LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Nov 30 rally in Islamabad has ‘forced’ Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to cancel his scheduled visit to Lahore to attend his party’s Foundation Day.

Bilawal’s decision has disappointed the party workers, who are reaching the Bilawal House, Lahore from across the country to mark the party’s 46th Foundation Day on Nov 30.

“Mr Bilawal will skip the party’s Foundation Day event for two reasons. First, he is advised that his Lahore show on Nov 30 is likely to be overshadowed by Imran Khan’s Islamabad rally, which will be the main event of the day and the centre of the media’s attention. Second, Mr Bilawal’s elders think that he should not be in the country on Nov 30 as any untoward incident on the day may create circumstances not suitable to him,” a source told Dawn.

At present, Bilawal is in London and he has extended his stay for “personal engagements.”

Bilawal cancels visit to Lahore for Foundation Day

Earlier, Bilawal had announced he would visit Lahore for a long period and would have extensive interaction with the workers. Before cancelling his scheduled visit, Bilawal was reportedly very active in making the Nov 30 event a success. He also issued instructions to the party leaders involved in arranging the event.

“Former president Asif Ali Zardari will preside over the events of the Foundation Day at the Bilawal House. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is not coming here on Nov 30 as he has some personal engagements in London. He will visit Lahore probably in December and interact with the workers,” PPP Punjab President Manzoor Wattoo told Dawn.

He also said the Foundation Day events would last for two days. “On Nov 30, the party workers and leaders from Punjab will reach the Bilawal House and on Dec 2 the workers from other provinces will interact with Mr Zardari here,” he added.

Some party leaders from Punjab had earlier suggested to the leadership that it was the best occasion to hold a ‘big rally’ either outside the Bilawal House (Bahria Town) or Minar-i-Pakistan but it ignored it. Those who floated the idea were of the view that as other opposition parties, especially the PTI, were holding rallies in different parts of the country, the PPP should follow the suit in Punjab and show its strength by activating its workers.

The PPP cut a sorry figure in the 2013 general elections in Punjab as it could hardly manage to win two national assembly and half-a-dozen provincial assembly seats. There is a perception in the PPP circles that going ‘soft’ on the PML-N government by its leadership has helped the PTI cover its ground in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014