Sikandar Hayat Stadium, Kotli, JUL 19: /DNA/ – Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, addressing a massive election rally in Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, said that Kotli feels like home to him. The PPP candidates contesting the elections are not merely party workers, but members of the PPP family. Chairman Bilawal said that today, Chaudhary Yasin’s fourth generation addressed the rally, adding that he still remembered Chaudhary Yasin standing by the party during their years in exile. He described Chaudhary Yasin as a symbol of loyalty in Kotli, saying that the bond between the PPP and the people of Kotli had been forged over generations and would endure for generations to come.
Chairman PPP said that the PPP remains the most popular political force in the election. So many aspirants wished to contest on the PPP ticket that the party had more deserving candidates than available seats. He said the leadership had to choose between rewarding long-standing loyalists and accommodating new entrants. “When the party was considering candidates, I instructed the leadership to prioritise our loyal workers,” Chairman Bilawal said. Recalling the selection process for LA-13, he said it was not a difficult decision to choose between a new entrant and the son of Matloob Inqalabi. Matloob Inqalabi had dedicated his life to the PPP, and today his son is carrying forward that legacy on the party’s ticket. Chairman Bilawal said that he has fulfilled his responsibility by awarding the ticket, and it is now the responsibility of the people to ensure his victory.
Recalling the previous elections, Chairman PPP said that the PPP had contested under far more challenging circumstances, when PML-N governed Kashmir and PTI was in power in the centre. Despite those obstacles, the people of Kashmir placed their trust in the PPP. Today, the circumstances are different. The PPP has been governing Kashmir for the past six months, while PML-N is in the federal government. Therefore, the challenges are no longer the same.
Addressing the rally, Chairman Bilawal declared that he wanted every seat in Kotli. He said the rivals knew Javed Badhanvi was heading towards victory and retaliated by registering an FIR against him. They want to portray the people of Kashmir as terrorists, but they will never succeed in intimidating PPP workers, he said. They have forgotten that this is the party whose leader embraced the gallows rather than bow before dictatorship. The people of LA-9 will elect Jawed Badhanvi with a resounding mandate, he added, warning that those responsible for harassing PPP workers would be held accountable.
Addressing the jiyalas of LA-8, Chairman Bilawal expressed confidence that Malik Zafar would emerge victorious, while Chaudhary Akhlaq too must secure a landslide mandate from LA-11. He said the remaining two seats rested with Chaudhary Yasin, who had previously won both under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, even while his son was arrested. Those who once sought to imprison them are now facing imprisonment themselves, he said. This time, he said, Chaudhary Yasin must emerge victorious with an even larger majority.
Chairman Bilawal said that the manifesto he has brought before the people has already been endorsed by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that he has now come to Kashmir with the same three fundamental principles, the right to rule, the right to ownership, and the right to employment. He said the struggle for Kashmir’s right to rule had been helmed internationally by Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, carried forward by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and later by himself as Pakistan’s youngest ever foreign minister on a global level and even on Indian soil. Chairman Bilawal said the third generation of the PPP stands ready to continue Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s mission, following her pledge that “we will spill blood where the sweat of Kashmiris has spilled.”
Chairman PPP said that Quaid-e-Awam had always maintained that only the people of Kashmir could determine Kashmir’s future. He said the younger generation seeks change and demands greater constitutional and political rights. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto secured Observer Status for AJK in the OIC, he noted, expressing that his vision is to secure a similar status for Kashmir within Pakistan itself. He said the PPP seeks observer representation for Kashmir in key national institutions, including the CCI, NFC and the National Assembly. Chairman Bilawal said that he envisions a day when representatives of Kashmir would sit alongside the MNA from Larkano. Chairman Bilawal added that in future elections Chaudhary Yasin could contest as an interim MNA, enabling Kashmir’s own representatives to directly raise the voice of the Kashmiri people in Parliament.
Chairman PPP said that Kashmir’s mountains, rivers, and natural resources belong to the people of Kashmir. Just as the PPP has pledged to protect the resources of GB, it would make the same commitment to the people of Kashmir. He said that whenever employment has been created in Pakistan, it has been under the PPP. Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto created opportunities for Pakistanis not only at home but also across Europe and the Gulf. Even today, Pakistan’s economy benefits from remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis whose opportunities were created during his tenure. He said that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also became synonymous with employment generation, so much so that the slogan, “Benazir Aaye Gi, Rozgaar Laaye Gi,” became part of everyday political discourse.
Chairman Bilawal said that every Pakistani is deeply concerned about the prevailing situation in Kashmir. He said he personally understands the pain of loss, having lost Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, both his maternal uncles, and his mother. That is why, he said, he empathises equally with the families of martyred soldiers and police officers, as well as with the families of young people who have not returned from the protests. Human life, he stressed, is above any legislative dispute. Just as the PPP believes Sindh should decide for Karachi and Balochistan should decide for itself, it believes that only Kashmir can decide its own future.
Chairman Bilawal said that when he visited Muzaffarabad, the Action Committee wrote to him, and he responded the very next day. He said he also presented the same proposal to PM Shehbaz Sharif. The proposal calls for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to independently investigate the matter and present its findings. Until then, the protestors would suspend their activities while the State would halt its actions. Such an arrangement, he said, would create space for dialogue and progress. However, neither the protestors nor the PM’s representative have responded. If they do not agree to this proposal, they should present an alternative, he said, stressing that Kashmir has remained shut for days. Addressing the protestors directly, Chairman Bilawal said that ordinary Kashmiris are paying the price for a dispute with the State. He urged the federal government to immediately restore internet services, saying that collective punishment of innocent citizens and damage to their livelihoods was unacceptable.
Chairman PPP said that the people of Kashmir are courageous, loyal, and patriotic, and that all their grievances deserve to be addressed. Referring to the upcoming election on 27 July, he said it is now for the people to decide whether they wish to be represented by the PPP or by those who do not even consider Rawalakot and Mirpur to be part of Kashmir. He noted that the federal government has still not clarified whether the remarks made by its representative from Sialkot reflect official policy. If any minister believes that certain parts of Kashmir can simply be discarded, or that the seats of Kashmir are in their “pocket”, they should remember that the future of Kashmir rests only with the Kashmiri people.
On polling day, Chairman PPP said that the rain of arrows would hunt down the lion, and history would remember every corner of Kashmir echoing with the slogan of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
