LAHORE: PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari continued to target erstwhile ally PML-N on Monday, saying the regime of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had not been less than dictatorship for the PPP workers.

Talking to the media after visiting party worker Zubaidah Shaheen in Baghbanpura, the PPP chief eulogised the services of ‘jiyalas’ for democracy, saying they resisted all past dictatorships, including that of Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Musharraf.

Nawaz Sharif had served thrice as prime minister and the PPP chairman did not explain which tenure he was referring to. Mr Bhutto-Zardari said the party could give a good performance in Punjab this time provided it was provided a level playing field in the province.

The popularity graph of the PPP in terms of national and Punjab assembly seats in the province has been on the decline since 2002. The PPP chairperson said that he liked Lahore as it was the city where the PPP was founded as he pledged to make efforts to make the provincial capital a citadel of the PPP, again.

Claims PPP can perform well in Punjab if a level playing field is provided

He said that the PPP was not competing with any political party, rather it was making efforts to counter inflation, poverty and unemployment that have put the people in trouble. He regretted that presently a politics of hatred and division was going on in the country.

Recalling the Benazir Income Support Programme, he said that if voted to power, the PPP would launch similar programmes to give relief to the youth and workers. Responding to a question about talks with opponent parties, he said that the PPP was a political party and doors of political parties were always open for discussion and dialogues. Aslam Gill, Azizur Rahman Chan, Sonia Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bader, and other PPP leaders were also present.

Parliamentary board meeting

Meanwhile, a hybrid meeting of the Punjab PPP parliamentary board was held at the Bilawal House under the chairmanship of Mr Bhutto-Zardari. A list of suitable candidates for all National and Punjab Assembly seats from the province was presented in the meeting and the members discussed the aspirants who wanted to contest the general elections with ‘arrow’ as their election symbol.

An official said that the criteria set for considering the suitability of a candidate were their links with the masses, their past performance and affiliation with the progressive, democratic ideology of the party.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2023