Larkana (Web Desk): Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said he would prefer to form a government with independent candidates.
“You know, lots of independent politicians, probably the highest (number) in our history, are taking part in the coming elections,” Bilawal said in an interview with Reuters.
“He’s certainly giving the impression that he is relying on something other than the people of Pakistan to become prime minister for the fourth time,” Bilawal said when asked if he thought the establishment was backing Nawaz.
It should be noted that after the PTI was stripped of its iconic ‘bat’ symbol, most of the independents would comprise PTI leaders who are contesting the upcoming elections as independent candidates.
The former FM said he had a concrete plan to provide free electricity and boost social safety programmes, despite fiscal constraints.
“What we propose is to completely restructure Pakistan’s development model, putting the threat of climate change front and centre,” he said, in a reflection of his party's election manifesto.
Making a promise rare in Pakistan, it aims to ensure that funds exceeding $10 billion pledged last year go to fight climate change, after super floods in 2022 that displaced more than 7 million people.
If Bilawal won the election, subject to the vagaries of government formation, calculations show he could be just 25 days short of his mother’s age on entering office in 1988, at the earliest.