Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Junior, grandson of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, has announced plans to launch a new political party, pledging to address what he called the “real needs of the people” in Pakistan, Express News reported.
Speaking at a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Saturday, Bhutto Jr. said the time had come to expand the political vision of his grandfather. “After roti, kapra aur makaan, the people now need electricity, gas, and water,” he said.
The announcement comes just months after Bhutto Jr confirmed in March his decision to formally enter politics. At the time, he had expressed an intention to begin his political journey through the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Shaheed Bhutto group — a faction founded by his father in opposition to the mainstream PPP leadership.
During Saturday’s press conference, Bhutto Jr levelled strong criticism at President Asif Ali Zardari, accusing him of co-opting the iconic slogan “Jeay Bhutto” to advance corruption rather than uphold the Bhutto family’s legacy. “This slogan was meant to serve the people, not to enable looting in their name,” he remarked.
The press event centred on the issue of forced evictions of farmers, particularly in Punjab, where Bhutto Jr alleged that corporate farming initiatives were displacing local communities. “Corporate farming is nothing but a land grab operation targeting the livelihoods of poor farmers,” he stated.
He questioned the silence of parties that once claimed to speak for farmers, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, and others. “Where are those parties now, when the farmers need them the most?” he asked.
Describing Punjab’s farmers as the “backbone of Pakistan’s economy,” the son of slain politician Mir Murtaza Bhutto, warned against what he termed the systemic dispossession of rural communities. “Taking land away from the people who feed this country is unacceptable,” he said. “Corporate farming is not development — it’s dispossession.”
Hinting at a broader mobilisation, he warned that if farmers in Sindh begin to raise their voices as their counterparts in Punjab have, he would not hesitate to call for a long march on Islamabad. While no formal timeline for the party’s launch was announced, Bhutto Jr said consultations with grassroots movements and progressive groups were already underway.
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