HUB: Former president Asif Ali Zardari stressed the need for explaining to those elements in Balochistan who had taken up arms, that their survival lay in democracy.
Addressing an election rally in Hub, Zardari, also the president of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), said that the town was located at a one-hour drive from the country’s biggest city of Karachi, therefore it should have the facilities like a metropolis.
“Hub’s budget is not visible here, maybe it has gone to the pockets of friends. There should be hospitals in Hub, there should be water facilities and universities. Hub should also be like Karachi,” Zardari told the gathering. “Explain to the friends, who are taking up arms that your survival is in democracy. Improve law and order and bring peace, investors will come,” he said.
He added that everyone here thought that he knew the solution to Pakistan’s problems but in fact, only political forces knew the solution to the problems. “These great political powers that have been created or are being created will understand this,” he said.
Zardari said that the PPP suffered oppression but it never resorted to fighting. He assured that Baloch people would be given the right to their land. “Balochistan’s survival lies in democracy,” he said, appealing to the people to vote for the PPP on the election day.
Earlier, local people gave a warm welcome to Zardari upon his arrival at the venue. PPP leaders, including former chief minister Qudous Bizenjo, Ali Hassan Zehri, Hassan Jamote, Wahab Bizenjo, Karim Marri, Sabir Baloch, Iqbal Shah and others were present in the rally.
Earlier, With less than two weeks to go until the February 8 general elections, electioneering picked up steam in the country on Sunday as major political parties staged rallies to try and woo voters.
While the PML-N and the PPP held large gatherings in the country, the PTI’s rallies were thwarted by police.
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif emphasised the need to question those responsible for “injustices” against the people. Speaking at a rally in Sialkot, Nawaz expressed regret over the current state of Pakistan, noting that the country he had left behind in 2017 no longer existed, and the employment promised for the youth had not materialised.
He pledged to support the country’s youth, asserting that the PML-N would create job opportunities and provide educational tools to them. He also highlighted the drastic increase in petrol prices, saying they had surged from Rs65 per litre to over Rs260 since he left office.–Agencies
