–PPP chairman says centre has deprived Sindh of Rs120bn
KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) kicked off a train march Larkana from Karachi’s Cantt Station on Tuesday amid participation of thousands of people, including ministers, senators, MNAs and MPAs.
Called the “Karawane Bhutto”, the mass contact movement against rising inflation in the country comes ahead of the 40th death anniversary of the late former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The march will reach Larkana on Wednesday evening via Rohri, Sukkur, Habibkot and Naundero routes. A big gathering will be held at Shahnawaz Bhutto Railway Station in Naundero, where PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will address the party workers and supporters.
At Juncshahi and Kotri Railway Stations, Bilawal received a warm welcome by the party workers who showered rose petals on the train and chanted slogans in favour of the PPP leadership. They condemned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s anti-PPP policies and extended full support to the PPP leadership.
Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has deprived Sindh of Rs120 billion.
“We can provide education and health facilities to people of Sindh from these funds,” he said, accusing the PTI government of political victimisation of PPP leaders.
He said that Bhutto’s death anniversary would be commemorated with great fervour and party workers and people from all corners of the country would rush to Garhi Khuda Bux to pay tribute to him.
PYO Sindh’s thousands of workers participated in Karwan-e-Bhutto Train March. PYO Sindh President Javed Nayab Laghari, General Secretary Shoaib Mirza, Information Secretary Taimoor Ali Mahar, prominent PPP office-bearers and hundreds of workers departed for Larkana led by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto while participants of District Thatta, Jamshoro and Hyderabad were warmly welcomed by PYO. The leadership of PYO issued instructions to the workers in all districts.
On this occasion, the PYO president said that “Niazi government” cannot sleep after watching thousands of people in “Karawane Bhutto”. “We are in this caravan with our leader Bilawal Bhutto while our workers are performing their duties with dedication in the entire train march in Sindh for success,” he said.
General Secretary Shoaib Mirza said that the federal government, which depends on foreign loans, had made the whole nation a “beggar nation”.
On the occasion, PYO spokesman Taimoor Ali Mahar said that the PTI government was trying to sell the whole country and the nation to please international agenda but millions of people in Bilawal Bhutto’s train march will prove to be the last nail in the federal government’s coffin.
Taimoor Ali Mahar said that PPP is the biggest political party of the country. He added that the value of rupee in the country was depreciating and the way the dollar’s value was being increased, poverty and unemployment was increasing on daily basis, which had badly affected the life of a common man of the country.
On Monday, Bilawal encouraged the people in a tweet to join the train march. “Tomorrow morning our train journey from Karachi to Larkana begins. Join us for Karawane Bhutto”, he wrote.
Tomorrow morning our ? journey from #Karachi to #Larkano begins. Join us for #KarawaneBhutto #SalaamBhutto pic.twitter.com/ddVdLr0c4K
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) March 25, 2019
According to media reports, a booth had been set up at the railway station to facilitate those wishing to participate. It was reported that the party spent over RS1.5 million to book a train.
The train has 14 bogies facilities such as air-conditioned sleeping spaces, a highly-equipped kitchen as well as a meeting room. Eight economy class bogies and two bogies for guards are also part of the caravan.
On Sunday, Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had said that PPP had been granted permission to lead a train march. However, he regretted that he was not allowed to stage such march via train in the past.
Had the PPP chief been against corruption, he would have emerged as a national hero but he was now ‘zero’, the minister said, suggesting that the people holding the march should do some retrospection.
The second phase of the march is expected to be carried out in April, where the train will go from Rohri to Peshawar.
