Just as ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif was resuming his journey to Lahore via GT Road on August 12, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari embarked on the first leg of the party’s Punjab tour in Chiniot.
While addressing the rally, he said the PPP was “made to lose the 2013 elections under a pre-planned conspiracy,” adding that rigging of any kind would not be tolerated. “The PML-N are enemies of the poor, the farmers, and labourers,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court had certified Nawaz Sharif as a liar and a cheat.
On August 26, the PPP’s second rally was organised at Fateh Jang, where Bilawal promised jobs and welfare for farmers. He scathingly criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s inability to control dengue and the PML-N’s failing foreign policy in light of US President Donald Trump’s accusations.
As could be expected, the party rallied around him. “We are standing in Punjab under Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s leadership,” said former PPP Punjab president Manzoor Wattoo.
While underlining the party’s strategy after heavy defeats in the 2013 general elections, Wattoo said the PPP is currently working on undoing the price it has paid for cooperating with the PML-N during the 2014 protest rallies. “We did it to safeguard democracy,” he argued. “Because if we had allied against the government, the system would’ve been destroyed.
“We supported the system, which translated into support for the PML-N and created the impression that these two parties are allies, with Imran Khan’s rhetoric claiming that we are taking turns in forming governments. This damaged the party and pushed a lot of our voters towards the PTI. Now they’re coming back.”
But what is the narrative that the PPP is selling in Punjab? “What is the PML-N’s narrative? What is the PTI’s narrative?” asked PPP leader Chaudhary Manzoor in response to the question. He believes that the current discourse is too corruption-centric. “It’s like when someone says I’m starving, and you tell them ‘hold on a minute, let’s eradicate corruption first’—they couldn’t care less. What we have right now are the offspring of some of the most corrupt families in Pakistan, fighting against corruption these days. This is an issue that is relevant to only the upper classes. There’s either mudslinging going on, or talk of corruption. Yes, it is an issue but it’s not the only issue.”
Chaudhary Manzoor says the PPP’s roots are deeper and firmer than those of the PML-N and PTI. “The PPP talks about the people, the working class, the labourers, the youth, marginalised groups. These are the majority, and this is PPP’s loyal vote bank. They’ve kept the PPP alive and the party has kept them alive.” He believes that the PPP has been forcibly kept out of the Punjab.
“In 2008 we could’ve formed the government in Punjab. The PML-N got the backing of independent candidates. But yes, the PPP has been kept out of the province by certain forces,” he claimed, downplaying their defeats in the local body elections. “Local body elections are always dominated by the sitting government. Even so, the PML-N has relied on independent candidates again.”
Wattoo explains the defeats by saying that the party did not have any leadership in 2013. “We did not have Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari was in the presidency and the kids were young. Facing us were the likes of Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Imran Khan.”
On September 17, the by-election for the seat vacated by Nawaz Sharif will be contested in NA-120. The PPP’s candidate Faisal Mir is confident of victory. “The scandals of Imran Khan’s moral corruption and Nawaz Sharif’s economic corruption are both fresh in the minds of the masses,” he said. “The NA-120 voter is a floating voter and they’re looking towards the PPP after being fed up with the politics of PML-N.” Mir said the party officials are knocking on doors to bring their voters back, and they are returning in numbers. He stressed that PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid’s tally of 52,321 votes in 2013, the highest ever against the PML-N in NA-120, had been because she was riding on the coattails of her links with the PPP.
“Yasmin Rashid’s 50,000 votes stemmed from PPP family ties. Her father-in-law Dr Ghulam Nabi was close to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and was his education minister as well. But now we will grab our 50,000 votes back and also take the disgruntled voters of the PML-N,” he claimed. Faisal Mir also believes being an ideological party is the PPP’s greatest strength. “The biggest advantage we have is that these are all rightist parties in the field, asking for votes on the basis of religious and conservative ideologies.”
Chaudhary Manzoor felt that the PPP’s return to the limelight in Punjab owed a lot to the rising graph of Bilawal’s popularity. “The PPP is growing again quickly, thanks to Bilawal Bhutto, who is engaging the masses,” he argued.
Chaudhary Manzoor pointed to the crowds at Chiniot and Fateh Jang as evidence of the PPP’s rise. “They said the PPP can’t gather even 10,000 people. Two rallies have shut everyone up. The PPP is the only party capable of orchestrating such rallies anywhere in Pakistan.” He added that Asif Ali Zardari’s acquittal in corruption cases also reaffirmed the party’s stance and would propel it. “This is what we’ve been saying all along, that all cases against the PPP and Asif Ali Zardari are false. Now we’re being vindicated. Also, what kind of law is it that first arrests our leaders and then forms cases against them, while others seem immune to it?”
Meanwhile Faisal Mir is bracing to spearhead what they hope will be the PPP’s formal return to glory in Punjab, by leading the party to success in NA-120. “This is the constituency of the poor and PPP has won the election thrice in the past. Last time we got fewer votes only because terrorist organisations supported the PML-N and PTI and didn’t let us rally. This time the PPP is already in the field and we’ll start from the 50,000 votes that we already have and take it from there. There’s absolutely no way that PPP will lose this election.”
While addressing the rally, he said the PPP was “made to lose the 2013 elections under a pre-planned conspiracy,” adding that rigging of any kind would not be tolerated. “The PML-N are enemies of the poor, the farmers, and labourers,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court had certified Nawaz Sharif as a liar and a cheat.
On August 26, the PPP’s second rally was organised at Fateh Jang, where Bilawal promised jobs and welfare for farmers. He scathingly criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s inability to control dengue and the PML-N’s failing foreign policy in light of US President Donald Trump’s accusations.
As could be expected, the party rallied around him. “We are standing in Punjab under Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s leadership,” said former PPP Punjab president Manzoor Wattoo.
While underlining the party’s strategy after heavy defeats in the 2013 general elections, Wattoo said the PPP is currently working on undoing the price it has paid for cooperating with the PML-N during the 2014 protest rallies. “We did it to safeguard democracy,” he argued. “Because if we had allied against the government, the system would’ve been destroyed.
"It's like when someone says I'm starving, and you tell them 'hold on a minute, let's eradicate corruption first'-they couldn't care less. What we have right now are the offspring of some of the most corrupt families in Pakistan, fighting against corruption these days.
“We supported the system, which translated into support for the PML-N and created the impression that these two parties are allies, with Imran Khan’s rhetoric claiming that we are taking turns in forming governments. This damaged the party and pushed a lot of our voters towards the PTI. Now they’re coming back.”
But what is the narrative that the PPP is selling in Punjab? “What is the PML-N’s narrative? What is the PTI’s narrative?” asked PPP leader Chaudhary Manzoor in response to the question. He believes that the current discourse is too corruption-centric. “It’s like when someone says I’m starving, and you tell them ‘hold on a minute, let’s eradicate corruption first’—they couldn’t care less. What we have right now are the offspring of some of the most corrupt families in Pakistan, fighting against corruption these days. This is an issue that is relevant to only the upper classes. There’s either mudslinging going on, or talk of corruption. Yes, it is an issue but it’s not the only issue.”
Chaudhary Manzoor says the PPP’s roots are deeper and firmer than those of the PML-N and PTI. “The PPP talks about the people, the working class, the labourers, the youth, marginalised groups. These are the majority, and this is PPP’s loyal vote bank. They’ve kept the PPP alive and the party has kept them alive.” He believes that the PPP has been forcibly kept out of the Punjab.
“In 2008 we could’ve formed the government in Punjab. The PML-N got the backing of independent candidates. But yes, the PPP has been kept out of the province by certain forces,” he claimed, downplaying their defeats in the local body elections. “Local body elections are always dominated by the sitting government. Even so, the PML-N has relied on independent candidates again.”
Wattoo explains the defeats by saying that the party did not have any leadership in 2013. “We did not have Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari was in the presidency and the kids were young. Facing us were the likes of Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Imran Khan.”
On September 17, the by-election for the seat vacated by Nawaz Sharif will be contested in NA-120. The PPP’s candidate Faisal Mir is confident of victory. “The scandals of Imran Khan’s moral corruption and Nawaz Sharif’s economic corruption are both fresh in the minds of the masses,” he said. “The NA-120 voter is a floating voter and they’re looking towards the PPP after being fed up with the politics of PML-N.” Mir said the party officials are knocking on doors to bring their voters back, and they are returning in numbers. He stressed that PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid’s tally of 52,321 votes in 2013, the highest ever against the PML-N in NA-120, had been because she was riding on the coattails of her links with the PPP.
“Yasmin Rashid’s 50,000 votes stemmed from PPP family ties. Her father-in-law Dr Ghulam Nabi was close to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and was his education minister as well. But now we will grab our 50,000 votes back and also take the disgruntled voters of the PML-N,” he claimed. Faisal Mir also believes being an ideological party is the PPP’s greatest strength. “The biggest advantage we have is that these are all rightist parties in the field, asking for votes on the basis of religious and conservative ideologies.”
Chaudhary Manzoor felt that the PPP’s return to the limelight in Punjab owed a lot to the rising graph of Bilawal’s popularity. “The PPP is growing again quickly, thanks to Bilawal Bhutto, who is engaging the masses,” he argued.
Chaudhary Manzoor pointed to the crowds at Chiniot and Fateh Jang as evidence of the PPP’s rise. “They said the PPP can’t gather even 10,000 people. Two rallies have shut everyone up. The PPP is the only party capable of orchestrating such rallies anywhere in Pakistan.” He added that Asif Ali Zardari’s acquittal in corruption cases also reaffirmed the party’s stance and would propel it. “This is what we’ve been saying all along, that all cases against the PPP and Asif Ali Zardari are false. Now we’re being vindicated. Also, what kind of law is it that first arrests our leaders and then forms cases against them, while others seem immune to it?”
Meanwhile Faisal Mir is bracing to spearhead what they hope will be the PPP’s formal return to glory in Punjab, by leading the party to success in NA-120. “This is the constituency of the poor and PPP has won the election thrice in the past. Last time we got fewer votes only because terrorist organisations supported the PML-N and PTI and didn’t let us rally. This time the PPP is already in the field and we’ll start from the 50,000 votes that we already have and take it from there. There’s absolutely no way that PPP will lose this election.”