PPP welcomes SC move to ensure timely polls

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has welcomed the decision taken by the Supreme Court the previous day to ensure the general elections are held in the country on February 8 and has announced that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will start his party’s election campaign on December 27 with a grand gathering on the day of martyrdom anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.

This was announced by senior leaders of PPP including Senator Sherry Rehman, Shazia Atta Marri, Sharjeel Inam Memon, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Mukesh Kumar Chawla and Surender Valasai, while speaking at a press conference here at the media cell of the Bilawal House on Saturday.

They informed the media persons that an important hybrid meeting of the PPP leaders was held earlier in the day at the Bilawal House Karachi, which was presided over by the party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Sherry Rehman reiterated PPP’s long-held demand for a level playing field for the party and the conduct of elections on the designated date without any delay.

Senator Sherry Rehman told media persons that the current political situation of the country was discussed in the meeting, adding the meeting eulogised the PPP chairman for creating pressure through his recent successful public contact campaign to hold general elections in the country on time. “Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit all the four provinces during his upcoming election campaign and mobilise the people,” she added.

Shazia Atta Marri, PPP-P Information Secretary, said the PPP is still the only party in the country that has held a high-level meeting of its organization to review the situation after the release of election schedule and to formulate its future action plan, which is a manifestation of its seriousness regarding the election. “PPP is a democratic party that believes in elections and is also the only party in the country that is in the election mode,” she added.

Marri said that this strategy sent a message from Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to the people of the country that they should choose the PPP in the elections to be held on February 8 to get the country out of crisis. “This is the opportunity to spread the development works that have been undertaken in Sindh, to the entire country. People should use their vote correctly,” she added.

Sharjeel Inam Memon said that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the only leader who had been constantly raising his voice to hold elections on time in the country. “Some parties were approaching the courts to postpone the election, while the behaviour of some parties was clear that they were running away from the election,” he said, adding that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was talking about uniting the whole country and every class instead of practising politics of hatred and division.

“PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has made it clear: PPP will run its campaign on positivity, not negativity. We will have to bury the old ways of politics i.e. demeaning one another and taking revenge,” the party’s senior leader, Sharjeel Memon, said.

The politicians informed the media that the PPP had already started the public communication campaign and after the announcement of the election schedule, the party chief reviewed the country’s political situation.

“Some political leaders are still demanding revenge, while the ones who wanted to take action against their rivals are sitting in jail themselves,” Memon said.

Memon added that the PPP chief has made it clear that the country’s problem isn’t taking revenge from one’s opponents, but redressal of the issues — skyrocketing inflation and unemployment.

“PPP is talking about bringing people together, while other political parties are spreading negativity. The need of the hour is for Pakistanis to unite; this will lead to the country’s development,” he said.

The ex-minister said that Bilawal will lead PPP’s election campaign by holding rallies all over the country. Taking a jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Memon said that “some parties” submitted petitions in courts to find an escape from the elections.

The hybrid meeting was attended by PPP Women Wing’s Central President Faryal Talpur, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Sherry Rehman, Shazia Marri, Faisal Karim Kundi, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, Murad Ali Shah, Khursheed Ahmad Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha, Manzoor Wasan, Hasan Murtaza, Rozi Khan Kakar, Nasir Hussain Shah, Saghir Qureshi, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Sharjeel Inam Memon and Mukesh Chawla.

In the meeting, the general election schedule and campaign strategy, election manifesto and public contact campaign of the PPP were discussed.