Bilawal champions shared heritage, transcending divisions

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari raised a question how the country would progress if rival parties brand each other traitors, as he warned on Thursday of a shadow of negativity lurking over the national political landscape.

Speaking at the 9th edition of the Ayaz Melo in Hyderabad, the former foreign minister of Pakistan called for unity that transcended political divide, and invited all the Pakistanis to celebrate their shared heritage and build a more inclusive future together.

He urged the nation to step into an era of cultural renaissance, embracing the diverse tapestry of languages, traditions, and histories woven into the country's fabric. “We enter the year 2024 with the objective of collectively owning cultures, history and languages of all our regions,” he said.

He expressed concern over the continuation of politics of hatred and division. “Everyone has the right to have a difference of opinion in politics, but it does not mean that the difference should be turned into personal enmity,” he stressed. “The politics of extremism, hatred and division will have to end.”
The PPP chairman warned that some elements wanted people to remain divided, adding however that when the people would understand such nefarious intentions, the victory would be for them. “The PPP has already proved that it can carry everyone together,” he continued.

Bilawal stressed the need for garnering support from the intellectuals and the youth to put the country in the right direction. He believed that the poets, writers and artistes could play a pivotal part in liberating the Pakistanis from the fever of “hyper partisanship” and “hyper polarisation”.

“Pakistan needs to step into an era of renaissance,” he said. “The biggest injustice in Pakistan hasn’t been the killings of the towering political leadership but the suppression of our culture, history and language with our own hands,” he added.

The PPP’s leader emphasised that no nation could earn respect by ignoring their own history and culture. He referred to Egypt which despite being a predominantly Muslim country, took pride in its pre-Islamic history and culture.

“I want to see all of us taking Pakistan on a path where we own, and don’t feel ashamed of owning, our culture and history. My dream is to see every child in Pakistan to be aware of Moen Jo Daro; and to see the youth of Punjab and Kashmir knowing Shaikh Ayaz as much as the youth in Sindh know Iqbal.”
He reiterated that all languages spoken in different parts of the country should be accorded the national status. “Yes, Urdu is our national language but all other languages too are our national languages,” he said.

At the same time, the PPP chairman said, cultural influences should be harnessed to surmount the challenge of extremism, emphasising that Sindh had been able to deter and defeat the extremist tendencies, owing to its culture and history.

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The PPP’s chairman believed that writers, poets and artists can spearhead a campaign to not only sensitise the people about the issue of the rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers and the consequences, but also to the global community.

With a tacit criticism of the developed world for ignoring the melting of the world’s third largest ice deposits in the Himalayas, he said: “We also need to tell the world about the Himalayas and that the lives of 250 million people [of Pakistan] are in danger because of it.”

Bilawal informed the gathering that if the PPP formed the government after the coming elections, it would establish youth centres in the smaller districts, towns and the rural areas. He wished to see those centres providing spaces for poetry, dance, singing and music to the youth.

Bilawal inaugurated Ayaz Melo, dedicated to the peerless Sindhi poet of 20th century Shaikh Ayaz at a ceremony at the Sindh Museum. He also performed the book launching of columnist Zahid Hussain’s work. The five-day event features sessions of intellectual debate, musical nights and book stalls.