Daily Times

MULTAN: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday announced that after coming into power following 2018 general elections, the PPP will create a new province in southern Punjab.

Addressing a public rally at Qasim Bagh, the PPP chief said the region had been denied its fair share of resources by those who rule from Raiwind. “We will make a new province in southern Punjab if you [the people] are with me,” he told the cheering crowd.

Bilawal said incumbent chief minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, was responsible for the condition in southern Punjab. “They have grabbed all resources of this region but done nothing for the people of the area. No single hospital was set up in southern Punjab during Shehbaz’s tenure,” he said, adding the budget for flora in Lahore was more than the budget of entire southern Punjab.

“Shehbaz Sharif, you will have to pay for your corruption … you will be held accountable for the martyrs of Model Town … you will be held accountable for Multan Metro project and you will be held accountable for Hudaibiya Paper Mills,” the PPP chief said, adding the Punjab government had failed to safeguard the interests of the region.

Bilawal criticized PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif by questioning his ideology and asked what ideology does he follow. “Is it the ideology that he swore to defend while he was at Zia’s grave?”

He further said that if democracy and the parliament have weakened, its due to the politics of Nawaz and his party. He said that Imran and Nawaz have made conditions worse for the farmers of the country. “We want to further the agriculture agenda to better the lot of farmers,” he said, and added that his party always supported farmers through its policies.

“We will not let Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan ruin the agriculture industry of the country. We will introduce cooperative farming in Pakistan,” he said, adding the people were getting poorer while power was concentrated in the hands of a few.

Bilawal also criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, saying, “Imran claims himself the leader of the youth. But my question is: what you have done for the youth?” He said that Imran introduced the culture of abusive language in the country, advising him to learn the ‘ethics of politics’.

Bilawal said PPP’s government in Sindh established several new hospitals in the province which were providing free medical facilities to the citizens.

Praising the people of Multan, Bilawal said he can always count on the city for support to PPP. Earlier, Bilawal and Zardari reached the rally venue in Multan to address party supporters and workers in another apparent show of political strength.

Former prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf, opposition leader Khursheed Shah, former Lahore governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood and other party leaders were also present.

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th 2017.