LAHORE: Bilawal Bhutto on Saturday assigned important tasks relating to long march to both the provincial and district organizations of the party in Punjab.
He chaired a meeting which was attended by Hassan Murtaza, Samina Khalid Ghurki, Aslam Gill, Jamil Manj and Faiza Malik. He was briefed about the reception preparations on his way to Islamabad through Punjab as well as Lahore.
Later, Bilawal also attended a lunch along with Asif Zardari at the resident of Shehbaz Sharif, the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly. Party sources said the leadership from both the sides discussed the possibility of amalgamation of long marches of PPP and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), in-house change and other important issues. Shehbaz Sharif had invited the PPP chairman and co-chairman on the instructions from Nawaz Sharif.
It may be noted that Bilawal is also set to address a public rally in Balochistan on Sunday (today) where important political figures are likely to join the PPP.
Meanwhile, in their separate messages in connection with the Kashmir Day, both Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto said political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmir cause is cornerstone of the PPP’s manifesto. Both Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had been raising the issue internationally and the PPP paved the public opinion for the liberation of Kashmiris as and when it comes into power, they added.
The former President of Pakistan said the right to plebiscite is a must to ensure regional peace. Had the PPP be in power, Indian PM Modi could not dare to revoke special status of Kashmir, he said. It is unfortunate that the government had not only sabotaged national harmony but also failed to raise an effective voice diplomatically on Modi’s aggression against Kashmir, he asserted.
He said the PPP would never compromise over its relation with the cause of Kashmiri people and would strive for attaining international support on the issue after coming into power. A failed foreign policy and a coward silence of the present government have led to increase in the torturous acts of the Indian government against the Kashmiris. He said the PPP would materialize the dreams of Bhutto and Benazir regarding the freedom of Kashmir.
Bilawal said Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of the division of the subcontinent. He said India was carrying out atrocities against Kashmiris over the last seven decades but it has failed to suppress their freedom movement.
He urged the international community to play its role in stopping the worst violation of human rights in Kashmir. He said this was Benazir Bhutto’s commitment to the Kashmiris that she had start marking 5th of February as Kashmir Solidarity Day. He said he belongs to the third generation of the party, standing steadfast behind Kashmiris for their genuine struggle for freedom. Bilawal had left for Larkana soon after his meeting with Shehbaz Sharif, said party sources.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022