ISLAMABAD: For the second year, diehard PPP workers, particularly from Punjab, will not be able to interact with their young leader Bilawal Bhutto Zaradri on the auspicious occasion of the party’s founding day as the leadership has decided to cancel the party’s traditional gathering in Lahore.

Earlier, the PPP leadership had announced that Mr Bilawal would attend a convention to be held in Lahore on Nov 30 to mark the party’s 49th founding day and announce a new PPP strategy and guideline for party workers.

But, according to PPP Vice-President Senator Sherry Rehman, the party has in principle decided not to hold the main event on its founding day because of local government elections in Punjab and Sindh.

Also read: Bilawal’s election rally attracts large crowds in Sujawal and Thatta

Talking to Dawn here on Monday, she said that the third phase of the elections was scheduled to be held on Dec 5 and it would be difficult for the PPP leaders and office-bearers to leave their areas at this crucial time. Therefore, the party’s founding day functions will be held in different parts of the country at local levels.

Last year too, it was announced that PPP Chairman Bilawal would make his maiden address at the party’s annual event, but at the eleventh hour he was asked to stay in London and the ceremony was addressed by his father and the party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Later, Mr Bilawal formally started his political activities in August and since then he has been running the party show alone in the absence of his father, who has been staying in Dubai since June.

The party has been regularly organising the founding day function in Lahore since 1967 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced formation of the PPP in the city.

Though the party leadership also gathers in Naudero, the hometown of its founder, every year on the birth and death anniversaries of Mr Bhutto and his daughter and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the Nov 30 convention has its own importance.

The last year’s event was held in Bilawal House in Lahore at a time when Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was holding a sit-in in Islamabad in protest against alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.

Amid the slogans of “Go Nawaz Go” and “Ro Imran Ro”, Asif Zardari had declared that PPP would protect democracy and would not join any anti-government campaign.

“I will not stop you from shouting ‘Go Nawaz Go’. I also like this slogan. But let me tell you that we will not play on the ground set by someone else. We will raise the slogan but on our own pitch. At present the captain (Imran) is bowling. When the pitch will get better, we also will go for bowling,” Mr Zardari said in his speech which was not liked by some of the party members from Punjab.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2015