Analysts say Bilawal’s speech was muddled, veered from policy

Instead of attacking his foes, they say he should have examined PPP’s poor showing in the polls.

KARACHI:

Independent political analysts on Saturday panned Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s emotional speech on the eve of the anniversary of the 2007 Karsaz bombing, dismissing it as a muddled gesture that sharply contradicted with the Pakistan Peoples Party’s much-vanunted policy of reconciliation.

The response was also in stark contrast to the exultation of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) youth wing over the return of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his official political baptism.

“Bilawal’s speech has confused me. While the father is talking about a policy of reconciliation, his son has started his political career with confrontation by ‘hunting the lion’ and ‘cutting the kite’,” said senior analyst Dastagir Bhatti.



“I think as a young and vibrant leader, he should have started probing the causes of his party’s failure in the recent general elections, along with the poor performance of his party in central and provincial governments, rather than indulging in the politics of criticism and revenge,” he added.

Ali Qazi, the editor of Sindhi-language newspaper Kawish, said Bilawal’s speech may bring little relief for the party cadre who are already confused over the passive role of their leadership in mainstream politics.



“Mass contact is needed to re-organise any party, which does not seem to be possible for the PPP due to the security threats to lives of Bilawal and Zardari,” he said. A sudden appearance, according to him, cannot bring revolution or change.

“If PPP leaders are really sincere about revamping their party, they should give full time to it at the grass root level, which I think is impossible at the moment,” he said.

However, PPP Senator Aajiz Dhamrah, who is also president of PPP’s youth wing, Sindh chapter, told The Express Tribune that Bilawal’s speech had given new hope among the youth in Sindh.

“Bilawal’s arrival in Karachi has refuted earlier reports that there was a tiff between him and his father, and that he would not return to Pakistan,” he said. The political heir to the Bhutto dynasty had started a political career from a place where more than 170 party workers had been killed in a terrorist attack.

He added that old politicians should realise that they did not truly represent the youth of the country.

“The youth is being represented by Bilawal and he will prove this in the 2018 elections,” Dhamrah said.

Although Bilawal’s speech was unexpected, many party leaders are calling it the launching of his political career.

“Since Bilawal is now eligible to contest elections, PPP voters have started demanding that he be elected,” Dhamrah said, adding that there was serious deliberation in the party ranks on the issue.

“PPP MNA Ayaz Soomro has offered to resign from his seat to nominate Bilawal Bhutto in the by-election, but any formal decision will be made in the upcoming CEC meeting,” he added.

Nisar Khokhar, a senior journalist, termed the speech a ‘political gimmick’. He said that Rehman Malik being a PPP leader had spent almost five years acting as a bridge between the PPP and the MQM but Bilawal’s tirade against the MQM has caused a lot of confusion.

“Many PPP leaders with the consent of the party leadership are still trying to persuade the MQM to join the Sindh government and strengthen relations as the opposition in the National Assembly, but Bilawal’s comments have confused the people about his party policy,” he said adding that the young leader seemed to cash in on anti-MQM votes by speaking against the kite.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2013.