Daily Times

After Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’s visit to Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar’s shrine in Pakpattan, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also turned towards Sufi saints on Saturday.

He paid homage at the shrines of Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Dhulley Shah Bukhari alongside inaugurating his campaign office in Lyari on Saturday.

The PPP leader is set to formally start his election campaign in Lyari on Sunday.

During his time in Lyari on Saturday, Bilawal visited a family that lost six members in a drowing accident in Gaddani during Eid days, to offer his condolences.

Speaking to party workers, the PPP leader said he was looking forward to representing the people of Lyari. “I will be directly working with the people to resolve their problems just like my mother Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. She struggled for the rights of the people of this country and I will continue her mission,” he said.

Later in the day, he visited the shrine of Dhulley Shah Bukhari in Lyari. Benazir Bhutto was a regular visitor at the shrine. At the shrine, Bilawal also visited a tree planted there by his mother.

In the rest of Sindh, the PPP chairman will start campaigning from Monday (July 2). A statement issued by the party said that after Sindh, Bilawal would proceed to southern Punjab and then to the rest of the country.

Separately, on Saturday, Ali Raza Shah, grand-son of G.M. Syed, visited Bilawal from Jamshoro district and announced his decision to join PPP.

Former chief minister Murad Ali Shah and PPP leader Malik Asad Sikandar were also present on the occasion. Ali Raza Shah was former tehsil nazim of Manjhand.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued from his office, the PPP chairman criticised the caretaker government’s move to increase petroluem product prices. He expressed concerns over reports that caretaker government was initiating attempts to further hike PoL prices and advised it to concentrate on ensuring free and fair elections, instead of putting more economic burden on the masses.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardar asked the caretaker government to immediately halt the moves aimed at increasing the petrol prices.

Published in Daily Times, July 1^st 2018.