LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed several public meetings in Larkana, Ratodero, Miro Khan, Qambar and Shahdadkot within 24 hours before the electioneering drew to an end at midnight Monday.

His concluding show was under way in Jacobabad when last reports came in.

Addressing thousands of workers and supporters of his party at the power shows, Bilawal declared in unequivocal terms that the party leadership would not bow to any pressure. Nor would any of its activists or supporters accept any pressure from any quarter, he added.

Starting his final onslaught from his NA-200 Larkana-I constituency late on Sunday evening, the PPP chairman said ‘puppet’ alliances always emerged against PPP. “These puppet alliances comprise puppet politicians and with intention to form a puppet government as they take [dictation] from others,” he said clearly alluding to PPP’s main rival in the July 25 elections, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).

He said that the masses would foil the conspiracy being hatched against his party.

Criticising “the politics of abusive language”, he said he was able to pay them in the same coin but he and his party did not believe in such kind of politics.

“The maulanas in Larkana are bent upon using foul language which the people of this city will not tolerate,” he said, and added in the same breath that people knew very well about the kind of language being used by [Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl president] Maulana Fazlur Rehman and [Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief] Imran Khan for each other.

He noted that in Larkana, however, the two leaders had become one against PPP. “The bat [PTI’s election symbol] is running here on diesel [a reference to the scam often attributed to the maulana],” he remarked.

Bilawal recounted PPP’s struggle for the restoration of democracy in the country, saying: “We stood against dictators [General Mohammed] Ziaul Haq and [General] Pervez Musharraf courageously and fought against terrorism and extremism. Therefore, he added, these kinds of puppet alliances carried no weight for the PPP.

Accompanied by Sindh PPP chief Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Suhail Anwar Siyal and other senior party colleagues, Bilawal said PPP had a history of inflicting defeats on such alliances. This time again, PPP would drive them out in the election, he said.

He said PPP believed in the politics based on principles of serving the masses. “Our struggle is not aimed against any politician or political party; it is a war against backwardness, deprivation, unemployment and hate,” he said and reiterated the party’s commitment to address public issues.

Bilawal said that PPP would win the July 25 elections with a thumping majority and form its government at the Centre. It would provide jobs to the jobless as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto did, he said.

He said he carried both jhanda and danda [flag and stick] to lead the nation [with the flag] and come hard [with stick] on those who would fail to deliver.

Turning to the GDA, Bilawal said the rivals were talking about shelving the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and posed a question that “will people permit them to do so?”.

He noted that GDA claimed its struggle was for saving Sindh but on the contrary it had joined hands with those who were bent upon dividing Sindh. Similarly, he said, the alliance talked of fighting corruption but a former chief minister in its fold was removed on corruption charges. “It’s politics of hypocrisy,” he remarked.

Bilawal cited PPP’s election manifesto and said it envisaged empowering womenfolk, introducing poverty alleviation programme, establishing food stores at union council level and introducing Food Card and Benazir Kisan card to improve the lot of the downtrodden and peasants. He said that the unprecedented welcome accorded to him everywhere in the country had proved PPP opponents’ perception wrong that the party would vanish with the martyrdom of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

“We have to save the country and accomplish the mission of the Bhuttos,” he told the audience.

Nisar Khuhro and other leaders also spoke.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2018