Bhutto's Son To Lead Political Party

[x_man]

Seeing the track record of Bhutto's, if Bilawal wants to reach his prime age, he should stay away from politics. But probably his desperate dad cares more about himself (and his futuristic looting plans) and hasnt hesitated a bit to get his 19 year old son's neck into this messy politics.

I dont know if this kid has even got a licence to drive a car but he has definitely got the licence to drive the country's biggest political party.

Probably another true Zardari in making with Bhutto's name. God bless us all.

 

[natalie]

Seeing the track record of Bhutto's, if Bilawal wants to reach his prime age, he should stay away from politics. But probably his desperate dad cares more about himself (and his futuristic looting plans) and hasnt hesitated a bit to get his 19 year old son's neck into this messy politics.

I dont know if this kid has even got a licence to drive a car but he has definitely got the licence to drive the country's biggest political party.

Probably another true Zardari in making with Bhutto's name. God bless us all.

BB was not a coward and i am sure neither did she taught her only son to be
run away and turn your back is not something they do.........

 

[natalie]

Seeing the track record of Bhutto's, if Bilawal wants to reach his prime age, he should stay away from politics. But probably his desperate dad cares more about himself (and his futuristic looting plans) and hasnt hesitated a bit to get his 19 year old son's neck into this messy politics.

I dont know if this kid has even got a licence to drive a car but he has definitely got the licence to drive the country's biggest political party.

Probably another true Zardari in making with Bhutto's name. God bless us all.

and i am sure if money they want they have plenty of it already.......and seeing most their family gone one by one how shallow one have to be to still care about money i am sure they have nothing but best intentions in their hearts to carry the Bhutto mission to make Pakistan and true democracy.

 

[Spring Onion]

Well i dont know whether he would be a good leader or bad but for me one thing do concerns and that PPP is not the property of BB or Bhutto family nor thousands of workers and voters whom BB or Zardari had tranffered to Bilawal.


If there is no democracy in a party how can it brings to the nation.

Secondly during yesterday's Press Conference where he was made chairman of the part sherry was translating Urdu questions from journalist for Bilawal.

So my dear our future "leader" even dosnt understand the language of the country which he is going to rule, what to say about speaking it.

dont wish to say anything more
Period.

 

[natalie]

Well i dont know whether he would be a good leader or bad but for me one thing do concerns and that PPP is not the property of BB or Bhutto family nor thousands of workers and voters whom BB or Zardari had tranffered to Bilawal.


If there is no democracy in a party how can it brings to the nation.

Secondly during yesterday's Press Conference where he was made chairman of the part sherry was translating Urdu questions from journalist for Bilawal.

So my dear our future "leader" even dosnt understand the language of the country which he is going to rule, what to say about speaking it.

dont wish to say anything more
Period.

jana you have got a point here but what are we to say they chose him and BB was also not very good in urdu to start with then she got a hang of it.

 

[HAIDER]

Balwal and PPP ,,Zardaries cashcow...Last time Zaradari commission was 10%, now it will be whole country.

 

[Neo]

Asif takes charge, wants polls on schedule : Fahim premier candidate​

By M.B. Kalhoro

Naudero, Dec 30: The Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday resolved the potentially explosive succession issue by choosing two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s son Bilawal and allowing her husband Asif Ali Zardari to wield the real power as the teenager’s regent.

The crucial decisions were made at a closed-door meeting of the PPP’s central executive committee where the will of the slain opposition leader, presciently prepared by her two days before her return to the country on Oct 18, was read out by Bilawal and endorsed by top party leaders.

Asif Zardari told DawnNews TV after a press conference at Naudero that the PPP had decided to take part in the elections on Jan 8.

Observers say the PPP decision to contest the upcoming polls is aimed at maximising the massive wave of sympathy across the country for the party that lost its charismatic leader in a gun-and-bomb attack in Rawalpindi on Dec 27.

Nineteen-year-old Bilawal, a student with no experience in politics, said he would remain at Oxford University to continue his studies, leaving his 51-year-old father, who was officially designated co-chairman, to run the party on a day-to-day basis.He was rechristened as Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to remind party supporters that he belongs to the Bhutto family – one of the most powerful political dynasties in the subcontinent.

Mr Zardari then told reporters to direct questions at him, saying that his son was at a “tender age”.

Mr Zardari, who spent eight years under detention on corruption charges in Pakistan before his release in late 2004, was a key power-broker in the party, especially when his spouse was prime minister.

While then he often proved a political liability to her, he conducted himself admirably at Sunday’s press conference and laid due emphasis on the PPP’s pro-federation stance, pointing out that anti-Pakistan slogans chanted by grief-stricken activists at the funeral did not represent the party’s policy.

He also pointed out that most of Ms Bhutto’s bodyguards who fell in the Dec 27 attacks were from Punjab and had been befriended by him during his stay in jail.

Since Mr Zardari is not contesting the Jan 8 polls, he told newsmen at the press conference that another party leader, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, would be their candidate for prime minister if the party won.

He appealed to the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to drop plans to boycott the polls. He poured scorn on the pro-Musharraf PML-Q, saying repeatedly that it was a “Qatil [killer] league”.

Mr Zardari appealed to the United Nations and the British government to help investigate the Dec 27 assassination of Ms Bhutto – conveniently blamed by the government on a pro-Al Qaeda group. He said the party wanted a UN investigation like the one probing the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. He said he had denied the government permission for an autopsy, saying he had lived here “long enough to know” how it would have been handled.

He also urged supporters who have rioted across Pakistan since Ms Bhutto was slain to show restraint. “We will avenge the murder of Bhutto through the democratic process after winning the elections,” he said.

Mr Fahim, who along with Punjab PPP president Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will sit on an advisory council, told newsmen that according to Ms Bhutto’s will, Mr Zardari was to succeed her. “But Mr Zardari decided that Bilawal should assume the mantle of leadership,” he explained.

Earlier, thousands of people converged on Naudero and Garhi Khuda Bux to take part in the Soyem prayers for Ms Bhutto.

AFP adds: Earlier, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q party supporting Gen Musharraf announced that it was suspending campaigning for the vote and suggested a delay of up to 12 weeks.

Tariq Azim, former deputy information minister, said conditions had become too difficult because of the unrest.

“We have suspended our campaign because of the prevailing situation,” Mr Azim said. “Keeping everything in mind, a delay of 10 to 12 weeks is realistic.”

But PPP said it would not accept any delay.

“We will not accept any postponement of the elections and we want them as per schedule by January 8,” PPP Senator Safdar Abbasi told AFP. “If postponed or delayed we will devise our future course of action.”

Asif takes charge, wants polls on schedule : Fahim premier candidate -DAWN - Top Stories; December 31, 2007

 

[Neo]

Democracy the best revenge, says Bilawal​

NAUDERO, Dec 30: Benazir Bhutto’s son Bilawal accepted the joint leadership of her party on Sunday along with his father Asif Ali Zardari and immediately vowed to fight for democracy as revenge for her assassination.

At an emotional news conference where he was presented as chairman and his father as co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, 19-year-old Bilawal, an Oxford University student untested in politics, said he was ready to lead.

And Mr Zardari announced that henceforth Bilawal’s family name and that of his sisters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa, would be Bhutto Zardari, instead of only Zardari.

“My mother always said that democracy is the best revenge,” Bilawal told the news conference at the family home.

“The party’s long and historic struggle for democracy will continue with a new vigour,” said the teenager, wearing a sombre expression as he took over the mantle of a party whose previous leaders, his mother and grandfather, came to violent ends.

Bilawal said that like his mother he would be the symbol of the federation of Pakistan.

* Bilawal is six years short of the eligible age to stand for parliament and is more familiar with the high streets of Dubai and London, his family homes during Benazir’s long years of exile, than with Pakistan’s troubled electorate.

* He went to a prestigious high school in Dubai and recently followed his mother’s footsteps to Oxford, but his mother’s constant political travails and his father’s jailing for eight years on ‘cooked up’ graft charges left a deep imprint on him.

* Almost 30 years before his mother was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack, his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first popularly elected prime minister, was hanged by the military regime that had deposed him.

* In his few press interviews, an adolescent Bilawal revealed a political conscience and a burning sense of injustice at the way his mother and father had been treated by Pakistan’s military and by her chief political rival, Nawaz Sharif.

* As a 16-year-old at high school, he told the Press Trust of India in an interview in 2004 that he felt justice and democracy held the key to resolving Pakistan’s problems.

* Asked if he would one day enter the whirlpool of Pakistani politics, Bilawal, a Taekwondo black-belt and horse-riding enthusiast like his father, was quoted as saying:

“We will see, I don’t know. I would like to help the people of Pakistan, so I will decide when I finish my studies.”

He added: “I can either enter politics, or I can enter another career that would benefit the people.”—Agencies

Democracy the best revenge, says Bilawal -DAWN - Top Stories; December 31, 2007

 

[Neo]

PPP’s new leader​

THE unfortunate reality of South Asia´s dynastic politics was in evidence on Sunday as Bilawal Zardari, the 19-year-old son of the slain Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto, was approved as chairman by the central executive committee. But not before he, along with his sisters, decided to take on the Bhutto name. He will now be called Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Pakistan does not have a long democratic tradition but even democratic India is not immune from the magical attraction of political dynasties. Sadly, both here and across the border these dynasties are also haunted by tragedies.

After the PPP leader’s assassination last week, world attention seemed riveted to Naudero where the party’s CEC was scheduled to meet with a daunting agenda. The issue of succession had to be decided without delay if the PPP were not to go adrift at a time when it was required to chart its political course. There was also the need to decide whether to participate in next month’s polls. On the eve of the meeting, Asif Zardari had told BBC that his spouse had left a will and all decisions would be informed by this document. At the eagerly-awaited news conference, Makhdoom Amin Faheem told journalists that Ms Bhutto wanted Asif Zardari to take over the party but he had decided to hand over the mantle to his son. In turn Bilawal said he would take up the reins of the party after completing his education. He is in his first year at Oxford.

This effectively puts the party in co-chairman Asif Zardari’s hands. He seemed aware of the challenges he faces. He was very quick to try and isolate the fringe elements in Sindh, who were seeking to use Ms Bhutto’s killing to fan anti-Punjab sentiments, saying he’d been pained by ´Pakistan na khapay´ (Don’t want Pakistan) slogans at her graveside. He reminded his audience that PPP was a party which believed in the federation. His appeal for calm included the advice to supporters to seek their revenge at the ballot box – confirming that the party will take part in elections, which it wants should be held on schedule. In a deft move aimed at keeping unity in the party ranks, Makhdoom Amin Faheem was presented as the prime ministerial candidate. For the moment, most of the decisions taken by a traumatised PPP appear politically prudent. The party wishes to try and turn the tragedy of losing its leader into an electoral victory by continuing to have a Bhutto at the helm even if only as a figurehead for now and garnering the sympathy vote. It has been accused of using the ´Sindh card´ in the past, so its response to parochial slogans will appeal to a much broader support base. Now it is up to the government to ensure that it responds with assurances of free, fair and impartial elections and by conducting a transparent probe into Ms Bhutto’s assassination.

DAWN - Editorial; December 31, 2007

 

[araz]

What a sad state of affairs. I dont have anything against Bilawal, but to be propelled to the state of party leadership from student days is not something i would envy. It is unfortunately another facet of pakistani politics which relies on names rather than policies. I fret that PPPs senior leadership are so gutless as to accept this decision. I dont mind if Bilawal came up the ranks of the party and learnt the ropes as he matured in the political arena, but being made a party chief just because of who you areis pathetic. Iguess it goes on everywhere, ie Isfandyar Wali , Asghar Khans son, and Nawabzada Nasrullah Khans son, but it is still pathetic. This is more dynasty building than politics. Have we still not come out of the Mughal era?
Regards
Araz

 

[Spring Onion]

Online support grows for 'hot' Bhutto son Tue Jan 1, 10:22 PM ET



LONDON (AFP) - Bilawal Bhutto, thrust into the political spotlight by the assassination of his mother in Pakistan, can count on support from at least one source -- female Facebook fans who describe him as "hot".




"Oh My God he's cute," said one contributor to "Let's not assassinate Bilawal Bhutto because he's hot, ok?," a new group on the social networking site after the 19-year-old was named last week to succeed his mother as leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

"Oh God, I totally agree. He's so sexy," added another member of the group, which so far had 48 members.

The Oxford undergraduate, who attended his mother Benazir Bhutto's funeral last Friday, reveals a few things about himself on his own Facebook site, describing his political views as "liberal".

"What's Islamic extremism? It's strict adherence to a particular interpretation of seventh century Islamic law as practiced by the prophet Mohammed, and when I say 'strict adherence', I'm not kidding around.

"Men are forced to pray, wear their beards a certain length. Among my favorites is there's only one acceptable cheer at a football match: Allah-hu-Akbar. God is great.

"If your guys are getting creamed, then you're on your own," he wrote on his Facebook site, which says he has 315 friends.

Bilawal, who is due to return to his studies in Oxford this month, lists his hobbies as cricket, swimming, squash and shooting, his favourite TV shows include "The Simpsons" and top filmmakers Michael Moore and Quentin Tarantino.

Other details are revealed by online friends: the Guardian daily printed a picture of him in fancy dress as the devil at a Halloween Party with red horns and a trident.

"We're ready to bring hell on earth ... mwaaahahahahahah," he reportedly added in a comment appended to the photo, posted by a friend.

Other Facebook groups focused on the teenager, whose nomination raised some eyebrows among critics of the dynastic system, include "Support Bilawal Bhutto Zardari," and another named: "Bilawal Bhutto Zardari? Where'd he come from?"

 

[Flintlock]

I had expected that Benazir's death would spring forth some dynamic leader who was waiting in the wings, but unfortunately PPP seems to be run like a dynasty.

In India also the same thing happens, generations of politicians often get voted back because of their surname.