Can Bilawal Reinvigorate the PPP?
By Salahuddin Haider
Karachi, Pakistan
Can a third generation leader, Bilawal Bhutto, help recover the PPP from the ashes of phoenix is a question that time alone can answer. The terminology--“ phoenix”-- has deliberately been chosen because of the arduous journey from glory to gloom which the party had to traverse since inception in 1967.
Its founder, late lamented Zulfikar Ali Bhutto chose Lahore, called the country’s political capital to launch his party with a purpose and was handsomely paid off in the first general elections within a short span of three years. It rode on the crest of sympathy vote after Benazir’s martyrdom to be back in power with a thunder, but then some faulty policies and neglect, from the leadership, the PPP found itself at sea after just five years. It was routed in the Punjab, and confined merely to Sindh, its base province.
Its defenders can cite the party being in saddle in the southern province, or being coalition partners in Gilgit and Azad Kashmir as example of being alive and kicking. They won't be entirely wrong, but in effect it will be just a lame excuse to hide its weaknesses. The fact remains that the a party, four times in power, is in thick woods. It fared poorly, failing to regain control at the federal level in Islamabad, and in the principal province of Punjab. It may well be sharing power in outside territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and in AJK, but the fact remains that it got dethroned.
Now , in real terms, it has been confined to Sindh. Its partnership in tribal belt, or in Azad Kashmir is of little, or practically of no consequence. Belated though but such a realization, expressed by analysts over the last 15 months, seems to have awakened the party. Bilawal as up and coming young man, has rightly been picked for reinvigorating an organization which still commands considerable grassroots popularity. Bhutto loyalists have kept it afloat despite all the injustices inflicted on them from the party’s higher echelons , and the conventional ruthlessness of the State machinery. The Oxford-educated, handsome Bilawal, impressed with his initial handling of the task, whether assigned to him by the father, or whether it was his own initiative to refloat the sinking ship.
Wading through the mud and filth of the flood affected areas in Chiniot district, or discarding security to mix up with victims of the natural disaster with a disarming smile playing on his shining face, was reminiscent of the example set by mother Benazir and the grandfather who preferred the hangman’s noose over mercy petitions for life to a military dictator. Both Benazir and her father, are not only treated as martyrs but have actually been blessed with saintly status. Their last resting places in native Larkana District, have become a place of worship for his followers.
Asif Zardari’s love and affection for the three children are too well-known to be recounted, but it can be said without fear of contradiction that it was Benazir’s training and the discipline imparted by her that has actually become the greatest asset for the young Bilawal. It can be unhesitatingly recorded here from personal experiences and being an eye-witness myself that Benazir discovered herself in a new mold during the time she was in exile, and felt free from the hassle of running around courts at home to defend cases against her. She found her stay in Dubai as a blessing in disguise to devote herself unperturbed and looked in relaxed to attend to party problems and upbringing of her children.
Bilawal seems cast entirely in his mother’s mold now. His actions, style and gestures, phonetics, tone and tenor all are solid proof of that. It may perhaps be an unkind cut, but is a bitter reality, that Bilawal looks completely different from his father’s political philosophies and policies. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious grandfather and a much revered mother.
The summoning of the PPP core committee meeting soon after the Punjab visit, and moves like recalling back to the fold loyalists who had distanced themselves from Zardari, and the rally planned in Karachi on Oct 18, the day Benazir returned from her second long exile, were intelligent moves. But still a learner, the young captain should have preferred Makhdoom Amin Fahim to brief the press later, instead of asking Yusuf Reza Gilani, Manzoor Wattoo, and Raja Pervez Ashraf to do the job. They all have a tainted image and putting them in the front, would offend Bhutto loyalists.
The leader in the making, nevertheless, appears determined to upstage the party which somehow had been victim of deliberate or unwitting mistakes. A daunting task like that will naturally demand undivided attention which Benazir's son looks committed to. His ability to re-draw the old loyalists like Naheed Khan, and many others, will lift the party up. Else it will be confronted with new and much more grimmer challenges than faced so far. (The writer is a former Sindh Minister and senior journalist)
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