Adil Najam
The News is now confirmed. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been named the new Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party. His father, Benazir’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari will be the co-Chairman.
Seemingly credible reports suggest that Bilawal Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s 19-year old son, now a student at Oxford University, is being considered as the new PPP Chairperson to succeed his mother – and before that his grandmother and grandfather. Later today he will read out a testament from Benazir Bhutto outlining the future of the party.
Repeating what is now being widely reported, but in more detail, a report from Christina Lamb and Dean Nelson of The Times (London) details:
BENAZIR BHUTTOâ’S 19-year-old son Bilawal will be thrust into a dangerous spotlight today as Pakistan’s most powerful political dynasty prepares to pass the baton to the next generation. Bilawal, a first-year undergraduate at Oxford University, is the heir to a blood-soaked legacy. He lost his mother to an assassin on Thursday; his uncles both died in suspicious circumstances; and his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in 1979 after being deposed from power….
At 3pm today Pakistan time Bilawal will read out his dead mother’s political testament to leaders of the Pakistan People’s party (PPP), which his grandfather founded and the family has always controlled. “They have to show his face to reassure the party that there will be another Bhutto leader in the future,” a diplomat said. Bilawal is expected to play a leading role in the campaign for elections, still scheduled for January 8 despite the riots that have followed the assassination. But he will return to his studies at Christ Church early next year. Under Pakistani law, parliamentary candidates must be at least 25 years old.
Benazir Bhutto wanted Bilawal to complete his education before becoming involved in politics. Although she would have liked him to lead the party, she did not want him to feel compelled to do so or to make the kind of sacrifices that she had to make when her father was executed. Her widowed husband, Asif Ali Zardari, will make a bid today to lead the PPP in order to keep power firmly in the hands of the Bhutto family and to ensure that Bilawal can eventually inherit his mother’s political mantle.
Party leaders grieving for her began discussing the succession last night. The talks took place in Bhutto’s ancestral home at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, where she was buried on Friday in the mausoleum that she built for her late father. Early this morning 10 villagers were keeping vigil by her grave, reciting the Koran. There were two fresh wreaths from the new army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.
…The prospect of Zardari returning to frontline politics has horrified several members of the PPP central executive, who blame him for embroiling Bhutto’s two short-lived governments in corruption allegations. Zardari became known as Mr Ten Per Cent because of widespread allegations that he received kickbacks on government contracts. Many in the party would prefer to see the PPP taken over by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, head of another feudal family, who ran the party while Bhutto was in exile.
If, indeed, he becomes the Chairman – now or in the near future, nominally or actually – the Bhutto family legacy will continue. While the last name changes – as it did in India when Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi took over – the reins of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will remain in the Bhutto clan.
I must confess that my own immediate feelings on this are rather mixed.
I do not think this is a burden (given the weight of the responsibilities or the dangers) to be thrust on one so young. I have never met Bilawal but hear from those who have that he is an impressive young man. I have no doubts that he is but it is neither fair on him nor the party nor the cause of democracy for this to happen at this moment or in this way. More that that, I wish (even though I know it was unlikely) that the Party would open up its leadership and internal democracy process. Also, there is the fear that if he is anointed many will try to manipulate him and he will be turned into a “puppet prince.” I do hope that none of this will happen.
If indeed a role is thrust upon him, even as a figure head whose appointment is meant to hold the party together, this is clearly a big responsibility. It is probably something that he probably anticipated in his future. His mother clearly did. But probably not as soon as this and certainly not in these tragic circumstances.
Whatever happens in the next hours I wish young Bilawal the best. This must be an immensely trying time for him. Whatever happens, I hope and wish and pray that even if he comes to this position because some consider it to be his ‘ancestaral right’ that he will think always of what is good for Pakistan. That he will remember that this is not a privilidge but also a responsibility. There are, of coruse, grave dangers that come with the mantle that some might want him to take on. And I pray earnestly that his fate will not be that of his mother and grandfather.
Finally, no matter what is decided, I pray that he will be guided by the purity, optimism and ideals of youth and not by the self-serving interests of those many who will flood to ‘advise’ him. Leadership is to be judged not only by what leaders do but by who advise they seek and listen to.
My advise to him – not that he asked – is that he should listen always to his heart and mind, well before he listens to anyone around him. Let him be guided by his own idealism, rather than the political ‘pragmatism’ of those who will soon (if they have not already) surround him. Let him follow that which was best in Benazir Bhutto and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and avoid their follies.
I wish Bilawal well. But I will wait on my judgement of him, as will history.
[NOTE TO READERS: We had earlier posted a story suggesting that Bilawal Zardari had already been confirmed as the new PPP Chairperson. Realizing that at that point it had not been confirmed, we then took this post off and replaced it with a note of apology saying that this news was not yet confirmed. Given that Bilawal Bhutto as PPP Chairperson was clearly a possibility (either immediately or in the near future) and that a number of still-relevant comments had been made, we then merged the two posts (including relevant comments) but with appropriate changes in the original post to reflect the fact that as of this writing this was a ‘likelihood’ and not a confirmation. It now turns out that our original sources were correct and Bilawal has been named Chairman.]
Its more than enough for him that he is BB’s son. There wasnt any difference if he changed his name or not. The serious quarters are wishing him the Best and will follow his leads now.
Allah bacha-aye meray Pakistan ko. I am surprised at people (even though I know they mean well) who say the PPP should have picked Aitzaz or Amin Fahim as the new leader. How does this hand picking make PPP a democratic party and on the other hand why give Bilawal ‘a chance’? based on what merit? How about holding an election within the PPP and let the Pakistan loving jiyala’s (who btw just burned my country to ashes) a chance to pick their new leader? Isn’t PPP all about democracy? didn’t Benazir come back after an 8 year exile (or should I say vacation on the people’s tab in France and Dubai) to restore democracy because that’s the only cure for Pakistan? So lets hold elections in the PPP and be honest and true to the word. Handing over the reigns to Bilawal after ‘renaming’ him is a farce that every resonable person can clearly see. The poor kid was not even properly groomed or prepared to make a statement to the world. His first words were about revenge through democracy rather than asking the people to calm down and thank them for their support or telling them Pakistan comes first. Hearing him showed whether it’s regal blood (like the Bhuttos -as they claim) or Oxford/Harvard education, once a fuedal, always a fuedal. The loosers are the awaam and the ignorant jiyalas who the Americans see as PPP’s grass root support base. Little do they know this support comes from generations of ghulami these poor and illiterate people have been forced into by these fuedals and not by the love of democracy that these people have no idea about. Democracy is a system and a way of life and not the right to rule the poor and unfortunate. Those who compare this family with the Kennedy’s or the Gandhi’s are naive and the US has not been ‘ruled’ by the same family since 1988 neither did Bill hand over the reigns of the democratic party to Hillary. She is one the many contenders in the presidential elections and hasn’t even gone past the democratic primary election yet.
And finally thanks to ATP for excellent coverage on the subject and allowing people to comment freely, although I would like the moderators to limit comments from people to 2 at the most in case someone wants to clarify comments from their previous post. There is a tendency to argue unneccesarily by a handful of people and its makes reading the comments painful for the rest.
Well, I earlier wrote under my comments that it’ll be a difficult ride for Bilawal without the Bhutto name. Just saw in the news that Zardari has changed all his children’s names to reflect Bhutto. Now, Zaradari will be the middle name and Bilawal will be known as Bilawal Bhutto. Contesting elections is another politically smart decision. Congress announced early elections after Indira Gandhi’s assassination to ride on the sympathy factor, and that’s exactly what PPP is counting on.
Eidee Man said:
[Well, if so many of you are so distressed at PPP being allegedly run as a monarchy, I remind you that people have the option of not voting for the party!]
Yes, that’s correct. As I have already we, Pakistanis, are little sick in out heads. Pakistan is being run as monarchy in one way or another. Benazir came as the saviour of Pakistan. What kind of a saviour? Did she bring all those of dollars of Pakistan? In a country like Pakistan where police wouldn’t even dare to touch the son of some minister, then how come did they kill Murtaza Bhutto outside his home? Have you ever wondered? Of course, not. Because many of you have an emotional attachment with PPP. Let me ask one thing: Do you have any emotional attachment with Pakistan, at all.
I’m not a pro-Musharraf. But if you see things with open mind then you would agree that some things have changed in Pakistan since he took the reins of government. Those suicide attacks and bomb blasts have nothing to do with Musharraf. Those are the products of Afghanistan. Don’t you see things have changed through out the world? Benazir had promised the USA that she will let them do anything in Pakistan? Who was Benazit to say say such a thing? It is OUR country, not of some Bhutto.
Please have some mercy on Pakistan.
Sincerely,
a Pakistani
1) I don’t know who is saying that ‘PPP is the only hope’ for Pakistan. Not me at least. My stance is clear: I am willing to support any political party who can bring Pakistanis from various parts (and ethnicities) of the country into one platform AND be willing to confront the army-led establishment in the country.
2) And for that I am even willing to ignore the alleged corruption of BB because I think the PPP was not the only one who looted. To tell you the truth the PPP keeps getting hounded is because it is the one single most powerful anti-establishment force in country.
3) Please at least spare me the label of thinking in terms of ‘Sindhi’, ‘Punjabi’ etc. I am Urdu speaking (some may say ‘Mohajir’) but I don’t vote MQM and am rooting for PPP because, as I see it, the party has earned my respect through enormous struggles and sacrifices. BB’s murder was just the latest one.
4) Why not talk about who was where financially in 1977 and how they amassed wealth to become the tycoons that they are now? Why not take some generals to task? Why not some politicians from the various flavors of PML?
5) While the politicians may have looted the exchequer the military rulers have caused far more damage to Pakistan and that includes even Ayub Khan’s rule. And none of them faced the kind of humiliation that NS and Benazir had to face.
6) We can speak of the ideals of M.A.Jinnah all we want. But when we have ruler who is willing to beat up journalists, lawyers, NGOs, political workers, fire judges then, to me, the fight is right there in front of us in the form of the Khaki led establishment.
7) After the denial of Mehsud, I am more than before inclined to think that BB was murdered not by the fundos (they may have provided a rented suicide bombers from our readily available warehouses) but scared elements of establishment who have felt threatened with PPP since the early 70s and will go to any length to keep killing the Bhuttos.