In the offing: Bilawal to tour south Punjab this month
Mehmood says govt trying to steal party’s mandate
Pakistan Peoples Party's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE:
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will start his long-awaited tour of south Punjab after the second week of March, PPP insiders have told The Express Tribune.
Bilawal will first address a jalsa in Rahim Yar Khan, the only Punjab district where the PPP secured a majority in the local government elections, and then proceed to Multan and Bahawalpur. “The south Punjab chapter of the PPP is extremely excited at the prospect of having the party chairman amid party workers. Following the success of party rallies, PPP central Punjab leaders might also invite the chairman to come and address party activists there,” a senior PPP leader told The Express Tribune.
PPP south Punjab president Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood confirmed that Bilawal will indeed address workers in Rahim Yar Khan in March. “He will stay in south Punjab and meet workers across various districts. After Rahim Yar Khan, he will proceed to Multan and then Bahawalpur.
“We will also arrange meetings between him and district leaders from south Punjab. The notion that the PPP is no longer popular in south Punjab is false. We secured a majority in the LG polls.
This is about having the chairman among party workers and mobilising them. Their enthusiasm to revive the party in its traditional stronghold will be renewed once they find Bilawal in their midst,” he said.
“Though the people gave a clear mandate to the PPP in Rahim Yar Khan, the provincial government has been employing various tactics to prevent it from ascending to power,” Mehmood said. He said the government had been trying to stall the transfer of power to local governments.
PPP Central Punjab president Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo said Bilawal will be invited to visit central Punjab following his south Punjab tour. “He will definitely come and meet party workers and officials in the region. The visit is on the cards but the final itinerary of his central Punjab tour is yet to be confirmed,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2016.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will start his long-awaited tour of south Punjab after the second week of March, PPP insiders have told The Express Tribune.
Bilawal will first address a jalsa in Rahim Yar Khan, the only Punjab district where the PPP secured a majority in the local government elections, and then proceed to Multan and Bahawalpur. “The south Punjab chapter of the PPP is extremely excited at the prospect of having the party chairman amid party workers. Following the success of party rallies, PPP central Punjab leaders might also invite the chairman to come and address party activists there,” a senior PPP leader told The Express Tribune.
PPP south Punjab president Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood confirmed that Bilawal will indeed address workers in Rahim Yar Khan in March. “He will stay in south Punjab and meet workers across various districts. After Rahim Yar Khan, he will proceed to Multan and then Bahawalpur.
“We will also arrange meetings between him and district leaders from south Punjab. The notion that the PPP is no longer popular in south Punjab is false. We secured a majority in the LG polls.
This is about having the chairman among party workers and mobilising them. Their enthusiasm to revive the party in its traditional stronghold will be renewed once they find Bilawal in their midst,” he said.
“Though the people gave a clear mandate to the PPP in Rahim Yar Khan, the provincial government has been employing various tactics to prevent it from ascending to power,” Mehmood said. He said the government had been trying to stall the transfer of power to local governments.
PPP Central Punjab president Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo said Bilawal will be invited to visit central Punjab following his south Punjab tour. “He will definitely come and meet party workers and officials in the region. The visit is on the cards but the final itinerary of his central Punjab tour is yet to be confirmed,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2016.