Bilawal says not interested in forming another PDM-like govt

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that he is not interested in forming a PDM-like government again, ARY News reported.

In an exclusive interview with ARY News programme “Off the Record”, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that PPP joined the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government in order to take the country out of the economic crisis but the coalition government failed to achieve its goal as some parties in PDM had different intentions.

On the question related to PML-N, Bilawal said he is surprised that Nawaz Sharif did not reach out to his voters since his return to Pakistan on October 21, even though the former premier gave an impression that the stage has already been set for them and claimed to become the prime minister for fourth time.

On general elections, Bilawal maintained that the Supreme Court has unequivocally stated that the upcoming polls will be held on February 8, 2024.

The PPP chairman clarified that his father Asif Zardari’s statement about him was misquoted saying that he has no difference with the PPP co-chairman as “he himself nominated me the PPP’s candidate for prime minister slot”.

Earlier, the former president Asif Zardari was asked about Bilawal, who in recent days has repeatedly called on the nation to let older politicians “stay at home” and to give someone new a chance in the general elections.

“And then Bilawal is also not fully trained. [We] are training him,” he said.

“He’ll take time,” the PPP leader said. At the same time, Zardari said Bilawal was more talented, educated and better spoken than him but “experience is experience”.

On the other side, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has geared up for the election 2024 as they announced the schedule for upcoming polls.

According to the schedule, PPP will hold 30 rallies across Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, kicking off the election campaign from Swabi on January 10.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) approved the name of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for prime minister slot ahead of the general elections, scheduled for Feb 8, 2024.