Bilawal vows to double wages, fight inflation, empower youth

F.P. Report

ABBOTTABAD: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing a workers’ convention in Abbottabad said that he is grateful to the Jiyalas of the Party for giving him such a grand and historic welcome on his tour of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He especially thanked the women who were present.

Chairman Bilawal said that the relations between the people and the Pakistan Peoples Party goes back three generations. President Zardari’s accomplishments during the 2008-2013 are before everyone. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa used to be called the ‘NWFP’, it was during the PPP’s tenure and due to the efforts of President Zardari that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was given an identity. We gave the people of KP their rights through the NFC Award. We began the revolutionary Benazir Income Support Programme to support the poor women of the country, empower them and help them combat poverty.

We are proud of these accomplishments of the PPP but our political journey and struggle is still going on. We have to complete the incomplete mission of Quaid-e-Awam, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. When we put collective effort and hard work in the upcoming elections to form a government of the people, we will be able to implement the manifesto of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and ideology of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. We believe that the solution to all the problems of the people is within the manifesto of the PPP.

He said that we will surely empower the farmers, workers and the common people only if we follow the footsteps and ideology of the Quaid-e-Awam. Inflation is at a historic level, and our leaders and bureaucrats do not comprehend the extent to which our people are suffering, be it in the shape of poverty, price-hike or unemployment. The rest of the political parties are still busy engaging in yesteryear’s political activities. If we wish to put an end to our problems, we need a new mindset and leadership that does not engage in the politics of hate and division, rather focuses on serving the people.

Chairman Bilawal said that he has proved that the youth can prove itself when given the opportunity. He said that it is not difficult to serve the people as long as one has an ideology and their intentions are clear. I will never disappoint the people, will serve them day and night, Chairman Bilawal vowed. He said that 70 percent of the country’s population consists of the youth and this is our time to decide whether we are willing to hand the future of the country over to those who are still stuck in the past or the PPP, which always thinks of the future and has served people whenever given the opportunity. It is the PPP that has given the most employment opportunity to the people. It is the PPP that represents the common man and not the elite class. We intend to establish the ‘rule of the people’.

It is the PPP that has combatted poverty in every era, be it that of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto or President Zardari. Even today, the PPP has no political opponent. Our rival is not the PML-N or the PTI, but poverty, unemployment and inflation which have burdened our people.

The day that we have a government that focuses solely on giving employment to the youth, tackling poverty and inflation is not far. This will be the first agenda of every cabinet meeting. The PPP has a plan to give relief to the people. The BISP is a living example of our efforts and priorities but we would have to further expand it to maximise the benefits that are provided to the people. We will bring similar projects that benefit every stratum of the society.

The PPP will bring a ‘Kissan Card’ for the farmers so that they are able to reap the benefits of their hard work and efforts directly. Another desire we have is to bring a ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’ and provide the benefits of social security of our workers and look after their wellbeing and that of their families through this, covering both health and education as well as their rights. We have to make a five-year plan which allows for us to double the wages. If the government shifts all its focus on this, then the people will prosper. We want businesses to flourish, but the perks to be shared with everyone. The PPP has increased the minimum wage in every era.

It is our desire to see this country, Pakistan become a modern state where its people prosper. In order for this to happen, we would need to let go of the politics of the past, adopt a new attitude and pave the way for the young generation. If the personal vendettas continue, then the problems of the people will not be solved. We need to establish a new political system which allows for us to serve the people. Only the PPP can do this, and we will prove it too. We will not only form the government, but take everyone along so that the country begins its journey towards progress.

Chairman Bilawal said that he is only looking at the people. If one has to be a ‘laadla’, they should be a ‘laadla’ of the people. He will only derive his political strength from the people as it is in the belief system of the PPP that the people are the source of power and it is their prerogative alone to elect their representatives. No one else has this right. Our quarrel with Imran Khan was over the same issue. The decision should be of the people alone. We do not accept a puppet government or a selected rule. We had only wished for them to stop bothering our people, calling and pestering them, instead, leave the decision to the people.

Our demand is the same today. The right to choose has been given to the people by the Quaid-e-Awam. If we are given the opportunity to serve, we will fulfil our duty as we have done before. However, it is only up to the people to decide. With that being said, we believe in our politics and manifesto. My advice to our political counterparts would be the same, Chairman Bilawal said. We will not accept the politics that destroyed Pakistan in 2018. The biggest adversary of the people is the same old manner of doing politics that excludes the people makes their decisions for them behind closed doors.

Chairman Bilawal said that the Party reposes full trust in the people which is why the PPP has handed its destiny over to them. He said that the series of conventions would continue this week and Mardan will be the next destination, followed by Peshawar, Naushera, Dir and Chitral. The PPP will form the next government, and if the PM is a Jiyala, then the CM of KP will be a Jiyala too. No government will be formed in any province without the PPP’s vote and our only demand would be that the CM is a Jiyala, Chairman Bilawal said. The PPP was pushed to the wall in KP, we were not allowed to campaign, were the targets of terrorism and the streets were coloured with our blood. This time, the PPP will win and the arrow will triumph.

The PPP is always ready for elections. We have not shied away from contesting the elections and fully trust the people. Our request for other political parties would be the same, that they too trust the people alone and not play the same game that is being played with the country and its democracy for seven decades. We would have to give the young generation a conducive political environment that allows for us to help the people emerge from this quagmire. The onus to take our manifesto to every doorstep is on our Jiyalas, and we will be victorious, Chairman Bilawal said.