PPP leaders attend a CEC meeting at Bilawal House in Lahore. Photo courtesy PPP Media Cell
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday announced his party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) has nominated him as its candidate for the slot of prime minister in the Feb. 8 general elections.
Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the CEC at Bilawal House in Lahore, the former foreign minister thanked the decision-making body for nominating him for the Prime Minister’s Office, adding his father, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, had proposed his name as head of the PPP-Parliamentarians.
He said he would run the party’s election campaign in all four provinces, and vowed that if he came to power, he would abolish all policies that facilitated the resurgence of terrorism in the country. The country needs “crucial” decisions to overcome this crisis, he added.
Unveiling the party’s manifesto, Bhutto-Zardari said he would end the Rs. 1,500 billion subsidy for large industries and elites and divert this to farmers. He also reiterated his promises of introducing labor and youth cards, on the pattern of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), for their financial security. The BISP, he said, would also be expanded. He further promised to double salaries of employees within 5 years; provide 300 units of electricity for free to people of under-privileged areas through energy parks, introduce a scheme the union council level to eliminate hunger, and provide free quality healthcare services nationwide.
To repeated concerns over how he aimed to fund such initiatives, he said it would require “harsh” decisions such as abolishing federal ministries that were devolved to provinces under the 18th amendments.
Bhutto-Zardari is, for the first time, contesting elections from NA-127 (Lahore), traditionally considered a Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) stronghold. To a question, he said he would not withdraw his nomination whether anyone liked it or not, adding neither the PMLN nor the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had finalized their candidates for the constituency. He also dared PTI founder Imran Khan and PMLN leader Nawaz Sharif to contest elections against him from his Larkana constituency.
He claimed the PMLN and PTI were representative of the ruling elite and were unable to address the issues facing the country. He claimed the PPP was the only party that always issued a manifesto prior to polls prioritizing public welfare.
To a query on the PPP’s weak position in Punjab—where it routinely struggles to secure any major electoral wins—he claimed Gen. Ziaul Haq had “imposed” PMLN and Nawaz Sharif and then Gen. Zaheerul Islam and Gen. Faiz Hameed had imposed PTI on Punjab to oust the PPP from the province.
On the alleged attempts to keep PTI out of the political arena, he said he wanted all parties to have suitable space to contest polls.
Bhutto-Zardari was flanked by PPP Secretary General Taj Haider and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani during his press conference.