THERE is something about driving through Karachi’s narrow, bumpy roads in a campaign truck — going into its poorest neighbourhoods, dodging low-hanging cables and the unforgiving branches of old banyan trees — that beats flying to jalsas aboard a helicopter or aircraft. At least that’s what PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari thinks.
“I didn’t want to call people to come to me,” he tells Dawn atop his shipping container on wheels as it meanders through Shireen Jinnah Colony, Keamari, Lyari and Malir areas. “I wanted to go to them.”
For over 10 hours on Monday, Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s truck squeezed into the tiniest of neighbourhoods where his party has support. The poverty and brokenness of these areas is undeniable — but so is the love.
Men, women and children hung out of windows of small apartment blocks in Keamari to wave to their leader. As the truck went past the Kutiyana Memon Hospital, a woman hooked to a drip joined others on the balcony with her IV stand and danced to the undeniably catchy PPP anthem. There were thousands following his truck, some holding children in one hand and PPP flags in the other.
It was a festival, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was the celebrity.
“Give me a chance this time, I want to work in every corner of the city,” he tells a crowd that is in raptures to see him. “I will change the face of Karachi.”
It is remarkable to see the young Bhutto family scion came so close to the people living in these PPP strongholds of Karachi. There are a handful of armed guards near him in the truck, and many running alongside the vehicle, but for all practical purposes he is a sitting duck when it comes to a security incident.
The people sitting on their windowsills are a mere four metres away. There is no cover, no where to run, and thousands surrounding the container — given what happened to Benazir, is it foolish or brave?
“These are our own people, they would never hurt him,” one PPP coordinator said.
Senator Taj Haider insists that more people have shown up for Mr Bhutto-Zardari today than they did for Benazir in her rallies. “They are in love with him.”
“Can you believe how this Lyari seat was stolen from us in 2018?” Naz Baloch asks a journalist.
Bilawal on ‘ending politics of division’
The turnout and mood are impressive, but the state of the roads and infrastructure is abysmal. Is Mr Bhutto-Zardari aware of these realities?
“Yes a lot of these areas are underdeveloped. Karachi has its unique challenges, but this time we will be better placed to do work in the city. Historically, the local government has been with the provincial government. The friction between the local government and the provincial government has created issues. I am optimistic that for the first time the municipal corporation and provincial government will be ours, so we can perform better.”
His campaign has featured criticism of PML-N and Nawaz Sharif. Is that deliberate? He says, “If Mian sahab is feeling attacked, it’s not because of me, it’s because of his actions that have left us all disappointed. This is not the Mian sahab who spoke of vote ko izzat do, or the charter of democracy. This is the same old Mian sahab from the 90s, the Mian sahab who preaches politics of division.”
He adds, “We have to break the fever of hyper-partisan, hyper-polarised politics to do that. Neither Mian sahab nor PTI is poised to do that. We have to look at the issues not just of today, but of the past in a truth or reconciliation process.”
When asked to comment on the overbearing role of the establishment in politics, especially given the crackdown against the PTI, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said, “PPP for three generations has been struggling for all institutions to function in their constitutional domain. But that has not been Mr Khan’s stance. He has proactively pitched his politics, and is still seeking the backing of the establishment. He introduced the mantra of same-page politics. He has played a big role in enabling [what we face today] and putting us at this point.
“What happened on May 9; we are very lucky there wasn’t a coup. Our history is marked by military dictatorships. He went outside the political domain and attacked military institutions only because NAB framed a case against him — the same NAB he applauded when it arrested the opposition’s daughters and sisters in his government?”
On the subject of civilian supremacy, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said, “He pushed his party into a corner but also risked to do the same to us. If we as politicians want to reclaim civilian space, we have to stay in the political domain. The onus of that is on political parties. We have to decide once and for all that political differences should not result in us labelling each other traitors and kafirs. We have to bury this dirty politics. If politicians respect themselves, then we can expect others to respect us and stay in the constitutional domain.”
Asked about the dynamics between him and his father, Asif Ali Zardari, and whether the latter is the ultimate decision maker, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said, “There is a traditional aspect to our relationship of course. I hold respect for him and his experience of politics. Nobody can hold a candle to that. We do consult for consensus particularly through our party’s CEC and amongst ourselves. It’s not an ‘all or nothing’ approach like in other parties.”
And what role does Mr Bhutto-Zardari see for himself in the next government? “Prime Minister of Pakistan — what else would I be looking for?” Not foreign minister again? “been there, done that — got the t-shirt.”
Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2024
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