The absence of Benazir Bhutto’s heir angered members of his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) who say they are leaderless and condemned to defeat, according to a report in the Telegraph.
“We know there are threats to his life and no-one wants to lose another Bhutto but his mother wouldn’t have run away like this,” said an official in Karachi, where the party has been singled out by the Taliban.
Bilawal inherited the post of party chairman when his mother was killed in 2007.
At the age of 24, the Oxford graduate is still too young to stand in elections. But with his father Asif Ali Zardari barred from campaigning because of his position as president, this campaign was expected to bring the next generation of Pakistan’s most famous political dynasty to the fore.
It got off to a shaky start.
The family cancelled their annual rally to remember Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, which was supposed to herald the start of campaign. Instead, citing security threats, his grandson addressed a small gathering behind closed doors.
At the time, party officials said the young leader would appear at 20 rallies before polling day on Saturday.
So far he has appeared at none, leaving party members wondering where he is.
This week, a police officer charged with security at Bilawal House in Karachi – the family’s main residence and political nerve centre – said he was not staying there.
Taj Haider, the party’s general secretary in Sindh, admitted that he did not know where he was either.
“He keeps coming and going to Dubai because his sisters are studying there,” he said, in his office close to the heavily fortified Bilawal House. “But we were unanimous that two chairmen have been killed and we won’t lose a third. We aren’t taking any chances.”
The party is not leaderless, he added, pointing over his shoulder at a portrait of Benazir Bhutto.
“That’s our leader.”
Her widower, President Zardari has held power for the past five years, winning plaudits for holding together a fractious coalition in a country struggling with terrorism, inflation and hours of power cuts every day. His personal ratings are dismal, however.
Analysts believe the party will still pick up seats in its rural heartlands. Agriculture has performed well and the PPP can rely on millions of votes delivered by loyal feudal landlords.
Even so, cracks have appeared in its Sindh fortress. A handful of Benazir loyalists have broken away angry at the way Zardari has forgotten the party’s socialist roots, threatening to split the vote in the Bhutto family’s backyard of Larkana.
With arch rival Nawaz Sharif leading the field and Imran Khan picking up momentum – despite being injured in a fall from a forklift truck on Tuesday and unable to campaign – the PPP looks destined for defeat.
As columnist Zahid Hussain wrote in Dawn this week: “Leaderless and rudderless sums up the current state of the PPP, as it struggles to stay in the critical race.
“There are no big election rallies nor is there any central leader to galvanise the electorate. For the first time, the party has gone into the election campaign without a Bhutto to lead it.”
For now, that means the party is left to rely on the memory and inspiration of Benazir Bhutto, whose striking looks remain the main image on banners and posters.
PPP needs to get mature politically.
There are lot of good candidates in the party than a 24 yrs old kid. They need to give chance to other people than the Bhutto family if they want this party to survive in the long run.
i think party has did a wise decision, to keep Bilwal out of public rallies.. as the country like pakistan faces serious religious miliitancy and it, PPP would not and must not loose another bhutto
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