The PPP on Thursday termed reports of differences between Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and his father Asif Ali Zardari “baseless”, adding that the former had departed for Dubai on a scheduled visit.

The statements from PPP leaders came after several news channels reported earlier today that Bilawal had suddenly departed for Dubai without informing the party leadership.

The reports alleged that the departure was linked to tensions between the father-son duo following a recent interview by Zardari, in which he had said that Bilawal was not yet fully trained while commenting on his son’s political journey.

“He’ll take time,” Zardari had said in an interview with Geo News on Thursday night. Acknowledging that Bilawal was “more talented, educated and better spoken than me”, Zardari had said: “But experience is experience.”

It should be noted that in recent days, Bilawal has repeatedly called on the nation to let older politicians “stay at home” and to give someone new a chance in the general elections.

Moreover, while speaking in the National Assembly in August, Bilawal — the youngest foreign minister in the country’s history — had also implored his father and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to take decisions that would make politics easier for the younger generation, which he said was losing hope in the country’s future.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), PPP Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi said: “Bilawal has left for Dubai yesterday afternoon according to his schedule after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa visit.

“Rumours regarding differences between the PPP chairman and president Zardari are baseless,” he said.

Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’, Kundi added that Zardari would also be departing for Dubai today.

Asked if the ex-president was doing so in an effort to address alleged friction with Bilawal, Kundi said: “Bilawal is not angry that he (Zardari) does this.”

Kundi said both Zardari’s interview and Bilawal’s Dubai visit were “planned”, adding that the latter was for two days.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman also reiterated that Bilawal’s visit was scheduled. “Don’t know why the panicked reporting on some channels. Chairman Bilawal left for Dubai yesterday late afternoon exactly as scheduled,” she said.

Further, PPP’s Shazia Marri told Geo News that Bilawal left for Dubai after the end of his KP tour for “personal engagements”. She said there was “nothing surprising” about the visit and Bilawal would return soon.

Marri said the reason for the visit was not what was being reported in the media, adding that an attempt to “sensationalise” the matter was underway.

Both Kundi and Marri said that Bilawal would be present at and address the party’s celebration of its 56th founding day in Quetta on November 30.

Meanwhile, PPP leader and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf questioned what conflict could be present in the relationship between a father and a son, asking who would desire more than Zardari for Bilawal to flourish and excel in politics.

“I don’t think this is an issue of differences,” he said while speaking in an interview on Samaa.

Zardari on Bilawal’s views

During the Thursday night interview, Zardari was asked about Bilawal’s recent remarks on generational change in politics, to which he said his son still needed more time to be fully trained.

“The younger generation these days has their own thinking,” Zardari said. “Everyone has a right to express their thoughts. Stopping someone would only create more problems. If he (Bilawal) says, ‘You do politics, I will not’, what will I do?”

Asked whether he was playing “good cop, bad cop”, Mr Zardari said: “This is not a police station where good cop, bad cop is played to get a confession out of someone. If Bilawal were in business with me, he would’ve said the same thing. In politics, too. This is every household’s story.”

Zardari further said Bilawal’s remarks were directed at everyone. “He is saying it to everyone and not just Zardari sahib.”