Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his sister Aseefa Zardari (L) wave to supporters during a rally in Lahore on Sunday. Reuters

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday urged the supporters of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) to rally behind his party in the upcoming general elections, pledging to put an end to the politics of revenge and division.

Addressing a public gathering in Lahore in connection with PPP’s campaign for the general elections 2024, Bilawal said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is now taking revenge from the PTI, adding that the PPP is against any sort of political discrimination. “I’ve experienced the oppression of PML-N myself, and I wouldn’t want any political party worker to go through such difficulties,” he said during the rally.

Bilawal said that the politics of 1990s cannot be prevailed in 2024. He urged the youth not to ‘waste’ their votes and exercise their right for the best option.

PPP supporters during a rally in Lahore on Sunday. Reuters

Meanwhile, Bilawal once again censured the ‘old’ politicians and said that the country cannot be left on mercy of those politicians who already had many opportunities to serve Pakistan but ‘failed’ miserably.

The PPP chairman said these ‘old’ politicians had served as prime minister or chief minister for several times but did ‘nothing’ for the common men. “The likes of Showbaz and Wasim Akram Plus were imposed on Punjab,” he added.

Bilawal once again vowed to implement the party’s 10-point agenda against inflation, poverty and unemployment, if elected to power. “We will bury the politics of hatred and division,” he added.

He said that the PPP has been mocked for turning to Lahore for the election campaign. “I want to make it clear that Lahore is mine not someone else’”

Earlier Bilawal told a private TV channel that he wanted to quit the cabinet of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government but his father Asif Ali Zardari had stopped him from doing so.

“In the last days, I had my party’s permission to sit on the opposition benches but Zardari stopped him, saying they had given their commitment (to be part of the government),” Bilawal said.

He said he should have left the foreign ministry as some decisions were taken which were not in accordance with his ideology. “I wanted to leave the ministry and sit with the opposition. I told my party and Zardari that I couldn’t go on like this.”