Sardar Aamir Bhutto denies that the ice has thawed with the PPP
Reports of a patch-up surfaced after the president’s sister, Faryal Talpur, visited him.
SUKKUR:
The leader of the Bhutto clan, Sardar Aamir Khan Bhutto, denied on Thursday that he had patched up with the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP).
Bhutto shares a frigid relationship with the PPP’s current leadership, which he feels has adopted a ‘step-motherly’ attitude towards his clan. Disillusioned by what he says is the party’s apathy towards the clan’s hardships, he decided to part ways with it in June. After the president’s sister, PPP MNA Faryal Talpur, along with Sindh ministers Agha Siraj Durrani and Ayaz Soomro visited Bhutto’s house in Larkana on the second day of Eid, there were reports that the ice had finally thawed. But at a press conference organised on Thursday, Bhutto unequivocally dispelled these claims.
“It’s a Sindhi custom to respect every person who visits our homes – whether friend or foe. I told Faryal Talpur about injustices against the Bhutto clan and she left saying that she would return within a couple of days,” said Sardar Aamir. He accused the PPP of painting a false picture of the meeting’s outcome.
Bhutto said that the clan’s supreme council had met earlier in the day and was trying to carve out a strategy, including whether to support the PPP. “The elders will visit every city and town in the country and discuss the matter with people there,” he said.
His family’s political history dates to 1927, when his grandfather, Sardar Wahid Bux Bhutto, was elected a member of the legislative assembly. His father, Sardar Pir Bux Khan Bhutto, also participated actively in politics and was elected MPA in 1977.
“The Bhutto clan always supported and made sacrifices for the PPP. The present government also came to power with the clan’s support. But in return, the party’s leadership kept pushing it against the wall,” said Bhutto. “We showed restraint for four years, but enough is enough. If the clan is being neglected, then why should I support the government?”
He said that the clan will also decide whether or not he should contest the general elections. Bhutto denied that he had been made any offer by MNA Faryal Talpur during their meeting.
“To express my anger at the fact that the Bhutto clan was being neglected, I refused official protocol and guards provided by the government. These things alone cannot pacify the clan. Our youth is being denied employment,” said Bhutto. He added that his clan’s members approach him for jobs and transfers. “I have to tell them that I am helpless.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2012.
The leader of the Bhutto clan, Sardar Aamir Khan Bhutto, denied on Thursday that he had patched up with the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP).
Bhutto shares a frigid relationship with the PPP’s current leadership, which he feels has adopted a ‘step-motherly’ attitude towards his clan. Disillusioned by what he says is the party’s apathy towards the clan’s hardships, he decided to part ways with it in June. After the president’s sister, PPP MNA Faryal Talpur, along with Sindh ministers Agha Siraj Durrani and Ayaz Soomro visited Bhutto’s house in Larkana on the second day of Eid, there were reports that the ice had finally thawed. But at a press conference organised on Thursday, Bhutto unequivocally dispelled these claims.
“It’s a Sindhi custom to respect every person who visits our homes – whether friend or foe. I told Faryal Talpur about injustices against the Bhutto clan and she left saying that she would return within a couple of days,” said Sardar Aamir. He accused the PPP of painting a false picture of the meeting’s outcome.
Bhutto said that the clan’s supreme council had met earlier in the day and was trying to carve out a strategy, including whether to support the PPP. “The elders will visit every city and town in the country and discuss the matter with people there,” he said.
His family’s political history dates to 1927, when his grandfather, Sardar Wahid Bux Bhutto, was elected a member of the legislative assembly. His father, Sardar Pir Bux Khan Bhutto, also participated actively in politics and was elected MPA in 1977.
“The Bhutto clan always supported and made sacrifices for the PPP. The present government also came to power with the clan’s support. But in return, the party’s leadership kept pushing it against the wall,” said Bhutto. “We showed restraint for four years, but enough is enough. If the clan is being neglected, then why should I support the government?”
He said that the clan will also decide whether or not he should contest the general elections. Bhutto denied that he had been made any offer by MNA Faryal Talpur during their meeting.
“To express my anger at the fact that the Bhutto clan was being neglected, I refused official protocol and guards provided by the government. These things alone cannot pacify the clan. Our youth is being denied employment,” said Bhutto. He added that his clan’s members approach him for jobs and transfers. “I have to tell them that I am helpless.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2012.