Daily Times

Accompanied by party activists and leaders, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto will lead a rally all the way from Islamabad to Mirpur in Azad Kashmir, as the third generation of the Bhutto family is all set to resume his mother’s journey from Rawalpindi.

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According to informed sources, Bilawal will depart for Quaid-e-Azam Stadium from Zardari House at 10am on Monday. Earlier, sources had informed that the PPP chief would not visit Liaquat Bagh due to the government not giving the permission. The possibility, however, cannot be ruled out.

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Shahzad Shafi, a PPP activist from Lahore, says prominent party activists will offer prayer at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi (the place where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007). Another activist, Ahsan Abbas Shah, says more and more people will join the young Bhutto in his rally.

From Twin Cities to Mirpur

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The rally will pass through Rawat, Mandara, Gujjar Khan, Sohawa, Din, Mangla Cantt, Mangla Dam, and will culminate at Quaid-e-Azam Stadium in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, where Bilawal will deliver his address at 5pm. PPP leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf will join the rally from Gujjar Khan.

Torch-bearer of the Bhutto family

The PPP chairman in his address has promised more rights and power to the people. He has called for an end to corruption, especially in the wake of the Panama revelations. Bilawal has also asked the federal government to appoint a foreign minister.

Party activists have compared the young Bhutto to his late grandfather and founder of the PPP, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. They say the young Bhutto is the torch-bearer of the party and they fully support him, just like they supported and loved his mother and grandfather.

Senior leaders of the PPP, Qamar Zaman Qaira and Nadeem Afzal Chan told Daily Times that every single party activist is motivated and is fully supporting Bilawal in his initiatives. They said the PPP chief consults workers in party matters as he believes in upholding “people power”. “Under Bilawal’s leadership, the party has gained new strength,” said Chan.

Media coverage

Some party activists, however, have criticised media coverage of the PPP rallies. Several leaders and journalists are of the view that media is somewhat biased towards Bilawal when it comes to covering his speeches.

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