F.P. Report
CHINIOT: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing a mammoth public rally in Chiniot said that he had come to the people of the region before the 2018 elections, then when the floods hit it, and now has come to visit the Jiyalas to campaign for the 2024 elections, and they have welcomed the Party with fervour and zeal each time.
Bilawal said that the country is facing unprecedented price-hike, unemployment and poverty. We are witnessing a historic economic crisis. A societal crisis has also been created in our society by traditional politicians. They are engaging in the politics of division and hate instead of serving the people. They are doing politics of personal vendetta which is harming our society and economy. The PPP is doing politics to bury the traditional style of the politics of hate and division for good. We have to learn to live with political differences.
The Jiyalas have tolerated the violence and injustice meted out by dictator General Zia ul Haq and in the first two tenures of Nawaz Sharif. The Jiyalas have dealt with dictator General Musharraf’s highhandedness and Imran Khan’s style of vendetta and victimisation. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sent to the gallows, but upon coming to power, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto taught us that ‘Democracy is the best revenge’. She prioritised serving the people and solving their problems over settling personal scores. When President Zardari came to power after the martyrdom of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, he raised the slogan of ‘Pakistan Khappay’. There was not one political prisoner during PPP’s five-year tenure. This is because the PPP believes in its narrative and manifesto.
Bilawal said if given the opportunity, he will focus solely on serving the people and there will be no political prisoners. We will not have any woman political prisoner, as arresting sisters and daughters is not our politics or culture. This politics of hate has caused divisions between families and institutions. If the politicians of Pakistan keep fighting each other, then it will benefit all those wishing to harm Pakistan. Chairman Bilawal said that he has served as the Foreign Minister of the country, and he knows the conspiracies being hatched against Pakistan internationally. We cannot let this happen.
Bilawal said that he has himself prepared a 10-point Awami economic agreement, which is symbolic of the promise he is making to the people, following the footsteps of Shaheed Quaid-e-Awam and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The Jiyalas of Chiniot should go door to door and apprise the people of the aims of the 10-point agenda. We are not instructing our workers to engage in the politics of hate, use foul language or violence against our political opponents. We are directing them to make the people aware of the PPP’s resolve to serve them.
The first aim of the PPP after coming to power is double the wages of the people within five years. Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP aims to provide 300 units of electricity free-of-cost to all the deserving people. Moreover, we wish to implement Quaid-e-Awam’s promise of providing shelter to the people, as we are already doing for the flood victims in Sindh by constructing two million houses for them and giving ownership to the women of the households. Chiniot often suffers through floods, but not once has any other political party constructed any houses for it. The PPP promises to build three million houses all over the country, including Chiniot and give ownership to the women of the households.
The PPP also wishes to give ownership rights to all those living in temporary housing, so that they too can live in the serenity of their own home. The PPP plans to not only expand the internationally-acclaimed Benazir Income Support Programme but also provide the women of the country with interest-free loans so that they can contribute to the economy. We wish to bring the ‘Benazir Kissan Card’ and ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’ to provide financial assistance to the farmers and social security to the labourers. The federal government gives 1500 million rupees’ worth of subsidies to the elite of the country, the largest share of which goes to the energy sector followed by the fertiliser sector. The PPP deems this a great injustice, as electricity, gas and fertilisers are all out of reach of the people.
The PPP also plans to introduce a system of crop insurance through the card given to the farmers. We are the only party that believes in ‘Kissan Khushaal, Mulk Khushaal’. For our labourer brothers and sisters from all backgrounds, the PPP will bring the ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’ and will get them their due rights by devolving the numerous ministries operated by the federal government. Most importantly, the PPP resolves to introduce the ‘Benazir Youth Card’ for the brothers and sisters who go from pillar to post in search of employment, despite having the necessary educational qualifications. Through this card, the PPP wishes to empower the youngsters of the country by providing financial assistance to all those deserving of it, and simultaneously equipping them with the necessary skills and experience required.
Through Youth Centers, the PPP aims to establish a place where the youth can access the internet, libraries and all other facilities needed to flourish. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was known for providing employment, and Chairman Bilawal too wishes to be remembered for the same, he expressed.
Bilawal said that the people should ask whether those wishing to come to power for the fourth time established free healthcare institutions. No other country can compete with the number of patients suffering from cardiac ailments that the NICVD treats, and that too free-of-cost. Not one government provided a free healthcare institution for Chiniot, which the PPP aims to do within six months of coming to power.
The ones wishing to compete with us wish to come to power the fourth time, but they should be asked what they did during three times. After coming to power, they only aim to engage in the traditional politics of hate and then repeat the ‘Mujhe Kyun Nikala?’ narrative. The PPP is contesting the elections to come to power, not to make excuses. Chairman Bilawal said that he needs only one opportunity to change the fate of the people. The people have to elect the PPP so that a rule of the people, farmers, labourers, youngsters and the downtrodden can be formed once again.
The elections are set to take place on February 8, and this is the time that the conspiracy being hatched for the fourth time is rendered redundant, Chairman Bilawal said. If the workers of the PTI deem that the tough days are over, they are not ready for the revenge they will be subjected to if Nawaz Sharif comes to power for the fourth time, since their politics is based on revenge and violence. This is what the Jiyalas need to convey to the pro-democracy political workers. The contest is between the ‘arrow’ and the lion, and the arrow will be triumphant through the power of the vote. The arrow is the symbol of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and all those contesting on it will be made victorious by the people of Pakistan. Allahyar Sipra, Sohail Zafar, Syed Hassan Murtaza, Syed Inayat Ali Shah and Syed Kaleem Ali Ameer will be representing the PPP from Chiniot.
