PPP’s good days round the corner: Bilawal

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Wednesday that the PPP was not competing against any political party as it had to compete against poverty, inflation, and unemployment in the country.

Speaking at the inauguration of Kakri Ground Sports Complex in Lyari here on Wednesday, the PPP chairman said the no-confidence motion was moved in the National Assembly to send packing the previous incompetent ruler who committed a robbery on the people’s mandate in the last elections. 

He asked the followers of his party to be fully prepared as the PPP’s good days were about to begin. Bilawal recalled that his parents Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari were married at the Kakri Ground in Lyari as a special relationship exists between his family and the people of Lyari. He said the movement for the progress of Pakistan had been launched from the streets of Lyari. 

He said the people of Lyari had stood against the dictatorial regimes of generals Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf and also made efforts against the previous incompetent ruler. He said the PPP had secured a landslide victory in the local government elections in Lyari. He said the PPP had always won whenever the polls were held without the interference of the umpire.

The PPP chairman said that his party fully believed in the democratic dispensation in the country. He said the PPP had been providing the opportunity for youth to excel. He said the residents of Lyari and that the rest of Karachi would be given the sporting and healthcare facilities. He mentioned that certain politicians had misled the youth and provoked them whereas the PPP had never believed in politics based on hatred and division. The PPP chairman was of the view that youth in the country was capable of delivering if given the opportunity. Bilawal said he was pleased to inaugurate the new sports complex built at the Kakri Ground on the birth anniversary of Benazir Bhutto. He told the audience that the people of Lyari were massively talented. He urged the people of Lyari to take part in the nation-building progress. He said that if the youth of Lyari were given facilities they are even capable of organising the World Cup. He asked the area people to take care of the Kakri Ground Sports Complex.

Earlier, addressing the Convocation of Suffa University Bilawal said that the country’s young generation is demanding equal participation in the decision-making process in the country. The PPP chairman said that Pakistan’s young generation, whose outlook had been shaped by global trends and influenced by the revolution brought by global information breakthroughs, is demanding a government that speaks directly and honestly to its citizens. He said that this is a generation that demands merit, efficiency, and transparency, adding that Pakistan’s new generation is ready to compete with the rest of the world. Bilawal said that there were so many challenges being faced by the nation including unchecked inflation, deepening economic crises, rising income inequality, polarisation and divisiveness in society. He said, “we can be intimidated by these challenges or we can be inspired to overcome them. The youth of Pakistan has never been intimidated by challenges and we will overcome them, as failure is not an option.”

The foreign minister alerted the country’s youths while saying that: “The most dangerous is the attempt to sow the seeds of hatred amongst us. Toxic polarisation, incitement to violence, demagoguery designed to distract us from the real work that needs to be done together and done by you being the front liners in leadership roles, in charge of your destiny and the destiny of this country.” He went on to say that PPP had always rejected the politics of hate, and has always preferred the politics of reconciliation and the welfare of the people. “I don’t want our politics to revolve around fighting with each other and parties or institutions fighting against each other,” he added. He said that the politics in the country should be about fighting poverty, inflation, unemployment, and despondency, as the nation needs to compete with the world, adding that the world today is a world of artificial intelligence, digital technology, and cutting-edge research. “We need to create a modern, inclusive, and democratic Pakistan. That is a responsibility that all of us have,” he urged.

Addressing the youth, he said, “You are the hope. You are not only the future but you are also the present,” adding that there are people who wish to mislead you, who want to sell anger, hopelessness, and violence. “Reject them as they wish you and this country ill, he warned. The PPP chairman said, “Civility has to prevail over brutality. Reason and knowledge must prevail over ignorance. Brotherhood has to prevail over division.” He said that PPP has never lost hope and faith. Faith in the Almighty, faith in Pakistan, faith in democracy, and faith in the power of young people.”