PESHAWAR  -  Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhu­tto Zardari while ad­dressing workers’ con­vention in Peshawar on Saturday said that the PPP’s series of workers’ conventions began with the Hazara and Mardan divisions, and today we are in Peshawar. Bilaw­al said that he is thor­oughly enjoying this experience. He still re­members the historic Foundation Day gath­ering that was held in Peshawar, which was a resounding success due to the hard work of the PPP workers. He said that he prefers conventions because they give his Jiyalas an opportunity to express themselves.  

The Foundation Day of the Pa­kistan Peoples Party will be held in Quetta, Balochistan, Chairman Bilawal announced. Addressing the Jiyalas of Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa, Chairman Bilawal said that the potential present for the party here is unlike that in any other prov­ince. The workers of Khyber Pa­khtunkhwa are loyal, honour­able and committed. They have kept the manifesto and ideolo­gy of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Sha­heed Mohtarma Benazir Bhu­tto. They still raise the slogan of ‘Bhuttoism’. We have to take this slogan to the youngsters of the country and make them un­derstand its gist. 

“Bhuttoism is a symbol of serving the people, denounc­ing the elitist mindset and striv­ing for the rights of the people as per our principles and nar­rative. Bhuttoism is another name for not compromising in the face of adversity, and prefer­ring punishment over. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sent to the gallows but did not bow down in front of anyone. Sha­heed Mohtarma Benazir Bhut­to too struggled for thirty years for the sake of her ideology and her father’s manifesto. This was made possible through the sup­port of her workers, her broth­ers and sisters of Khyber Pa­khtunkhwa and those from all over the country. An unarmed woman faced two dictators and accepted martyrdom but did not back down.”

A puppet who was imposed on us tried to teach our young­sters that taking a U-turn is a leader’s trait. The onus is on the Jiyalas to teach the people that taking a U-turn is a cow­ard’s trait, not that of a leader’s. The PPP is still steadfast on the same principles, ideology and narrative, the essence of which is that ‘Islam is our religion, Socialism is our economy and People are the source of power’. Alongside this, Quaid-e-Awam not only raised the slogan of ‘Roti, Kapra Aur Makaan’, but also made sure that it was im­plemented. It is imperative for the Jiyalas of the PPP to strive for the same ideology. There is no party in the country that can be PPP’s adversary.

Bilawal said that his only op­ponent is the inflation, unem­ployment and poverty. He said that he needs the support of the people to serve the poor whose only hope was Shaheed Mohtar­ma Benazir Bhutto and were given rights by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The PPP desires to eradicate poverty, unemploy­ment, inflation and all other is­sues faced by the people. The real face of the other political parties has now been exposed before the people. Those who spoke of ‘change’, brought ‘de­struction’ instead and those who proclaimed themselves as the flag bearers of governance and ‘Vote Ko Izzat Do’, have be­come the Pakistan ‘Mehengai’ League. The Jiyalas of the PPP have a history that they can take to the people. The PPP’s govern­ments have always strived for the people and provided them with relief.

Bilawal said that he is proud of his performance in the six­teen months of the previous government. “I am willing to contest elections on the basis of it, those who sat with me in the same cabinet should be asked whether they are ready to con­test the elections on their own performance”, the PPP chair­man said. During those six­teen months, an unprecedent­ed series of catastrophic floods wreaked havoc on the country. Not only was the United Na­tions mobilised for this, but the women who had been prom­ised houses were also given ownership, Bilawal said. As the youngest Foreign Minister of Pakistan, he worked day and night to represent the people. A Foreign Minister cannot solve all problems of the country. We need a Jiyala as the PM and CM so that we can serve the people at our full capacity, he said. The PPP’s government, unlike oth­ers, has always represented the common man and catered to the needs of the poor. It is the PPP that has brought forth the revolutionary Benazir Income Support Programme, empow­ering the poorest of the coun­try’s women. Not only do we plan on expanding the BISP, but bringing similar programs so that the benefits given to the poor are maximised. We are planning on bringing forward a ‘Kissan Card’ so that the farm­er can directly benefit from the amount that is provided as sub­sidies by the government. We are also working on introduc­ing a ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’ to provide the benefits of social security to labourers and work­ers, working in the private and public sectors to provide health and education facilities so that they can work without any oth­er worries. Only the PPP can do this. Chairman Bilawal said that the ‘2 million houses’ project that is ongoing in Sindh, would be expanded to the slums in the country that have been neglect­ed for long with their residents living under uncertain condi­tions so that they do not only live under a safe roof, but are also able to own it. Prior to the PPP’s efforts in Sindh, health fa­cilities in Sindh were extreme­ly costly, which are now pro­vided to the people free of cost. The people of Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa were earlier cheated by a ‘health card’ scheme that only benefitted private hospi­tals and further filled the wal­lets of the rich at the cost of government’s hospitals. The PPP government in Khyber Pa­khtunkhwa will not only es­tablish hospitals of an interna­tional standard but ensure that the facilities are accessible to all. The PPP has faced charac­ter assassination since the eras of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Bena­zir Bhutto, but no other politi­cal party can compete with the performance of the Pakistan Peoples Party. The current sit­uation is such that the political atmosphere of the country no longer seems conducive. There has never been a level playing field for the PPP. Was there a level playing field in the 1988 elections? A political alliance by the name of IJI was orchestrat­ed. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto emerged victorious de­spite all of that.