• Bilawal promises to set up ‘truth and reconciliation commission’, says there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Taliban
• Zardari wants role of ‘genuine’ political stakeholders to end injustice

RAWALPINDI / QUETTA: A day after PML-N made its election pitch at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, young PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in the garrison city to address an election gathering at the same venue, promising to ‘bury politics of hate and division’ and formation of a ‘truth and reconciliation commission’ if his party was voted to power.

In Hub, an industrial town in Balochistan, his father Asif Ali Zardari addressed a gathering in which the former president said only the political forces, through democratic practices, could resolve the issues faced by Pakistan.

Speaking at Liaquat Bagh, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari hoped that the people, including the PTI supporters, would make a ‘wise’ decision by choosing ‘arrow’ (PPP’s electoral symbol) on Feb 8.

“They (PTI supporters) need to realise that Imran Khan is not in the elections anymore and he will not become the prime minister in any case. So, instead of wasting votes on independent candidates, the people should make a wise choice and opt for ‘arrow’ if they don’t want to give a fourth term to Nawaz Sharif,” he said.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari claimed that the PTI’s office-bearers were ‘planted’ and the former ruling party failed to get its electoral symbol because of them. “The majority of the country does not wish to see this person [Nawaz] becoming the PM for the fourth time. The people are not willing to accept him as their PM at all,” he said.

He said that the society was plagued with the politics of hatred and division, and the PPP was the only party that aimed to bury it forever. “The PPP resolves to establish a ‘truth and reconciliation commission’ to help unify the country,” he said.

‘No good or bad Taliban’

According to the PPP leader, he was standing in the city where his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his mother Benazir Bhutto were “martyred”. “I have come to this city once again because the country is in danger. On the one hand, we are facing an economic crisis; and on the other, a societal crisis is brewing,” he said.

The PPP leader also mentioned that terrorism was coming back to the country and it was imperative that “we tackle it today”. “The time has come for us to decide that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Taliban, and we should combat terrorism in all forms,” he said.

In a reference to the PML-N, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said that in the lead-up to elections, one political party has adopted the same attitude it had sworn to discontinue after signing the ‘Charter of Democracy’. “That same party is not staying true to its slogan of ‘Vote Ko Izzat Do’. It wishes to divide the people by encouraging the politics of hate. They want to misguide the people.”

PPP rally in Hub

Speaking at a political rally in Hub, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari said that only “genuine political parties and leadership” could resolve the issues the country was facing.

He claimed that Pakistan Peoples Party will give the people of the province their due share in the national resources and dignity as it did during its last government.

He said that all the problems facing the country can be solved through democracy, saying: “What can be done with democracy cannot be achieved in the war.” He said that despite being a victim of grave injustices, the PPP never spoke of taking up arms.

“Yes, [we]talked about fighting on the streets, holding rallies, and fighting for democracy around the world, including Pakistan,” he added. Mr Zardari said that although there was “no perfect democracy in the country even now, it is gradually strengthening”.

He pointed out that during his tenure, the Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan Package was introduced in the province. While talking about the unanimous NFC Award introduced during the PPP government, Mr Zardari said that due to that initiative, the budget of Balochistan increased.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2024

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