HYDERABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that unlike his party’s opponents who believe in politics of hate and violence PPP wants to bury politics of revenge and hate and unite the nation.

He reiterated that he would implement his 10-point ‘peoples’ social contract’ if he was elected to power and urged people to remember those who were contesting against PPP. “You know what these people did to the city in 90s. You are well aware of their politics,” he said in an apparent reference to Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Bilawal was addressing the party’s power show at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Sports Complex in Hussainabad here on Sunday evening.

Congratulating people of Hyderabad on electing a jiyala mayor, he said that the city had experienced politics of hate, violence and ethnic divide. PPP’s opponents believed in politics of violence but PPP wanted to bury politics of hate, unite the city and Pakistan, he said.

In an oblique reference to PML-N, he said that if one party was pursuing politics of hate in Hyderabad the other was following politics of hatred on Pakistan’s level and converted (polls) into an arena of personal enmity.

These parties believed in taking revenge. “This party remains least bothered about people, it is concerned only about grabbing the country’s premiership for the fourth time,” he said.

He pointed out that if he was elected to power he would implement his 10-point agenda of economy. He would double the income, build three million houses for the homeless and give their proprietary rights to women. PPP would increase BISP stipend and provide interest free loans to women to empower them, he said.

He said that PPP’s federal government would launch youth cards for the unemployed and offer them financial assistance till they got jobs. Similarly, he said, Benazir Mazdoor Card and Benazir Hari Card would be provided to labourers and haris. This card would cover all labourers working as housemaids, engaged in private jobs, at shops or even self-employed, he said.

“The labourers will be able to get access to education and health facilities through the cards. They will get social security and they will only be looking after their jobs while other facilities will be made available to them through this card,” he said. He would build a university in every district besides providing quality healthcare facilities, he said.

“You must be wondering where the funds for these projects will come from. I must tell you that I will disband 17 ministries that are consuming Rs300bn although they should have been devolved by 2015. I will utilize the Rs1,500bn per annum given in the shape of subsidy to elites of the country. We have decided to snatch the subsidy from the elite and divert it to masses,” he said.

He made it clear that Feb 8 was going to be contest between PPP and PML-N. “You must make people realise that they should not spoil their vote. If you want to block sher you will have to stamp teer and bury politics of political revenge,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2024