Daily Times

The Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) young chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, made his formal political debut with a well-delivered speech at a well-attended rally at Mr Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum this past weekend. The 26-year-old Bilawal covered a wide range of political issues in his 90-minute address; in fact, way more than the 62-year-old Imran Khan has covered in over 90 speeches he has delivered during the past several weeks of his dharna (sit-in). Many of the issues that Bilawal highlighted in a rather hard-hitting speech, right wing politicians like Imran Khan would not touch with a 10-foot long pole. Bilawal’s speech reminded me of a bumper sticker that a PPP stalwart once drew my attention to here in the US: “Vote Democrat; we are not perfect but others are nuts.” Bilawal took a clear left-of-centre position on a broad spectrum of political, social and economic issues. How he will flesh his agenda out will determine his and the PPP’s political future but for now he deserves full marks for making an overwhelmingly progressive pitch.

The most important thing that has happened with Bilawal’s rally is that after six years of being literally confined to their homes or offices due to an unrelenting Taliban assault, a prominent left-of-centre political leader has finally unshackled himself, albeit at great personal risk. The PPP and the Awami National Party (ANP) have been much maligned for their governance and alleged corruption but conveniently ignored is the fact that both parties were battered out of last year’s electoral contest by the Taliban while the state’s security apparatus stood by and watched. The Taliban’s chief apologist, Imran Khan, and those openly pleading with the zealots for mercy like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) Mian Shahbaz Sharif, had the political field wide open to them in the 2013 polls. Unlike Khan and the younger Sharif, Bilawal did not beg for the Taliban’s clemency in his speech. His message was loud and clear: the Taliban and their thought are not compatible with a prosperous and peaceful Pakistan. He not only highlighted atrocities by the religious extremists but also did not shrink from naming their victims like the Shia Hazara of Quetta, Shahbaz Bhatti, Aasia Bibi and of course the valiant Salmaan Taseer Shaheed.

A lot will depend on how the PPP negotiates and navigates the security arrangements for Bilawal as he expands his outreach to the other provinces, which is an absolute imperative for his party’s revival. Imran Khan can pick on Bilawal’s Urdu all he wants but there is no question that the PPP’s chairman has the curb appeal and an oomph that is sure to engage younger voters as they get to see and hear more of him. Bilawal appears to be a fast learner and his delivery and diction has already improved compared to just a few months ago but where he trumps his competitors — old and young — is the substance of his message that clearly had a liberal enlightened overtone. One fears that the obscurantist forces will try once again to keep Bilawal from reaching out to his base. He and the PPP cannot let their guard down even for a second but still have to get him and his message across the country. Door to door canvassing and smaller, more manageable meetings combined with conventional and social or internet-based media may be the way to go.

The PPP should also give serious thought to bringing Bilawal into the National Assembly via by-elections at the earliest. It would not only give him a head start in parliamentary politics but a potential mega publicity boost as well. Unlike a lacklustre and aloof Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary stint in neighbouring India, which drove the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty into the ground, Bilawal is keen, focused and engaging. He could not just learn the ropes but also increase his clout within and outside the PPP through his parliamentary presence. The opposition benches would afford Bilawal to chance to challenge the incumbents and position himself as a clear alternative.

The PPP’s and Bilawal’s major challenge remains to overhaul the Sindh government’s performance. He would not be able to challenge the PML-N in Punjab and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without showing tangible improvement in Sindh’s lot. The traditional way of cramming at election time might do the trick in Sindh but will not get him far in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Punjab. The ‘roti, kapra aur makan (bread, clothing and shelter)’ slogan is not outdated but giving a roadmap of how the PPP proposes to go about delivering that would determine whether the downtrodden public buys into it. Bilawal’s PPP has to focus on the Punjabi peasant and not just on the industrialised GT Road corridor. Socialism, which Bilawal like his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto chose to call musawat (equality), may not be the answer to all ills but neither is the neoliberal economics that the PPP has subsumed over the years. Bilawal has to give an economic programme geared towards the PPP’s social democratic foundations.

The PPP’s organisation has been in shambles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since Benazir Bhutto’s demise. The ANP, PPP and the PTI by and large compete for the same seats in that province and, while the Pashtun voters have a tradition of booting out the incumbents, the PTI stands to gain if the PPP and ANP fight each other. Unfortunately, both the ANP and the PPP do not have a tradition of forging electoral alliances. Bilawal, however, can take a lead and champion a left democratic alliance with the ANP and the Baloch nationalist parties. Progressive or even quasi-secular politics is an endangered specie in Pakistan now. The secular and quasi-secular parties can stick together and have a decent chance at gaining the lost ground or be routed one by one. The PPP’s spineless approach, during its 2008-2013 stint, to the sectarian monsters in Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kurram and above all in Punjab, has alienated its traditional Shia and Barelvi Sunni vote bank. It would take a sincere and robust effort to bring those voters back. Assuaging Baloch grievances would be an even tougher task.

Bilawal has his work cut out for him and he must put together his own team posthaste. As the PPP goes to its Foundation Day convention on November 30, there should be more details about how Bilawal intends to structure his campaign to revamp his party and the country’s polity. A good place to start would be holding elections within the party at all levels, including for the chairman, which Bilawal will win hands down. Well begun indeed but it is a tall order with no time to waste; one wishes Bilawal good luck and Godspeed.

The writer can be reached at mazdaki@me.com and he tweets @mazdaki