Bilawal confident on leading PPP, says 'I have time on my side'

 

KARACHI:  A decade after Pakistan’s first female Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is striving to reclaim his mother’s mantle.

"If they stopped assassinating us then my mother would be in the foreign office and I would still be a student," said Bilawal during an interview with AFP. 

Since Benazir’s death, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has seen its fortunes plunge, and few are willing to bet on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, now the party’s chairman, shepherding it back to glory.

During the interview, Bilawal spoke about expectations and the legacy of his family. With questions lingering over his ability to lead the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal argues that this youth is an asset: “I have time on my side.”

"My mother often said that she didn’t choose this life, it chose her...The same applies to me," Bilawal said. 

Bilawal is expected to contest the next general election from his mother’s seat in Sindh, however, he admits that his task is a lonely one. “If I was to say I had a life, that would be a lie,” Bilawal told AFP, adding that “Netflix is a life saver.”

According to analysts, Bilawal faces an uphill task in the next general elections with Imran Khan on the ascent and the ruling PML-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif clawing at support.