Weeklong visit: PPP chairman meets local leadership
Directs them to shun differences among ranks.
Directs them to shun differences among ranks.
ISLAMABAD:
It appears that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is interested in streamlining the party’s mismanaged and divided politics in the federal capital.
Zardari spent the last week in Islamabad and met the party’s local leadership, including a handful of councillors who managed to win seats in the recent local bodies polls despite the party’s dwindling popularity in the region.
“Why has the local leadership abandoned pro-poor politics,” the chairman asked while expressing reservations over the party’s inaction in defending the inhabitants of local slums.
Slum dwellers recently faced the government’s wrath in the federal capital. Hundreds were displaced in slum razing operations.
Apparently perturbed by the performance of the PPP Islamabad chapter during the local government elections, Zardari also asked local leaders to shun differences among their ranks.
“Pro-poor politics are the PPP’s hallmark. It seems ‘bread, clothing and housing’ has not been translated at grassroots level,” he was quoted as saying by a senior leader who attended the meetings.
Meanwhile, seven party workers who contested the local government elections independently due to the party’s sinking popularity rejoined the PPP, while, 11 counsellors who won on party tickets met the chairman.
PPP Islamabad President Faisal Sakhi Butt said, “The chairman was not happy with the overall performance of the Islamabad chapter. He has some reservations, which we tried to address.”
Butt repelled the impression that the party did not take any action in favour of slum residents and listed a number of steps he personally took when the government was uprooting slums.
Butt said Zardari had directed local leaders to to formulate a plan of action to bring the party back to prominence in the region.
Other party leaders also confirmed these developments.
One local leader confided that the chairman was especially disappointed by the party’s performance in LG constituencies within NA-49. During the local government elections, no party worker contested on a PPP ticket due to disputes between the leadership.
He was briefed that in NA-48 areas, workers contested for chairmanship in nine of the 22 union councils.
Butt said it had been decided during the meetings that Zardari would hold separate meetings with youth and labour representatives of the party in the coming days.
The chairman left Islamabad on Wednesday following a week of meetings with local and national level party leaders.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2016.
It appears that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is interested in streamlining the party’s mismanaged and divided politics in the federal capital.
Zardari spent the last week in Islamabad and met the party’s local leadership, including a handful of councillors who managed to win seats in the recent local bodies polls despite the party’s dwindling popularity in the region.
“Why has the local leadership abandoned pro-poor politics,” the chairman asked while expressing reservations over the party’s inaction in defending the inhabitants of local slums.
Slum dwellers recently faced the government’s wrath in the federal capital. Hundreds were displaced in slum razing operations.
Apparently perturbed by the performance of the PPP Islamabad chapter during the local government elections, Zardari also asked local leaders to shun differences among their ranks.
“Pro-poor politics are the PPP’s hallmark. It seems ‘bread, clothing and housing’ has not been translated at grassroots level,” he was quoted as saying by a senior leader who attended the meetings.
Meanwhile, seven party workers who contested the local government elections independently due to the party’s sinking popularity rejoined the PPP, while, 11 counsellors who won on party tickets met the chairman.
PPP Islamabad President Faisal Sakhi Butt said, “The chairman was not happy with the overall performance of the Islamabad chapter. He has some reservations, which we tried to address.”
Butt repelled the impression that the party did not take any action in favour of slum residents and listed a number of steps he personally took when the government was uprooting slums.
Butt said Zardari had directed local leaders to to formulate a plan of action to bring the party back to prominence in the region.
Other party leaders also confirmed these developments.
One local leader confided that the chairman was especially disappointed by the party’s performance in LG constituencies within NA-49. During the local government elections, no party worker contested on a PPP ticket due to disputes between the leadership.
He was briefed that in NA-48 areas, workers contested for chairmanship in nine of the 22 union councils.
Butt said it had been decided during the meetings that Zardari would hold separate meetings with youth and labour representatives of the party in the coming days.
The chairman left Islamabad on Wednesday following a week of meetings with local and national level party leaders.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2016.