GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that he would fight against terrorism even at the cost of his life and would not surrender to terrorists.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the 37th death anniversary of PPP founder and his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on Monday, he said that his party leaders had fought for just causes in the past and would fight in future.

He promised to accomplish the mission of Z.A. Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and said the PPP would honour all promises made by the martyred leaders to the people.

“We will make Pakistan a progressive and peaceful country and will continue our fight against poverty, unemployment and hunger and work for the Kashmir cause,” he said.

The PPP chairman said Z.A. Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had been eliminated because they had given people the courage to stand up for their rights. “These murders were not of two individuals, but the murder of humanity and democracy.”

He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif did not have the will to fight terrorism and criticised him for not taking any action against terrorists hiding in Punjab. “Mr Sharif doesn’t have a clear policy against terrorism because he is afraid of terrorists.”

He called for complete implementation of the National Action Plan and criticised the interior minister for talking more against the opposition than doing something to control terrorism.

Bilawal Bhutto lashed out at the PML-N government for allowing retired Gen Pervez Musharraf to leave the country. There existed different laws in the country – one for Z.A. Bhutto and another for Musharraf, he added.

He criticised economic policies of the government and said had there been no drop in oil prices in the international market, the country would have experienced an economic crisis.

He opposed the privatisation policy and alleged that the government had planned to dole out profitable units to its favourites. He asked the rulers to “desist from looting people”.

The PPP leader said youths with degrees in their hands were running from pillar to post in search of jobs as unemployment had touched new heights.

He criticised the government for allowing thousands of people to take over the country’s capital for four days.

Former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and PPP leaders Manzoor Wattoo and Aitzaz Ahsan were prominent among those who addressed the gathering.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2016