Addressing a gathering of hundreds of PPP leaders and workers in the Bhutto family’s traditional stronghold of Naudero in Sindhprovince at about 1.30 am, Bilawal listed the achievements of his grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and mother Benazir Bhutto as he made an emotional appeal to voters.
‘Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s grandson and Benazir Bhutto’s son is calling on you today. This is a movement of peace and it will rest only after ushering in peace and security in Pakistan,’ 24-year-old Bilawal said in the speech that was aired live on state-run television.
Describing the PPP’s election symbol of the arrow as a ‘symbol of democracy’, he urged people to vote for the party.
In an effort to address reports of his differences with President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, Bilawal asked PPP supporters to vote for his aunt as she was safeguarding ‘his seat’ in parliament.
Bilawal also asked the people to pledge that they would make the PPP victorious in polls and exhorted party workers to back former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf during the election campaign.
He led the crowd in chanting emotional slogans about his grandfather and mother and their sacrifices and achievements.
The PPP organised the gathering of its workers behind closed doors in Naudero after cancelling a major public rally that is organised every year on 4 April to mark the death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of the party.
PPP leaders said the rally was cancelled due to security concerns and also because party workers were busy with scrutinising the nomination papers.
100 EU OBSERVERS TO CLOSELY MONITOR PAKISTAN ELECTIONS
The European Union has sent a huge 100-member mission to observe the general elections in Pakistan to be held on 11 May, EuAsiaNews reported. ‘The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Pakistan will be a historic moment for the democratic development of the country as they mark, for the first time, the transition of power from one elected government to the next,’ EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement. Ashton said she has nominated Michael Gahler, a member of the European Parliament, as chief observer for the mission. ‘I am confident that, under the leadership of MEP Michael Gahler, this EOM (Election Observation Mission) will enhance the confidence of Pakistani voters in the process,’ she said. The EU mission will remain in Pakistan to observe the final counting of votes and any complaint procedures, and to prepare a full report.
‘Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s grandson and Benazir Bhutto’s son is calling on you today. This is a movement of peace and it will rest only after ushering in peace and security in Pakistan,’ 24-year-old Bilawal said in the speech that was aired live on state-run television.
Describing the PPP’s election symbol of the arrow as a ‘symbol of democracy’, he urged people to vote for the party.
In an effort to address reports of his differences with President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, Bilawal asked PPP supporters to vote for his aunt as she was safeguarding ‘his seat’ in parliament.
Bilawal also asked the people to pledge that they would make the PPP victorious in polls and exhorted party workers to back former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf during the election campaign.
He led the crowd in chanting emotional slogans about his grandfather and mother and their sacrifices and achievements.
The PPP organised the gathering of its workers behind closed doors in Naudero after cancelling a major public rally that is organised every year on 4 April to mark the death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of the party.
PPP leaders said the rally was cancelled due to security concerns and also because party workers were busy with scrutinising the nomination papers.
100 EU OBSERVERS TO CLOSELY MONITOR PAKISTAN ELECTIONS
The European Union has sent a huge 100-member mission to observe the general elections in Pakistan to be held on 11 May, EuAsiaNews reported. ‘The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Pakistan will be a historic moment for the democratic development of the country as they mark, for the first time, the transition of power from one elected government to the next,’ EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement. Ashton said she has nominated Michael Gahler, a member of the European Parliament, as chief observer for the mission. ‘I am confident that, under the leadership of MEP Michael Gahler, this EOM (Election Observation Mission) will enhance the confidence of Pakistani voters in the process,’ she said. The EU mission will remain in Pakistan to observe the final counting of votes and any complaint procedures, and to prepare a full report.