LARKANA: As a multi-party opposition alliance geared up its protest against the coalition government, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday warn­ed against the ‘politics of sit-ins’ and advocated for reconciliation instead.

Speaking at a public gathering to mark the 45th death anniversary of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said “some people” were trying to form the ‘PNA 2.0’. He said they were playing with the fate of the country because of their egos.

He reminded these people about the history of the “nine stars” who campaigned against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with the dream of reaching the power corridors but ended up with a decade-long dictatorship instead. It may be noted that the PNA or the Pakistan National Alliance was a multi-party movement against the PPP government formed in 1977. According to the PPP chief, political stability can only be achieved through the ‘Charter of Democracy’ and ‘Charter of Reconciliation’ and the PPP will be at the forefront.

He said the Charter of Democracy had been implemented up to 90 per cent, adding that judicial reforms under this charter were yet to be implemented.

PPP leader demands judicial reforms to ensure justice; Zardari urges politicians not to repeat past mistakes

He said the PPP aimed to achieve the reforms with the help of legal fraternity and civil society to ensure justice from courts, adding that the confidence of people in this regard had gone down. “We have to implement judicial reforms,” he said.

He also referred to his 10-point agenda that he had announced during the election campaign. The ex-foreign minister said the Sindh and Balochistan governments led by the PPP would fully implement the 10-point programme and provide relief to the people in the budget. “We are also ready to work on the federal level in this regard,” he added.

ZAB case

Talking about the reference decided by the Supreme Court regarding the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case, the PPP leader said: “We must see why the injustice was done.”

He said unfortunately the dictator [Ziaul Haq] and the judiciary were its part. The apex court admitted that Z.A. Bhutto was not given a fair trial and the short order was “our historic success”, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, President Asif Ali Zardari invited the people to sit and think together to serve the country, stressing that power is meant to serve the masses. He said people were braving difficulties and “we must think that future generations should not suffer”.

The PPP leader admitted that the mistakes were committed in the past but asked politicians to refrain from repeating them in the future.

He invited them to sit together for talks and leave in case of any disagreement. “This is our politics and we learnt it from Benazir Bhutto,” he said. “I am happy today, as I did my duty,” he said, adding that he headed the party as per her vision.

He said he had become the president twice with the support of the people and party workers and “I make decisions with their strength”.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2024