Zardari convinces Bilawal to return to Pakistan: sources

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File photo from December 27, 2012 shows Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (L), son of assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, sitting next to his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, during the fifth anniversary of his mother’s death, at the Bhutto family mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, near Larkana.—Reuters/File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has finally agreed to return to Pakistan after a long meeting with his father President Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai, sources in the presidency told Dawn on Monday.

Last Tuesday, the PPP chairman had suddenly departed for Dubai amid reports that he had left the country after developing differences with his father and aunt, Faryal Talpur, over the issue of awarding party tickets for the coming elections.

However, party leaders refuted the reports, saying there were serious security concerns for Bilawal in Pakistan.

Although the PPP leadership has been denying the reports, it largely failed to satisfy the media and party opponents.

Four days after his son’s unexplained departure, President Zardari also left Karachi for the UAE on Saturday.

According to a top presidential source, President Zardari has assured Bilawal that all his reservations on certain party issues would be removed.

“Yes, the President held a meeting with his son who had gone a few days back to Dubai, and finally he (Bilawal) has agreed to return,” the source, requesting anonymity, told DawnNews.

Although no date has been given for the PPP chairman’s return, it is likely that he may travel back to Pakistan later this week.

President Zardari would be returning by Monday night to Karachi where he has scheduled a few important meetings, the source said.

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