ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari believes that no party alone would be able to form the next government after the general elections in 2024, terming his son, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, “inexperienced”.
Bilawal has been campaigning across the country and touting his party as the solution to Pakistan’s ills, while also asking “old politicians” to sit back and allow the new generation to lead from the front in the elections slated to take place on February 8 next year. Major political parties have started their campaign — either through political campaigns or by bringing in politicos to their ranks — and the PPP seems to be at the forefront right now as it is holding rallies in several cities with Bilawal leading them — and asking people to choose him.
But Zardari, during an exclusive interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, said no party would be able to secure a majority of 172 seats in the National Assembly, and alliances would be forged undoubtedly. “What’s a chessboard? On this chessboard [the National Assembly], no one can secure 172 seats alone.”
With Bilawal launching scathing attacks on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the PPP’s former allies in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government in the Centre, the Nawaz Sharif-led party has decided not to hit back at the PPP. Zardari said he supports the PML-N’s stance to ensure a conducive environment as it is better that everyone respects each other so things can move forward smoothly — as there is a possibility that alliances would be formed in the future.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in his election rallies, has asked old politicians (or babay) to sit home, claiming the way they conduct business had harmed the nation. But Zardari told Mir that Bilawal is “inexperienced” and that it would take some time for him to gain that experience. “Bilawal is much more talented than I am, but he isn’t experienced.”
Bilawal is calling everyone “babay” (old politicians), not just me. The PPP stalwart said the new generation in every house says, “Dad, you don’t know anything”. The former president said the new generation has its own mindset and the right to express itself, noting that if he tries to intervene in their affairs, it would just lead to more mess. “If Bilawal says, ‘You do politics, I won’t’, then what can I do? People learn over time in politics. I have made several mistakes myself.”
Zardari also mentioned that if they were in business, then Bilawal’s narrative would have been the same, “You [Zardari] don’t know anything. It’s the same in politics,” he mentioned. Bilawal, during his rallies, has also mentioned that old politicians took revenge on their rivals when they came into power, specifically targeting the PML-N.
Zardari said during his tenures, there was no political prisoner as he had never resorted to revenge politics. “Every now and then, new allegations were levelled against me, but I never responded to them.” “We saved the ‘sword’ from rotten eggs, but they tried to steal the ‘sword’,” he said, talking about the party’s sword logo. Speaking about the different mindsets of the top PPP leaders, Zardari stated that there are two parties — PPP and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP). — Geo News
