LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari spent four days in Naudero before leaving for Karachi on Thursday. Hectic political activity was witnessed at Naudero House, Garhi Khuda Bukhsh Bhutto and Larkana with PPP lawmakers, chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors of local government institutions, and thousands of activists from across Sindh keenly seeking directives from their party chief with regard to their respective roles in the reorganised party structure.

Most of the thousands of PPP leaders and activists had travelled to Garhi Khuda Bukhsh Bhutto to offer the Eid prayers at the Bhuttos’ mausoleum along with Mr Bhutto-Zardari.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh PPP president Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, Senior Minister for Food Nisar Khuhro, MNA Ayaz Soomro, MPAs Khursheed Junejo and Muhammad Ali Bhutto and Imtiaz Shaikh were among the prominent party leaders who offered prayers at the mausoleum.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari led a caravan of 53 vehicles to proceed to the mausoleum from Naundero House on Tuesday morning. Several hundred party activists followed the caravan to the mausoleum where a large number of their party colleagues had already arrived.

Stringent security arrangements were made to maintain law and order in the three towns as well as all roads leading to them.

Activists kept raising the slogans of ‘Jeay Bhutto’, ‘Zinda hey BB zinda hey’ intermittently during the entire event.

Soon after offering the prayers, Mr Bhutto-Zardari along with other senior leaders accompanying him laid wreaths and showered rose petals on the graves of his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, mother Benazir Bhutto and other close relatives. After coming out of the mausoleum, he and other party leaders mingled with people and exchanged Eid greetings.

The event was overshadowed by the Khanpur taluka (in Shijkarpur district) incident where two terrorists tried to blow up themselves at jam-packed Eid congregations.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah left for Khanpur by his helicopter immediately after receiving the information. Upon his return, Mr Shah briefed Mr Bhutto-Zardari about the episode and all information provided to him by the security agencies and local people.

During his stay in Naudero, the PPP chairman held meetings with the chief minister, several members of the Sindh cabinet and senior party leaders to discuss with them various issues relating to the party re-organisation. It was learnt that Mr Bhutto-Zardari directed his close aides to ensure completion of the process by the end of the current month.

The PPP chief also received a number of delegations comprising his party’s elected representatives and discussed with them issues of their respective areas, according to sources.

The chairmen and vice chairmen of Umerkot, Badin, Tando Allahyar, Mirpur­khas and Tharparkar district councils, in their meeting with Mr Bhutto-Zardari at Naudero House, apprised him of the problems being faced by the people of their respective areas and the party’s position. He asked them to focus on development works utilising the funds allocated for the purpose and held out the assurance that more funds would be got allocated if and when needed.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari also assured them that he would do his utmost to ensure prosperity of the common man and would also pay visits to their areas time to time. He asked them to prepare for the 2018 general elections.

Although the media was kept about one kilometre away from the Naudero House, it was learnt that around 6,000 office-bearers of the party’s various chapters were invited to ensure delivery of instructions directly to them by their party chief.

The PPP chief praised the bravery demonstrated by policemen in foiling the act of terrorism in Khanpur taluka, and told the elected representatives that he would soon convene a meeting in Karachi to give them policy guidelines on dealing with terrorism.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media in Shikarpur, CM Murad Ali Shah said that terrorism the entire nation was determined to eliminate terrorism from the country. He said terrorism was an issue being faced by the whole country.

He appreciated the Sindh police for foiling a number of attempts made by terrorists in the recent past and acknowledged that the police and other security agencies had offered great sacrifices which would never be forgotten.

He renewed the resolve to continue the war against terrorism till a single terrorist was alive.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2016