LARKANA – Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday announced that his party will launch a decisive movement against PTI-led government on January 5, 2022 with a rally in Lahore – the former bastion of PPP.
“Time has come to initiate a war against the puppet regime,” he said while addressing a public gathering organised to mark the 14th death anniversary of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
“We need to fulfil the dream of Benazir Bhutto and revive this party across the country to restore the rule of real democratic forces,” Bilawal told party workers. Bilawal said the country was facing multiple challenges including inflation and “bad governance” because elections in the country had been “rigged through different modus operandi”.
“There is no freedom of speech, and no real democracy in the country… we restored the democracy in the country and restored the 1973’s Constitution in the shape of 18th Amendment,” he remarked.
Democracy in Pakistan only exists on paper, he added.
Bilawal said his party empowered the provinces of the country in line with the vision of late PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a step which he said enabled the last PML-N government to build projects like Metro Bus and Orange Line train in Lahore. “We made the provinces financially autonomous through NFC [National Finance Commission] award,” he said.
The PPP chairman said people of the country were struggling to make ends meet and poverty and unemployment had reached historic high during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.
“People’s hardships and economic woes of the country will never end as long as the country is being ruled by puppet rulers,” he added.
While referring to the media reports, Bilawal displelled the speculations that the PPP was entering into any deal with the establishment to come into power. “PPP does not believe in politics of deals. We only rely on people’s support. We can never resort to non-democratic politics,” he insisted.
Bilawal while urging the party leaders to take steps to revive the party in different parts of the country said that he will soon visit Punjab to launch an anti-government movement.
“Time has come to announce a war against this puppet government… we will announce movement to overthrow this government from Lahore [on January 5] where the foundation of this party was laid down.”
Bilawal said only PPP can topple the PM Imran-led government with the support of the masses and resolve the issues of the masses. “We will form the next government and elect our chief ministers in all provinces,” he told the charged gathering.
Former President and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in his brief address said, “Being poor is not written in the fate of the people of Pakistan”.
Zardari without naming anyone said due to some “stupid individuals, rich country like Pakistan” was reeling under economic crisis.
He said PPP will soon come into power and under the leadership of Bilawal resolve the issues of the masses.
BB murder, an irreparable national loss: Bilawal
Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday said that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was an irreparable national loss.
In a message, he said Benazir Bhutto was an ideal world leader who showed great courage in her mission to achieve democracy in Pakistan.
“The nation will never forget her national spirit, long struggle and strong leadership,” he added.
Bilawal said Benazir Bhutto’s struggle to make the country a true welfare state in the light of the thoughts and vision of our founding ancestors is historical.
He said that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi was not just the murder of a dream to save the people from poverty, unemployment and injustice, but a conspiracy to kill the entire nation. He pointed out that the heinous conspiracy was foiled by former President Asif Ali Zardari with the slogan “Pakistan Khappay (Pakistan needed)”.
The PPP Chairman said that Benazir Bhutto was a universal figure and a people’s leader who promoted unity, harmony and progressive thinking in Pakistan and protected the political and economic rights of the people.
As the prime minister, she introduced people-friendly policies in the country despite fierce opposition and obstacles. She took innumerable steps for the service of the public, and also highlighted the true image of Pakistan on an international level, he recalled.
The gift of missile technology for the defence of our motherland by Benazir Bhutto is also unforgettable, Bilawal said.
The PPP Chairman said that for democracy, Benazir Bhutto lost her father, two brothers and even her mother.
But she never feared the dictators. She kept fighting for democracy till the last hour of her life and in the end, achieved martyrdom, he said.
The Chairman PPP said that “today is the day to make a pledge to eradicate terrorism and extremism from Pakistan, and to continue the struggle of strengthening democracy, supremacy of the Constitution and Parliament, and social equality. There can be no other way to pay homage to Benazir Bhutto.”