MUZAFFARGARH/MULTAN, Sep 13 (APP): Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said that Pakistan was faced with severe economic crises and no single political party could find their solution alone.
Addressing party workers and a news conference after condoling with PPP leader Mahar Irshad Sial over his brother’s death, he, however, ruled out negotiations with a party which was involved in the May 9 attacks on institutions as it had tried to create hatred among the public against the institutions.
“The PPP will defeat such elements in the upcoming elections with the people’s votes,” he resolved and added that all political forces should be given a level playing field in the elections.
He said the solution of the crises “lies in the manifesto of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto that the national economy can only stand on its own when the people are financially strengthened. This is the basic difference between the PPP’s philosophy and that of the other parties which prioritize the elite over the common people.”
Bilawal said the people of Muzaffargarh had always stood with the PPP during adverse times. Despite pressures, three of the party candidates won National Assembly seats in 2018 election from the region, and in the next polls the party would secure five seats, he hoped.
He said the PPP’s relation with Muzaffargarh dated back to three generations. “We have combated anti-democratic entities together in every era, be it that of General Zia, General Musharraf or the recent selected rule.”
He viewed that making the farmer and labourer rich could help the country prosper. “Tax amnesties or subsidies are perks that are given to the rich. But the PPP has continuously strived to strengthen the common people, an example of which is the Benazir Income Support Programme through which the poor women are benefitted.”
The party desired that the benefits of subsidies should reach farmers directly, without the industrialist or the middle man, he added. “Mill owners and industrialists have the access they need, it is the farmers and labourers that require a voice. The PPP is that voice.”
Bilawal said if voted to power, the PPP would extend the support t to self-employed labourers and those in the private sector also.
Responding to questions, he said the PPP in its manifesto would include many programmes such as the BISP. The party would devise its strategy regarding the elections in its CEC meeting.“
He said the previous government was run by an alliance of the PDM and the PPP and they were answerable for their own ministerial performances. It was their wish that another the Charter of Democracy was signed by the parties, however, it was difficult for them to engage those who were directly involved in anti-nation acts such as the perpetrators of May 9, he added.
Earlier, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari distributed certificates to the winners of a declamation contest on the topic “Pakistan’s International Obligations” at the NFC Institute of Engineering and Technology Multan. He also inaugurated two blocks at the Institute named after Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
