them is, that we are not to be scared or intimidated, Chairman PPP said. We are the Jiyalas of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and can have our heads beheaded but not bowed. We are contesting the elections to save the country and its people. Our stance is that the country is riddled with various crises, with economic quagmire on one hand and terrorism on the other. The same terrorists the people had defeated in an astonishing feat achieved by Pakistan, one that could not be done by the entire world’s forces in Afghanistan, were reintroduced in the country. These are the terrorists that our soldiers and policemen sacrificed their lives to defeat. The menace of terrorism is again raising its head. We also face a societal crisis, and the PTI and PML-N have imposed the politics of hatred and division on the country, leading to a divide in the entire society. These parties have changed political opposition into personal vendetta, which is harming the country. They want to push us back to the politics of the ’90s at a time when the PPP is striving to modernise the country.

Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP’s manifesto is not a copy-paste manifesto. We aim to double the wages within five years. Another one of our promises to the people is to provide 300 units of electricity free-of-cost to the deserving citizens. Following Quaid-e-Awam’s philosophy, we resolve to build three million houses throughout the country, while regularizing the temporary housing and giving ownership to the women of the households. Chairman Bilawal expressed that he wishes to serve the women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa just as a son would. The revolutionary, internationally-acclaimed Benazir Income Support Programme will be expanded, and we will provide interest-free loans to women so that they can attain financial independence while contributing to the country’s economy. The PPP intends to introduce the ‘Benazir Kissan Card’ to provide financial assistance and insurance to the farmers for their crops. The labourers too will get their due share of rights, and will be provided social security through the ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’. The PPP has always prioritized the youth, and will continue to do the same after being elected by the people. We wish to support the youth, that makes up 70% of the country’s population. They face immense challenges during this tumultuous time, especially when it comes to getting jobs after completing their education. They are told that they do not have the experience to work despite having the required qualifications. We wish to introduce the ‘Youth Card’ and assist these youngsters financially for a year as they look for employment opportunities. Through this card, we will also provide facilities to the students, especially scholarships and student loans for the deserving youngsters. Moreover, the Party will strive to establish higher education institutions, such as universities and affiliated campuses in districts all over the country to ease access to education. The PTI minted money through the ‘Sehat Card’ but the PPP will establish free healthcare institutions all over the country, which will render this card redundant by default. The PPP has already done this in Sindh, by establishing institutions such as the NICVD and SIUT, which offer healthcare treatments for a wide range of ailments and treat patients not only from within the country, but the world. It was Quaid-e-Awam’s dream that no child or adult goes to sleep on an empty stomach. To combat hunger, the PPP aims to introduce the ‘Bhook Mitao’ programme which we wish to initiate at the level of the union councils. This is the PPP’s 10-point agenda that has been curated to serve the people of this country.

Chairman PPP said that it is his aim to bury the politics of hatred and division forever. Arresting someone’s daughter or sister is not PPP’s politics. They will be on the receiving end of the treatment they are meting out today. The party that made false cases against Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, slit his throat and tongue, and which did not accept a woman’s rule experienced the same treatment it had endorsed. Those who tortured the daughter of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto witnessed the same happen to them in front of their eyes. Hence, what goes around comes around. We used to advise Imran Khan to not arrest women and make false allegations against others. The same person who would accuse others of being robbers is now in prison under the same offence. He used to say that he would send everyone to jail, and he is there now. He used to say that he would not give an NRO, but is now willing to talk to everyone, but no one is willing to talk to him. The PPP stressed not to resign from the assemblies and assume the responsibility of the Leader of the Opposition, but he ran from the assemblies. We had advised him to not leave the provincial governments and wait for the elections, but he sabotaged himself by dissolving his provincial governments and terming it a ‘surprise’. He is the one who received a ‘surprise’ instead. Imran Khan used to say that he will govern the country for ten years, and is doing the politics of the ‘same page’. Now, the same form of politics has led him here. However, this is not an opportunity to rejoice. The workers of PTI need to be apprised that the politics of the country does not begin from April 2022. During the PPP’s tenure, its PM was removed in connivance with the judiciary. Terrorists were used to deprive the PPP of a level playing field. Then, Nawaz Sharif was made the PM with a two-thirds majority and even he could not salvage his government and repeated the ‘Mujhe Kyun Nikala?’ narrative. Imran Khan was removed through the democratic tool of no-confidence, and instead of conducting himself in a democratic manner, he chose to attack the institutions. Due to this, he is in jail now. The PPP would wish for the coming government to put an end to this. Perhaps now, the PTI must have realised that the country cannot be run in this manner.

Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP will introduce a new form of politics, which serves the people and solves the problems of the farmers, labourers, youth and the downtrodden. The PPP is the sole party that is contesting the election on its manifesto. Our counterparts say that they are contesting on the basis of their performance, when in all actuality, they are contesting on the PPP’s performance, Chairman PPP said. This is the same party that claims it made the country an atomic power. The world knows that atomic power was a gift to the country from Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In their advertisements, they claim ‘Sacha Nawaz Ka Sacha Manshoor’. The people know how ‘sacha’ this Nawaz is. They claim that the pioneer of CPEC is Nawaz Sharif, when the truth is that when President Zardari would visit China, the PML-N would be the first to criticise him. All of the CPEC’s agreements were signed prior to them coming to power. It was decided in the CPEC that its route would go through the destitute areas of the country that were impacted by terrorism such as KP, but they changed it entirely. Instead of having CPEC go through these affected regions, they made it go through Lahore and wasted the money on the Orange Train. They also claim ownership of the Benazir Income Support Programme. Hence, all other political parties are contesting the elections not on their manifesto, but of the PPP. The Jiyalas have to explain it to the people that they should not vote for the imitators, but those actually working for them, which is the PPP.

Chairman Bilawal instructed the party workers to approach those who are wasting away their votes and make them realise that the contest is between the PPP and PML-N. If they wish to stop the lion in its path, they should vote for the PPP. The PML-N is a party of the elite while the PPP represents the common man and the downtrodden. Chairman PPP said that the PPP is the only party that has the solutions to the problems of the people. With the mandate of the people, the PPP will work for them with a newfound sense of determination.