LAHORE: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says he will inform the nation how last year’s general elections were rigged to deprive his party of its share of votes.

“You and I will complete the mission of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. At the Oct 18 gathering in Karachi (to commemorate the Karsaz tragedy) I will tell you how the elections were rigged from Karachi to Khyber,” he told his party workers and supporters in Multan on Friday.

Accompanied by former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and other PPP leaders, he visited various areas and distributed relief goods among flood-affected people.

Know more: Bilawal reaches out to Punjab’s flood-hit

He formed a committee comprising Ali Musa Gilani and Malik Amir Dogar to mobilise PPP workers from south Punjab to attend the Oct 18 public meeting.

Bilawal Bhutto said this was not the time for politics. “I appeal to everyone to unite to serve the flood-affected people. Today Punjab is inundated but some people in Islamabad are conspiring to submerge the whole of Pakistan,” he said.

At an earlier meeting with party leaders at Bilawal House in Lahore, he vowed to again make Punjab a citadel of PPP. “Marsoon, Marsoon, Punjab Na Daisoon (We will die but not surrender Punjab),” he said.

He said all sections of society should devote their attention to mitigate the sufferings of the flood-affected people and any distraction would hamper relief work and efforts to rehabilitate the people.

He said the PPP was the victim of the rigging in 2013 elections but accepted the results for the sake of continuity of democracy. There could be no compromise on constitution, democracy and rule of law, he added.

He said the PPP was determined to get back Punjab and said there should no doubt in anyone’s mind in this regard.

The PPP has the best solution for the problems of the poor of Punjab because it believes in people’s politics and their genuine empowerment.

The party’s Punjab president Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo introduced to Bilawal Bhutto the party’s emerging political personalities and office-bearers.

The PPP chairman offered Fateha for the martyrs of the Zarb-i-Azb military operation and said: “Terrorists and extremists cannot be allowed to make the nation hostage in the name of irrelevant and redundant ideology.”

The meeting was attended by Raja Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Navid Chaudhry, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Imtiaz Safdar Warrich, Fakharzaman, Jehangir Badar, Raja Riaz, Samina Gurkhi, Malik Mushtaq Awan, Ghazanfar Gul, Chaudhry Mushtaq Gujjar, Faisal Rauf, Barrister Amir Hassan, Mian Khurram Wattoo, Amir Raja and Omar Sharif Bokhari.

Our Muzaffargarh Correspondent adds: Hundreds of PPP workers and flood-affected people gathered at the Head Mohammadwala Bridge on Chenab to welcome Bilawal Bhutto. But local leaders could not cross the river because of a breach near the bridge.

Former MPA Irshad Sial said the PPP chairman visited the bridge because his mother Benazir Bhutto had pledged to build it for the people of Muzaffargarh. “She had come to Muzaffargarh on Dec 25, 2007, two days before she was assassinated,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th , 2014