PPP ‘repackaging’ stops in its tracks

Zardari’s return eclipses Bilawal’s role in policymaking

KARACHI: Asif Ali Zardari’s homecoming has apparently dashed all hopes for a ‘repackaged’ PPP that his young son, Bilawal Bhutto, has been working for in a frantic effort to revive the party’s sagging political fortunes. Zardari is not just the party’s ‘patriarch’, he is the one who wields power, according to insiders. Bilawal may be the party’s chairman, but it is Zardari who is calling the real shots.

Before Zardari’s return from self-exile, Bilawal was mounting relentless verbal attacks on the ruling PML-N, creating an impression that the PPP would give up the moniker of ‘soft-opposition’. But that doesn’t seem happening. And some PPP leaders who had pinned hopes on Bilawal are disillusioned now. “Bilawal and Zardari differ on what policy the party should pursue on different issues,” a PPP leader told The Express Tribune.



At the recent rally in Garhi Khuda Bux, Zardari said unequivocally that his party would not seek to topple the beleaguered government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Zardari’s conciliatory approach broke the momentum generated by Bilawal in the run-up to Dec 27 when, many expected, he would announce the launch of a movement against the government.



During the PPP’s week-long ‘foundation day’ celebrations in Lahore, Bilawal had frequently talked about challenging the rule of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, dislodging ‘Takht-e-Raiwind’, and ousting ‘Chor Nawaz Sharif’. His supporters were charged up for an anti-government movement, but Zardari’s announcement left them disillusioned. Independent observers believe Zardari doesn’t want to rock the boat – instead he is strengthening the incumbent parliament.

Interestingly, Bilawal’s ambitious plan to revamp and reenergise the PPP by pumping ‘fresh blood’ into the party’s cadres has also stopped in its tracks. However, PPP’s old guards insist there is commonality of views between the father and the son.

“They [Zardari and Bilawal] are two sides of the same coin,” said Khursheed Shah, the opposition leader in the National Assembly. “We will follow Bilawal who is the chairman of our party. But we will seek guidance from Zardari, who is a seasoned politician,” Shah told The Express Tribune.



He sought to quash the impression that Zardari was calling the shots in the party. “It’s the chairman [Bilawal] who gives the final approval to all decisions,” he said and insisted that the party would soon launch a ‘phased movement’ against the government.

According to sources, the party believes the current situation is ‘critical’ and warrants ‘quick decisions’. “Zardari sahib feels Bilawal cannot handle the party matters independently,” one source told The Express Tribune. “This is why he has taken up the guidance role.”

Insiders say the party thinks the father and son duo would strengthen the PPP as a real opposition party in parliament. “The PPP wants to check the growing influence of Imran Khan’s PTI,” one source said. “The PPP leadership fears that Imran might take over the slot of opposition leader in the next elections.”

Reports also suggest that the PPP actually wants to build pressure on the government to win some concessions on the ongoing actions of federal agencies against PPP politicians in Sindh, especially in Karachi.

However, Sindh Information Adviser Moula Bux Chandio says his party is not scared of cases and actions against its leaders. “We are campaigning for the four demands of Bilawal,” he claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2017.