Bilawal Bhutto says only an arrow can be used to hunt a lion
Liaquat Ali
Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said this week that when someone is out to hunt a tiger, a bat is rendered redundant, and only the arrow works.
“This is the season of hunting, and the people have to prove that ‘Aaj Bhi Bhutto Zinda Hai’ (even today, Bhutto is alive), by stamping the symbol of the arrow [in the general elections] on Feb 8,” the scion of the Bhutto dynasty said while addressing a public meeting at Bahawalpur Hockey Stadium.
Bilawal said: “Only the PPP is running the electoral campaign nationwide. It is contesting the elections not because of any personal interest, but to serve the people. Pakistan is going through a tumultuous time and is facing a historic economic crisis, with unprecedented increases in inflation, unemployment, and poverty.”
Bilawal said, “When Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto laid the foundation of the party, the country was going through a financial crisis then too. The Quaid-e-Awam gave us a manifesto that helped strengthen the downtrodden masses of the country, including the poor farmers and labourers.”
He said, “Once again, we require a pro-people, pro-labourer, pro-farmer and pro-poor government. The rest of the political parties represent the elite while the PPP represents the common people. If the people stamp the symbol of the arrow, then the government forming resultantly will be theirs.”
The PPP following the footsteps of Shaheed Quaid-e-Awam, Bilawal said, was contesting the elections based on a 10-point economic contract.
Bilawal said that his first aim would be to not only increase the wages, but double them within five years.
He urged the workers of Bahawalpur to apprise the people of the PPP’s aims, which included providing free and quality education to the people, establishing an IT university in the city and nationwide.
“It is the PPP’s promise to Bahawalpur that it will establish free-of-cost healthcare institutions such as the NICVD.
“We will begin with South Punjab, and every district of the region will get a free hospital, followed by the rest of Punjab. When Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was in office, he gave ownership to the people, and launched a ‘five-marla scheme’, and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto introduced a ‘seven-marla scheme’.”
He urged the people to support the PPP so that it could fulfil its aims of building three million homes for the people nationwide, as it was already doing in Sindh, while giving ownership to the women of the households.
He said, “The PPP also aims to give interest-free loan to the poor women of the country so they can make their contribution to society while attaining independence. “Bilawal Bhutto’s government will introduce the ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’ and the ‘Benazir Kissan Card’ to provide the labourers and farmers of the country with financial assistance directly.”
Bilawal also vowed to provide subsidies directly to the growers and farmers so that their crops were insured and they did not have to bear the burden of any unforeseen catastrophe.
Addressing the youth, Bilawal said that he planned to introduce the ‘Youth Card’ to provide the youngsters with financial assistance as well as equip them with the necessary skills to see to it that they flourish professionally.
“The PPP will also establish ‘Youth Centres’ in every district. The PPP also aims to initiate the ‘Bhook Mitao Programme’ to combat hunger on the level of union councils, and provide free lunch at schools, as well as look after the new mothers and infants for the first thousand days so that no one goes to sleep on an empty stomach in the country.”
The PPP chairman said that he was contesting the elections on these 10 points, and the PPP would be victorious and a government of the people would be formed. “The PPP is not competing with any other party, it is the party of martyrs. The PPP’s only competition is inflation, poverty, and unemployment. “When given the opportunity, the PPP will show how a government can cater to the poor, farmers, and labourers needs.”
Bilawal claimed that the PPP would not only form the federal government, but also the provincial governments. “A Jiyala will be the CM of Punjab.
“We have all the answers to the problems that the country is faced with. None of the other parties are interested in the crises faced by their people, they only care for power and have resorted to settling scores against each other out of personal vendettas.”
Bilawal said, “One political party is contesting the elections to avoid prison, while the other is doing so for its leader to be released from jail. The PPP is the only party that is contesting solely for the people.”
