Battle to dislodge govt to begin on Jan 5 from Lahore: Bilawal

LARKANA: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said time to send what he called a puppet regime packing had come and his party will launch a decisive battle against it from Lahore on January 5 next year.

He said this while addressing a public gathering organised to mark the 14th death anniversary of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on Monday. “Pakistanis are bearing the burden of a puppet and selected government,” he said and added the country is facing economic difficulties and the poor had been abandoned. The PPP chairman said people of the country were struggling to make ends meet and poverty and unemployment had reached historic high during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. “People’s hardships and economic woes of the country will never end as long as the country is being ruled by puppet rulers,” he remarked. “We need to fulfil the dream of Benzair Bhutto and revive this party across the country to restore the rule of real democratic forces,” Bilawal told party workers.

The PPP chief criticised the government for "selling out the blood of our martyrs" by "striking deals with terrorists". Bilawal was of the view that his party fought terrorism while the incumbent government was negotiating with terrorists over the blood of Army Public School (APS) martyrs, says media reports. He charged that Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi of surrendering to terrorists. "The incumbent government is selling out the blood of our martyrs ... the prime minister and the president have bowed down to them (terrorists), they are begging for a deal. But the terrorists have turned them away," he said. "But the jiyalas of the PPP and BB are still standing firm to fight those terrorists." "We, our soldiers and our people, defeated the same terrorists whom the entire world couldn't defeat in Afghanistan," Bilawal said, without naming any terrorist organisation.

Highlighting the issues facing the country, Bilawal said there was no freedom of speech, freedom to live in today's Pakistan. “We had said that democracy is the best revenge and hence we restored the system despite all the ill-practices,” he said, adding that democracy was snatched from the people of Pakistan. Bilawal said democracy in Pakistan only existed on papers.

Highlighting the economic potential of Pakistan, he said the PPP took over the country’s economy at a time when there was an economic crisis around the world. “18th Amendment can bring mega energy projects in Thar desert,” he said, adding that there were metro buses in Punjab because of the 18th Amendment. “After the PPP left the federal government, implementation of the 18th Amendment was stopped,” he stated. “We made the provinces financially autonomous through NFC [National Finance Commission] award,” he maintained.

The PPP chairman dispelled media speculations that the PPP was entering into any deal with the establishment to come into power. “PPP does not believe in politics of deals. The PPP, he said, didn't believe in deals, and added that Benazir was being wrongly accused of entering a deal on the eve of her assassination. Apparently making a reference to reports of a power-sharing deal between Benazir and then-president Pervez Musharraf, Bilawal said that the PPP did not practice "non-democratic politics". We only rely on people’s support. We can never resort to non-democratic politics,” he insisted. "We do not need a deal. Our deal is with the people of Pakistan."

Urging the party leaders to take steps to revive the party in different parts of the country, Bilawal said he will soon visit Punjab to launch an anti-government movement. In his brief address, Former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said, “Being poor is not written in the fate of the people of Pakistan”.

Without naming anyone, he said due to some “stupid individuals, a rich country like Pakistan” was reeling under economic crisis. He said PPP will soon come into power and under the leadership of Bilawal resolve the issues of the masses. He said democracy in Pakistan only existed on papers.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Rehman Malik, Farhatullah Babar, President PPP Punjab Qamar Zaman Kaira, Former Chairman Senate Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, President PPP Sindh Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, senators, MNAs, provincial ministers also visited graves of Benazir Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and others.

Senators, MNAs, MPAs belongs to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Members of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and Federal Council (FC) of PPPP also visited the graves of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and offered fateha and placed floral wreaths.

They also visited the grave of Late Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Mir Shahnawaz Bhutto. Additional Inspector General Police Sindh had set up a camp in Naudero to monitor the security arrangements.

Vehicles and motorcycles and mobiles of Rangers and 200 of police mobiles patrolled the area. Senior police officers looked after the security. The police had set up pickets along the roads leading to Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to guide the caravans and clear the roads.

Strict security arrangements were made and about 7500 personnel of Sindh police — including lady police force, SSU and 300 personnel of Rangers — were deployed at the mausoleum and the roads leading to it.

In his brief address, Former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said, “Being poor is not written in the fate of the people of Pakistan”. Without naming anyone, he said due to some “stupid individuals, a rich country like Pakistan” was reeling under economic crisis.

He said PPP will soon come into power and under the leadership of Bilawal resolve the issues of the masses. He said democracy in Pakistan only existed on papers. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Rehman Malik, Farhatullah Babar, President PPP Punjab Qamar Zaman Kaira, Former Chairman Senate Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, President PPP Sindh Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, senators, MNAs, provincial ministers also visited graves of Benazir Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and others.

Senators, MNAs, MPAs belongs to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Members of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and Federal Council (FC) of PPPP also visited the graves of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and offered fateha and placed floral wreaths. They also visited the grave of Late Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Mir Shahnawaz Bhutto.

Additional Inspector General Police Sindh had set up a camp in Naudero to monitor the security arrangements. Vehicles and motorcycles and mobiles of Rangers and 200 of police mobiles patrolled the area.

Senior police officers looked after the security. The police had set up pickets along the roads leading to Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to guide the caravans and clear the roads. Strict security arrangements were made and about 7500 personnel of Sindh police — including lady police force, SSU and 300 personnel of Rangers — were deployed at the mausoleum and the roads leading to it.