In a war of words that spilled over from the online world, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari declared his party was not like the “cowardly” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, adding that his party always rendered great sacrifices for the sake of democracy and the country.
Bilawal was speaking in Karachi on the anniversary of the 2007 attack on Benazir Bhutto’s caravan on Karsaz road that had killed at least 180 people.
Addressing the ceremony, he called the PPP a party of martyrs.
In an emotional address, he lashed out at the PML-N, PTI and MQM, the major three parties of the country.
Targeting the ruling party, Bilawal promised that the PPP would hunt the lion (symbol of PML-N) in the next elections and Asif Zardari would be president again.
The young Bhutto told a charged crowd of supporters that Imran Khan “stood outside the church and made excuses for the terrorists who were responsible for the attack”, after the Peshawar church bombing that killed at least 78 people and injured over 100 others on September 21.
“PPP will save the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from drowning in the tsunami,” Bilawal claimed.
Criticizing the MQM indirectly, Bilawal said that Karachi, the powerhouse of MQM, was still a colony of London.
The patron-in-chief also said that PPP was a party of “courageous and martyred” leaders, and was not afraid of terrorists.
Commenting on the May 2013 general elections, he said the PPP had given a lot of sacrifices to win the 2007 elections, but in the recent elections the party gave up its seats to protect its members.
“In the 2018 elections, Asif Ali Zardari will be jiyalas’ bow and I will be the arrow,” he further stated.
Bilawal also said the PPP “saved Islamabad” from Sikander, the man who was responsible for the standoff that had been created on Constitution Avenue for almost six hours on August 15. The stand-off had ended when PPP leader Zamrud Khan had approached the gunman and tried to grab him after which the police shot and arrested Sikander.
Bilawal assured the general public that he would fight for them and give his life for them. He also added that if someone had sacrificed his brother or son to acts of terrorism then from today onward, he would be their brother or son.
He also declared “jihad” against religious extremists and further added that “Sindh will once again be PPP’s stronghold”.
Bilawal said on October 18, the Taliban had used a child in the suicide attack on the rally led by his mother on her return from Dubai.
He said the PPP was a party of jiyalas (zealots), adding that it had given numerous sacrifices on several occasions.
Bilawal said he had “sacrificed” his childhood and his mother for the country.
Earlier, he laid a floral wreath at the memorial of those killed in the Karsaz bombing and offered prayers for the victims.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, PPP leader Mian Raza Rabbani and various other party leaders were also present on the occasion.