No progress if we do not look after our growers, labourers and youth

ISLAMABAD   -   Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday said that no one can eliminate the PPP.

The PPP chief said his party fought for the Kashmir cause at every front. “We have a relation going back three generations. We always raised voice for the people’s rights. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the one who had said that we will fight for Kashmir for a thousand years,” he added.

Addressing a public gathering at Haveli in connection with the Azad Jammu Kashmir election campaign, he said that this is the place where Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had addressed a huge public gathering in 1974. 

“At that time the soldier of the PPP Mumtaz Rathore was with him and then he proved to be a loyal brother of Benazir Bhutto. Today Faisal Rathore is here to continue his father’s struggle with the PPP,” Bilawal said.

Bilawal said that no one can eliminate the PPP. “Bhutto was chairman of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation). He gave Pakistan nuclear capability. When he used to give a call for strike everything on both sides of the border used to close down. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto had said that where the Kashmiris will shed their sweat we will shed our blood. The Kashmiri people always supported her. She provided employment for men and women,” he recalled.

It is unfortunate, he said, that current Prime Minister Imran Khan was “incapable.” “The PM responded to the historic attack on Kashmir by saying “What can I do?”. If Bhutto was there today he would have gone to the United States with the Kashmir case. The response of the puppet was to rename the Kashmir Highway as Srinagar Highway and changing his own map with his own pen. Imran Khan did not fulfil the aspirations of Kashmiri people. We all have one slogan that “no compromise is accepted on Kashmir. We do not take dictation from Delhi or Islamabad, rather from you,” he said.  The PPP Chairman said that the real face of Imran Khan’s change was historic poverty, price hike and unemployment. “The PPP also increased salaries by 120 percent, pensions by 100 percent and for the soldiers fighting terrorism by 175 percent. On 25th July, the Jiyala Prime Minister will be elected and his first measure will be to increase salaries and pensions,” he said. 

The PPP introduced Benazir Income Support Program during the worst recession in the world. “This Ehsas Programme is nothing but the BISP. PM Khan has also stolen our foreign policy. Imran Khan is lying by saying that he will not provide air bases to the United States because this decision of not providing air bases was taken by the parliament during the PPP government. Bhutto’s slogan was “Maang Raha Hai Har Insan, Roti Kapra aur Makan (every man is seeking break, clothing and shelter)” but this PM is snatching all these things from the poor people. This country will not progress until we do not look after our growers, labourers and youth,” he said. 

He said the Jiyalas (diehard workers) have already defeated the PM along with other parties and Faisal Rathore has won from this constituency. Chairman Bilawal said that Rathore will fulfil the PPP project to build an expressway from Islamabad to Kashmir. This will be a gift to you from the PPP.

Bilawal said that he was in the field to complete the mission of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. “The Jiyalas have to chase out not only the puppet from Kashmir but other parties as well. I just ask the other party not to become a cat who runs away but a lion who faces the adversaries. He said that the PPP has always sided with the people and the people will vote for the PPP on 25 July,” he said.