GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: Rejecting the impression of a deal being sought by PPP, party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has asked the party workers to get ready to launch a movement against the “puppet” government from Lahore after a meeting of the PPP’s central executive committee and federal council in the city on Jan 5.

He was addressing a public gathering held in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, some 22km from Larkana, on Monday to mark 14th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We will start the story (movement) from where PPP was born,” said Mr Bhutto-Zardari.

He said PPP did not believe in undemocratic means adding that “our deal is with people therefore you [workers] should stand up for struggle”.

Referring to the defeat of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf at the hands of the PPP in the Senate elections and by-elections, he said the “puppet” government would have to go.

Zardari sees PPP govt at Centre

Mr Bhutto-Zardari asked the provincial chiefs of PPP and the party heads in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to chalk out programmes for his visit. He said he would try to cover maximum areas and Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari would speak to the workers where he could not reach. He said 14 years had passed but people still remembered Benazir Bhutto as presently democracy was only in name as there was no freedom of expression and people were braving economic distress.

Quoting the PPP’s slogan, “Democracy is the best revenge”, he said they had restored 1973’s constitution in its original shape, passed 18th Amendment, transferred powers to parliament and ensured completion of government’s five-year tenure.

He spoke of attacks on democracy with the help of returning officers and said peoples’ votes were stolen and subsequently they were deprived of democracy and a “puppet and inept” government and an “inefficient” prime minister were imposed on the country.

He said the PPP government had fought against terrorism, unfurled Pakistani flag in Swat and Waziristan and broken terrorists’ back.

On the other hand, he alleged, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan were begging for a deal with terrorists and the government was making a compromise with them while betraying sacrifices of law enforcement agencies and the people.

He said by passing 18th Amendment, the PPP government had financially empowered the provinces and quoted the examples of Gwadar port, an extensive network of health facilities in Sindh in the shape of NICVD branches and energy projects in Thar. The PPP leader regretted non-implementation of 18th Amendment by the PTI-led government and accused it of robbing the provinces of their rights. However, the PPP would not allow the rulers to snatch the peoples’ rights, he vowed.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said Imran Khan’s government neither believed in democracy nor wanted prosperity of the people.

Going into flashback, he said when PPP came into power those were the days of economic recession in the world but even then national economy was effectively handled, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was introduced, salaries and pensions were increased and an agreement with Iran was signed over laying Pakistan-Iran gas pipe line to address the gas issue. Those days, rice, sugar and wheat were export items and the economy witnessed overall growth.

Painting a gloomy picture of present days, he said people were drowning in the tsunami of unprecedented price hike, braving storms of taxes and host of issues pertaining to health, education and unemployment and paying high bills of electricity and gas while the laborers and the peasants were suffering the most. The peasants were buying fertiliser on higher rates though they contributed lion’s share to the country’s economy, he added.

He said going to the IMF would further complicate the economic conditions in the country. He claimed that the answer lay only in the manifesto of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and philosophy of Benazir Bhutto. Therefore, he added, the people were looking towards Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto.

He said they could not see the people trapped in the quagmire of problems therefore Jiyalas should be ready to pull out the country from this situation.

Pointing towards the crowd, he said the government would soon pack up and predicted that “future elections are yours, prime minister and chief minister would be yours”.

In his brief speech, former president Asif Ali Zardari said time was not far when there would be PPP government at the Centre. He said right from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to his [Zardari’s] government they had served the people. “This is our manifesto.” He said it was not the fate of poor people to remain poor.

In a sarcastic style and without naming the rulers, he said “whatever we say, they do not understand, as they lack wisdom”.

He was confident that Bilawal Bhutto- Zardari would change the fate of the people in the light of promises and commitments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

Former prime minister Raj Parvaiz Ashraf, Nisar Khuhro, president of PPP Sindh, MNAs Shagufta Jumani, Aijaz Jakhrani and Khursheed Junejo, Abdul Qadir Shaheen from Punjab, Advocate Amjad from GB, Mir Changez Jamali from Balochistan and Najamuddin Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier a mushaira was held where poets from all over the country presented their verses and paid tributes to the dynamic leadership of Benazir Bhutto.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2021