Bilawal Bhutto urges politicians to unite around 'Charter of Reconciliation'

Islamabad: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has proposed that all politicians should unite around a "Charter of Reconciliation" as he accused them of playing with the cash-strapped country's fate because of their egos, media reports said on Monday.

Bilawal, a former foreign minister, was speaking at a public gathering on Sunday in the Larkana district of the Sindh province of Pakistan to mark the 45th death anniversary of PPP founder and his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Former Pakistan prime minister Bhutto, 51, was executed by the military regime in 1979.

Bilawal emphasised the necessity for political figures to unite around a ‘Charter of Reconciliation’, as he urged them to engage in constructive political dialogue at the table, The Business Recorder newspaper reported.

He urged politicians to have a political dialogue to improve the country's system, democracy, and institutions through amendments.

Asserting that political stability can only be achieved through the ‘Charter of Democracy’ and ‘Charter of Reconciliation’, he said that the PPP will be at its forefront, the Dawn newspaper reported.

“Rather than playing dharna-dharna, we should sit on the table and have a political dialogue to bring improvement in our system, democracy, and institutions through amendments,” he said.

Bilawal also said certain politicians are driven by personal ego and are willing to jeopardise the nation for their own gain, in an apparent reference to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been accusing the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of stealing the mandate of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in the February 8 general elections.

Warning of the looming threat of military intervention if politicians failed to prioritise national reconciliation and persisted in trading insults, he cautioned against the detrimental consequences, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

“It won’t foster Pakistan’s development or strengthen its economy; rather, it will only undermine democracy and harm the people,” Bilawal was quoted as saying.

Underscoring the necessity for judicial reforms, he noted that 90 per cent of the Charter of Democracy points had been accomplished, with only the remaining 10 per cent about the judiciary.

Bilawal also addressed the historic low in people's trust in the institution, stating, "We must work to restore this trust.” Also speaking on the occasion, President Asif Ali Zardari, also Bhutto's son-in-law, urged politicians to find common ground.

The PPP Co-Chairman asserted that persistent infighting among politicians leads to public suffering, jeopardises future generations, and dims the prospects of progress.

“Let’s come together and find common ground,” he said.

“And if consensus proves elusive then let's step back and reconsider. Persistent infighting among politicians only leads to public suffering, jeopardises future generations, and dims the prospects of progress,” the President said.

He said that politicians often engage in battles even over matters of public welfare and underscored that holding power should solely be about serving the masses.

Zardari also said that it wasn’t Pakistan’s destiny, or that of its people, to perennially endure poverty, asserting that the cash-strapped nation is abundantly endowed with resources.

“The notion of poverty only exists in the narrow minds of Islamabad’s bureaucracy, which has perpetuated our impoverishment,” he said.

Last month, the Supreme Court observed that PPP founder Bhutto, 51, who was executed by the military regime in 1979, did not receive a fair trial.

His execution was carried out after a seven-member Supreme Court upheld the conviction, which many believe was done under coercion exercised by the then-military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq, who had toppled Bhutto’s government in 1977.

Bhutto’s supporters, who later termed his hanging as a “judicial murder”, accused the military ruler and the apex court of colluding to hang an elected prime minister on trumped-up charges.