Bilawal’s debut innings

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari finally laid to rest speculations over whether or not he would join the federal cabinet, by taking the oath of office as foreign minister on Wednesday. In doing so, Pakistan’s youngest-ever foreign minister — Bilawal is 33 — follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, former PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who also served as foreign minister. Incidentally, ZAB once held the record for youngest foreign minister — he was 35 in 1963 — although he was just 30 when he got his first cabinet appointment as commerce minister in the cabinet of president Iskander Mirza.

Bilawal will have help from Hina Rabbani Khar — the minister of state for foreign affairs and the previous youngest-ever foreign minister — as he tries to improve frayed ties with the West, particularly Washington and Brussels, after ex-PM Imran Khan’s attacks on the US and EU. Challenges also exist in Riyadh, New Delhi and Kabul, so Bilawal will definitely have his hands full. His first day in office already saw him visiting the Chinese Embassy to offer condolences for the victims of the Karachi University suicide bombing.

But despite the challenges, any success would be a massive feather in the cap of the young PPP chief.

Bilawal’s decision to join the cabinet comes after much debate within the party over whether he should serve under Shehbaz Sharif. One of the more peculiar debates was over Bilawal being ‘subservient’ to the head of a different party. Many believed a ministry may divert Bilawal’s attention from the next general elections. Fortunately, Bilawal put country over party, saying a day before taking his oath that “everyone must play their role and share their burdens” to make the “unity government” a success.

We must also note that Bilawal, despite his Oxford education and Bhutto pedigree, is a first-term MNA and has never held any public office. If his supporters want him to be an effective PM one day, he needs to learn how to successfully run a ministry before he gets to run the whole show. An Oxford education, charisma, and even past success as a leader do not teach you this — just look at the former prime minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2022.

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