Bilawal leaves Pakistan, not to lead PPP election campaign: officials

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will not be leading the party’s election campaign as party officials confirmed his departure for Dubai on Tuesday, days before the party launches its official campaign on April 4.

Speaking to Dawn.com, PPP leader Sharmila Farooqi confirmed that Bilawal had departed for Dubai. She also confirmed that the young Bhutto would not be ‘physically’ taking part in the party’s election campaign; however, she cited “security concerns” as the reason behind the decision.

The news comes as the Press Trust of India reported that the PPP chairman had left after an argument with his father, President Asif Ali Zardari.

Pakistan – where is it heading?

by Syed Nadir El-Edroos

…. The fact of the matter is that China is not going to risk its $3 trillion foreign currency reserve and $250 billion annual trade surplus with the US, to make threats to Washington on Pakistan’s behalf. And in any case, China didn’t make any threat to the US, all it said was something to the effect that states shouldn’t interfere in other the US. And in any case, why do we need to play one country against another one to begin with? As for the ‘Afghan freedom struggle’, the Taliban are not exactly popular in Afghanistan, and are viewed as Pakistani proxies by many in that country. .

How about the Pakistani state, for once taking some responsibility and not placing all the blame on America? The Pakistani people expect its security apparatus to keep them safe, regardless of who the perpetrators or motivating factors are. The writer should stop peddling the fallacy that if the US leaves, terrorism will end. Do we really think that Punjab-based terroist organisations and sectarian outfits will care if the US leaves the region? Do we really think that groups, which want to establish a state in Pakistan along the lines that the Taliban imposed on Afghanistan will stop with their designs just because America has left?

Courtesy: Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2011.