PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari, the man at the centre of engagement and wedding rumours, himself refuted the reports on Monday.

“Social media has gotten my baat pakki, engagement and wedding done. I clarify that nothing as such has taken place; neither do I know any Princess Gloria,” the Bhutto scion said in a video statement.

He added, “If any such decision about my life is made, the announcement will come from my family. Till then, focus on the real issues and ignore the social media fuss.”

Bilawal contended that the social media ruckus was made to “distract the public’s attention from the real issues”.

He then turned his attention towards the tragic fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad that claimed the lives of 14 infants.

“A minister, who wants to become the Gorbachev of Pakistan and divide our country into 30 pieces, cannot manage one hospital himself,” he claimed, apparently comparing Health Minister Mustafa Kamal to the last leader of the Soviet Union until it dissolved in 1991.

Kamal belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), which has been demanding that Karachi be designated a province separate from Sindh. The PPP, which rules the province, opposes this strongly.

“At a time when a Lahore minister is telling the businessmen of Lahore, ‘Make provinces and govern them’, at a time when the Sindh Assembly has taken a courageous stance and asserted that such discussions cannot take place on the streets or at business forums,” Bilawal said.

The PPP chief said that any such discussions and decisions must be taken in the Sindh Assembly, noting it was the first province to join Pakistan.

Bilawal’s clarification video comes after reports circulated that the PPP chairman — the son of President Asif Ali Zardari and ex-premier Benazir Bhutto — was preparing to marry into a European family.

The reports claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari had travelled to Liechtenstein — a small sovereign state between Switzerland and Austria — to discuss and set a date for his son’s wedding.

There were also claims that Bilawal’s prospective bride was a former Austrian princess.

On August 27, the Presidency posted on X that Zardari “has proceeded abroad on a private visit”, but did not share any further details.