“Swiss cases were opened, an elected PM was sent home and the arrest orders of other PM were issued to destabilise the PPP government.” lamented Bilawal. PHOTO: Express
NAUDERO: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) top leadership chose the 34th death anniversary of their party's founding father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), to remind their followers how well they have delivered on their promises.
Speaking to a gathering of party members and office bearers in Naudero, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari recounted the philosophy behind the policies introduced by party stalwarts including ZAB and Benazir and to what extent party had delivered on those promises.
“Benazir Bhutto gave missile technology to Pakistan,” Bilawal remarked.
He lamented how their policies had been interrupted time and again. “There would have been no energy crisis had the energy policy presented by Benazir allowed to continue.”
Bilawal also chose to focus on PPP's tenure and the challenges they had to face. “Today people talk about development but no one talks about the conditions when the PPP government came into power.”
“We reinstated the 1973 constitution. We gave autonomy to provinces, free media, NFC award, women's rights and the president voluntarily gave back his powers to the parliament.”
Revisiting the old slogan of roti, kapra, makan, Bilawal said that due to their agricultural policies today the farmers of Pakistan were prospering. “Today, they [farmers] have roti, kapra and their own houses.”
“When we came into the power, Pakistan was importing wheat, today Pakistan is exporting wheat to the world.”
Amid loud cheers, the PPP chairman pointed out that they had initiated the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline to address the energy crises.
He further mentioned the BISP programme, handing over of Gwadar Port to China and the Swat operation as successes.
“But the injustice against us continued,” Bilawal lamented. “Swiss cases were opened, an elected PM was sent home [Gilani] and the arrest orders for other PM [Ashraf] were issued to destabilise the PPP government.”
“We were not even allowed to breathe.”
Bilawal, who will not be contesting the elections, asked the PPP supporters to support his aunt Faryal Talpur, former prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervez Ashraf in the upcoming elections.
Zardari wants to write history
Recounting the government's accomplishments over the past five years, the PPP co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari told supporters in Naudero that he did not desire headlines, rather he preferred to write history.
“PPP has written history by transferring power from president to the parliament, we have given power back to the people.”
Zardari added that only the people will decide who would rule them and "even though it is just the beginning for democracy, the party had given it a direction."
“We have set the direction for Pakistan, we now just have to walk towards it.”
The president reminded his supporters that they faced a lot of external pressure but they resisted it. “The world has been asking us to do many things, but we worked only in the interest of Pakistan.”
In a veiled reference to his own 11-year imprisonment, Zardari said that no political prisoners were held during the PPP's regime.
Earlier, President Zardari visited the tomb of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto along with Bakhtawar Zardari and Asifa Zardari.
They offered prayers and laid wreath. They also visited the tombs of Benazir Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto.
COMMENTS (35)
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@Hmmm: Jeay jeay Bhutto. Is that all you have to say?
Jeay Bhutto, agli bari phi zardari, God knows it is once again a better then those PML-N fraud business men and the PTI burgers who are good for nothing but posting on online forums
Bilawal sahib is now complaining about the Swiss graft cases. If they had nothing to hide why the obstruction? If 30 million dollars had been taken from the people of Pakistan, whose job is it to bring it back? But expecting Zardari to fight corruption is like a turkey voting for Christmas.
When Pakistan was formed the Indians withheld Pakistan's shares of the reserves. Jinnah went to a rich Memon Adamjee for money. He presented Jinnah a blank cheque. What do our leaders do now? Money that they have stashed in foreign accounts that is suspicious they refuse to account for.
When half the country was flooded Zardari was busy touring his French villa with a helicopter that he had borrowed from the French government. When asked about his total disregard he said the prime minister was in the country to take care of it. On CNN Gilani openly said that those in Pakistan unhappy with the government could leave.
The Iran Pakistan pipeline was sitting on the back burner for atleast a year. If it was a great idea why did it have to wait a year while we all suffered black outs? The Iranians were getting exasperated at the lack of progress. Then suddenly, with a matter of weeks left till then end of their reign the PPP signs the agreement, has a press conference taking credit and then resigns leaving the next government to do all the work. If they win again they will likely cancel the deal as America will scuttle it and the PPP will take American aid and send it offshore to their Swiss accounts. We will likely forget this rubbish speech and swelter in the heat as we head in one direction- down.
The PML-N were no better during their reign.
PPP jiyalas, what do you have to say about that?
@Samina: So five years isn't long enough to build coal power stations? It was long enough to build oil ones!!! Instead what did the PPP do? You guessed it: Rental power projects - this was the worst idea in history - let's burn furnace oil(the most expensive energy source) to generate electricity. And what happened to the guy who pushed the idea (and likely earned a fortune) - he got made president. The PPP is dead against building dams, so what is their solution? The IPP set up by Benazir was a failure, read any world bank report on the issue. The rental power projects were the biggest sham in our history. We paid power stations to stay idle. The owners and the corrupt PPP officials who pushed it made a fortune.
Benazir Bhutto gave missile technology to Pakistan. (She was of course a rocket scientist) ZA Bhutto gave us nuclear technology. Or was it Nawaz Sharif? Benazir Bhutto gave us fiber optic communications.
I suppose Ayub Khan gave us the transistor?
This is all rubbish. Most/all of these technologies come from abroad. We have very little/no scientific man power of note. Our respected parliamentarians who pay not an iota in tax want to shut down the HEC and spend less on education every year (even though they promise the opposite)
Billawal who has been educated at Oxford brings shame upon that institution for uttering this rubbish.
A government’s over all performance cannot be judged by its shortcomings in wiping out the backlog of insurmountable socio-economic problems that it had inherited from a dictator. It did not have a magic wand to over come acute power shortages. It has addressed the issue and in next two years the country will have enough power. Benefit of its efforts and sufferings would be reaped by the next government as was the case when Benazir Bhutto was dismissed in late 1996. She had invested billions in power sector that made President Musharraf confess in a TV interview that when he took over in 1999 he had surplus power and he was looking for foreign markets to export it. Same was the case on the food front in 2008. Country was starving of essentials. Today Pakistan is exporting wheat, cotton, rice and is self sufficient in sugar—thanks to a booming revolution in agriculture due to government’s procurement policies.
@Baloch: Agree
Sorry people. But ground situation is a lot different. PMLN may be the single largest party but will be unable to make a coalition. So Zardari is coming back no matter what. You people can also guess that by the fact that about 16000 applications for the party ticket were received by PPP (7000 in the sindh alone), more than the double of PTI and PMLN total combined, which means the PPP ticket is more precious and a guarantee for a candidate to win.
@Baloch: If that is your view sir, than I think you should not be offended by me calling you a corrupt. That's because PPP government prevails nothing but corruption and destruction. Obviously, you want the politicians of this country to mis-use the public funds for themselves and you want to be a part of it? If PPP would've represented lower-middle class, as you claim, respected sir, then I think this would not have been the situation of the country. Please don't talk about developments with me because If I start writing about the de-stabilization of the economy during PPP era than I'd run out of words but not what forth came upon Pakistan.
Haha seriously? That made me laugh out so loud. You talk about development? Seriously, you guys? I don't think we need to be reminded about how bad your government really was. The appreciation of dollar speaks it all, inflation and un-employment, both high, gosh, you people proved Mr.Phillips wrong. Importing 250,000 barrels of oil when the demand was only for 50,000, that shows your sincerity towards this nation? Travelling with 50 protocols and calling yourself equal?
A man falling from a cliff has a direction as well, but thats downwards and most probably death.
That gave me a good laugh. Thanks.
YES....Zardari Peoples Party (ZPP) has set the direction for Pakistan .... back to STONE AGE
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.".......Chinese proverb. Salams
He said in his speech " We are all the same" but can he travels in local bus? Can he shop in line? Roti from Tandoor? The answer is NOOOOO
zardari adressing a political gathering naudoro. . What about LHC's verdict?
@naeem khan Manhattan,Ks: I strongly and totally agree with you highly respected sir but greed of Rs.2000/woman on the name of BISP shall camouflage all the PPP's demerits,weaknesses and corruption in its previous five years' regime and the women shall cast their votes in favor of PPP once again to get Rs.2000/woman as BISP. which was Rs.1000/woman in PPP's previous regime and PPP shall increase its voters' bank in the next general elections based on Rs.2000/woman......
dream on kid, your time is well and truly over
Bilawal hasn't got anything else to do? Why not become a doctor, engineer, geologist etc sky is the limit.....and can still server the country. Do these people own Pakistan?
You surely have set the direction for Pakistan, nose-diving!
thank you for the directing the Pakistan towards the destruction.
Yes set the direction towards the pit. What did his government achieved for the common man?
During the period of five years PPP rule, the inflation has gone sky high which has broken the back bone of a common man. Moreover, PPP cannot stop terrorism due to which thousands of innocent men and women and children have died through out the country.
I have never seen such a worst government in my life.
Lmao is all I can say.
'The direction' being towards premature failure. No thanks billoo
And it's nose down.
Direction for Destruction of Pakistan
"We have set the direction for..." Failure?
So Bilawal is asking vote on Gilani, Raja and Faryal's performance. God save PPP in this elections.
Bilawal " exhorted the PPP supporters to support his aunt Faryal Talpur, former prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervez Ashraf". Lets look at their records for the last 5years, history will not forgive them for their corruption, nepotism and incompetent. By any chance the same very people come back then the Pakistani nation deserve what they get and no room for complaining.It is time to bring in the new people, the old has looted and mismanaged for decades and that includes the establishment. These same very people will bankrupt the country and then run away to their posh houses in Dubai,London, Paris and New York.
And here comes the sympathy card...