‘I Will Handle This Lion’: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Takes on Nawaz Sharif, Old Allies – News18

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari urged people to vote for the arrow – the election symbol of the party – if they want to stop the ‘lion’, making a reference to the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N). “You just get PPP won. I will handle this lion,” Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said while addressing a rally on Sunday in Sindh’s Hyderabad.

The former foreign minister also attacked the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and urged people to not vote for parties that raise anti-Pakistan slogans. “We will not vote for those who raise anti-Pakistan slogans,” Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said. He also took aim at independents contesting the elections and said votes would be wasted if people vote for independents backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

It should be noted that PTI candidates are contesting elections as independent candidates as the Supreme Court last month upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to strip of PTI’s ‘bat’ symbol because of alleged irregularities in intra-party elections.

Bilawal appeared to criticise old allies of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition and fired salvos at Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F). The JUI-F, PML-N and MQM-P. He said people must note cast votes for the ‘book’ symbol

Addressing the public rally, Bilawal also did not spare even Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), the party which was an ally of the PPP in the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement’s government.

He urged the participants not to vote for “book”, the electoral symbol of JUI-F, asking them not to support those who divide the nation on a religious basis.

“I needed all the seats of Hyderabad,” he tasked his party workers.

Bilawal thanked the people for electing PPP during the recent local body elections in the city and said: “There will be a rain of arrows on February 8.”

The PPP leader urged the masses to bury the politics of hatred and division with the power of vote.

Moving on to the PML-N, Bilawal said another party in the federation was doing the politics of hatred and division.

In a veiled dig at PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, the PPP leader said that he wanted to return to power for the fourth time by hook or by crook.

Slamming the PML-N leadership, Bilawal said that they did not understand people’s problems, adding that they just wanted to rule the country for the fourth time.

PPP and PML-N, two key allies in the former PDM-led government, have been criticising each other since the end of the coalition regime.

A heated war of words between the two mainstream parties escalated further as the country braces for the upcoming elections.