KARACHI: Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, the sister of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman and youngest daughter of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, led on Friday her party’s election campaign in Karachi and addressed a women-only rally in Chanesar Goth, which is a provincial assembly constituency of PPP city chapter president and former provincial minister Saeed Ghani.

Charged party workers, carrying PPP flags, welcomed their leader while chanting slogans and dancing to the tunes of party songs.

She referred to a number of projects under the PPP government in different times which were aimed at ‘empowering women’ of Karachi and other parts of the country in line with the vision of late Benazir Bhutto.

“Recently we have started the women-only Pink Bus Service in cities which is in line with the same vision which was envisioned by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed,” she said. “This is nothing new as in the past the PPP came up with several projects for women which manifested their social and economic rights. First Women Bank Limited and women police stations under the BB rule are just a few examples.”

She asked the people of Karachi to ‘vote for Bilawal’ so he could become prime minister and serve the country like his mother, father and grandfather.

She also referred to the party candidates from the constituency and reminded the women participants of the rally to campaign for them and make sure their success in the February 8 polls.

Addressing the rally, Mr Ghani thanked Ms Bhutto-Zardari for campaigning for him in his constituency and vowed that the party would emerge as the single largest party in the upcoming polls from Karachi.

“The people of Karachi proved their trust and pinned their hope on PPP in local bodies’ elections last year knowing that it’s the only party which doesn’t sell hatred and divide people on the lines of religion or ethnicity,” he said.

That trust, he claimed, would re-emerge in the Feb 8 elections when the PPP would win most National Assembly and Sindh Assembly seats from Karachi without going into alliance with anyone.

“Our only alliance is with the people of Karachi,” he said to the roar of the crowd.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2024

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