Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing a mammoth public gathering of the Party in Multan expressed his gratitude to the Jiyalas of Multan for coming out in huge numbers and proving that the city supports the PPP.
Chairman Bilawal said that the Jiyalas of Multan have supported the party through adversities. From February 8, there will be a new beginning and the tough times will come to an end. Pakistan is currently facing unprecedented challenges, and inflation, poverty and unemployment are on the rise. Simultaneously, terrorists are again conspiring against the country and trying to render the sacrifices of our policemen and soldiers redundant. There is also a societal crisis in our nation. Traditional politicians have changed politics to a means of exacting revenge and settling personal scores. This has divided entire societies, institutions and families. The PPP resolves to bury the politics of hatred and division. The Party will unify the country and combat the challenges faced by the people, including the economic quagmire and the security situation. The PPP will form a modern, powerful and progressive Pakistan.
Chairman Bilawal said that he is the sole politician who has been touring the country for many months, ranging from KP to Balochistan. The PPP is the only party that is looking towards the people and believes that they are the source of power. With the votes of the people, the people will form a government that serves them. The rest of the political parties do not care for the problems faced by the country, but coming to power for the fourth time. They are burning the country, harming the economy but are pleased just because they get to sit on the seat of the PM for the fourth time. Chairman Bilawal said that he is not contesting the election by resorting to violence or hate.
Chairman PPP said that he has prepared a 10-point economic charter to combat the plethora of crises faced by the nation. The PPP will take from the elite and give to the downtrodden, as per the ideology of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The PPP aims to devolve the 17 ministries operating in the federation that was to be done after the 18th Amendment. 300 billion rupees of the people are wasted on these ministries. They will be devolved, their budgets will be cut and allocated to projects for the welfare of the people. Chairman Bilawal said that 1500 billion rupees are given to the elite annually, and the PPP aims to spend the amount directly on the farmers, labourers and students.
The PPP resolves to not only increase wages, but double them within five years. The Party also resolves to provide 300 units of electricity free-of-cost to the deserving citizens of the country through solar power. The PPP aims to construct three million houses for the people all over the country, and give ownership to the women of the households. The Jiyalas should convey to the people that the PPP government is resolving to regularise temporary houses while giving ownership to the women. Addressing the women of Waseb, Chairman Bilawal said that he wishes to serve the women of the nation as a son. The PPP plans to not only expand the revolutionary Benazir Income Support Programme but also provide interest-free loans to the women of the country so that they can gain financial independence and contribute to the economy of the country. Addressing the farmers and labourers of South Punjab, Chairman Bilawal said that he is aiming to provide the ‘Benazir Kissan Card’ and the ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’, to provide crop insurance and financial assistance to all small farmers, and social security to labourers after February 8. For the youth, the PPP aspires to initiate the ‘Youth Card’ so that unemployment can be dealt with and the youngsters are equipped with all the necessary skills they need, along with financial assistance.
Chairman Bilawal said that these are not mere claims, but the promises PPP aims to fulfil, as done by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the past. Chairman PPP said that he is contesting the elections from Lahore, and conveying the message of the people to Raiwand. An impression is given regarding Lahore that it is a utopian city. However, there too, the people are troubled by poverty and unemployment, and their roads too are damaged. The PPP wishes to represent the entire country and solve its problems without any discrimination.
Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP will continue the struggle it had initiated for the Waseb. We are just on the brink of elections, but the PML-N has not announced its manifesto till date because they themselves do not know what they will do after coming to power. The PML-N is a ‘copy-paste’ party. Whatever the PPP announces, the PML-N follows suit. The entire PML-N first criticises PPP’s promise of 300 units of electricity, but imitates the same in its next rally. Chairman Bilawal had said in Sindh that he wishes to be no one’s laadla but of the people, and his sister from the PML-N then said that Nawaz Sharif is the ‘laadla’ of people in their rally. Instead of opting for imitators, the people should opt for the arrow, Chairman PPP said. They steal everything and from everywhere. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto made the country an economic power and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto brought missile technology, but the PML-N, just because they pressed a button at the end, portray themselves as the pioneers of the programme. They say that CPEC is their project, when they would criticise President Zardari for going on official visits to China. Nawaz Sharif is not the founder of CPEC, but the ‘chor’ of CPEC. The route of the CPEC was laid out to reach Balochistan through the poor regions, but they manoeuvred it to include Lahore and wasted money on the Orange Train instead. They also wish to steal ownership of the Benazir Income Support Programme. This was implemented by President Zardari, and he was criticised incessantly by them, but when it has reached international acclaim, they wish to steal it too. They also say that the Thar Coal Project that was initiated by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, implemented by President Zardari and Chairman Bilawal himself. The only hindrance in the project was Nawaz Sharif, but his party now paints him as the founder. They cannot fool the people, as the entire country knows their reality now. Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP can no longer work with them, and those in Raiwand think that the match is set.
Chairman PPP said that if the people do not waste their vote by opting for independent candidates, and decide that they will stop the lion in its path, then the country will prosper. The country should stamp the symbol of the arrow to hunt the lion and establish a government of the people. Chairman PPP said that when given the opportunity, the CM Punjab will be from South Punjab while he himself serves the people as their PM.
In the Senate elections, the PPP had resolved to make Yousaf Raza Gillani a senator. This was received with speculation but the PPP achieved its aim. The PPP also made the no-confidence successful. On February 8, the people have to make the PPP triumphant so that it can serve them.