A PPP leader in LAHORE claimed on Saturday that Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari disagreed on how to handle party business, particularly in regards to the establishment.
“It is not a ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy as being perceived by the media,” he told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
An apparent schism inside the Zardari House has come to light due to Bilawal and his father’s seemingly at odds stances on the approaching elections and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The Sharif family used this strategy in the past, with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s camp towing an anti-establishment agenda during trying times and his brother Shehbaz Sharif proudly advocating a policy of reconciliation.
The Express Tribune spoke with a number of party leaders, including many from Punjab and one from Sindh, and all of them disputed that such a split existed inside the party.
It’s true that the “ECP’s discriminatory position towards Sindh” is a little-known reality.
Faisal Kareem Kundi had earlier denied any impression of this discrimination on part of the ECP in an interview with The Express Tribune, while his own party chairman reportedly censured the polls supervisory body, saying that it had a “biassed approach” towards Sindh in an interaction with the media in Malir, Karachi.
The PPP chairman at the time bemoaned the lack of adoption of the policy on transfers and postings that has been established in other provinces, saying that the money could have been used to help rebuild flood-ravaged areas in Sindh.
It is well known that Zardari does not become involved in party politics until there is a dire scenario, therefore another PPP leader, commenting on the condition of anonymity, stated that Bilawal was the “ultimate authority” within the party.
He called it “embarrassing for the party” as Zardari and Bilawal’s stances on the upcoming elections were diametrically opposed.
He said the party had “veered into turbulent waters” because Bilawal lacked restraint and that things would not have escalated to this point if Bilawal had demonstrated more self-control.
PPP chairman stated Zardari was opposed to his son’s “style of aggressive politics” because of his reputation for promoting a policy of reconciliation.
He remarked, “Bilawal has brought the PPP up against the mighty establishment, and there is an urgent need to reduce this gulf between them and powers that be.”
The head of the PPP noted that Zardari will not try to diminish his son’s influence in the party.
He stated, “there is a lot of room available to spin it around” because Zardari’s viewpoint was just announced in a statement.
He argued that the only group to formally enter the political arena was his own, notwithstanding the benefits that would result from Bilawal’s mass contact programme. For him, “the real fight” was to protect his home province of Sindh.
Acting PPP President Rana Farooq said that while Bilawal spoke for the Pakistan Peoples Party, Zardari spoke for the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), and that the latter had to be more accommodating and less forceful because it was the party that ran candidates in elections.
When pressed on whether or not the two groups were distinct, he answered in the negative.
PPP leader, when asked why father and son have opposing stances, responded jokingly, “Bilawal is a young man and has a different way of approaching certain issues.”
According to PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, the conversations between the father and son were very similar.
By his own admission, “this is all conjecture,” he dispelled any notion that the PPP was outside from the established order.
Regarding Bilawal’s comments on the “ECP’s discrimination in Sindh,” Kaira stated that he was unaware of the party chairman’s statement and emphasised that if such a situation arose, it was the responsibility of the election supervisor to guarantee that everything was done in accordance with the law.
