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She Came, She Saw …

A lot is being laid by Aseefa Zardari as the next big name in PPP’s
leadership politics. Does she have the grace, the charm and the grit?

By Khawaja Amer | January 2021

she came she saw

You don’t choose time, time chooses you. Exactly this is what happened to Aseefa Bhutto Zardari on 30th November, 2020 in Multan. Bilawal who was supposed to address the Multan Jalsa fell sick and his sister was asked to represent him. She came on stage, delivered a very short speech and stole the show. For those present in the meeting she brought to their minds the memories of her mother Benazir.

Whether Aseefa evoked memories of Benazir or not, people were excited to see the youngest of the Bhutto-Zardari clan make her political debut. Even PTI’s Ali Tareen, son of Jahangir Tareen, termed her maiden appearance as “pretty cool”. But those who watched Aseefa live couldn’t stop talking about her striking resemblance with her mother. Though her speech was very brief, it created quite a ripple when she said rather confidently, “If they will arrest our brothers, each woman of PPP is ready for struggle.”

Aseefa, clad in blue, attended the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) public meeting in Multan, on behalf of her brother, who had quarantined himself after testing positive for corona virus, and delivered a brief but impactful maiden speech. As she kept waving to the workers, she remained the centre of attention for all those who attended the meeting --- in fact they eagerly waited for Maryum to wind up her speech so that they could listen to the daughter of Benazir.

Though Maryam’s speech was fiery, it became somewhat boring as those present there wanted to listen to Aseefa ---and naturally so because it was her first political appearance. Moreover, people were also very sympathetic, because she has a line of political martyrs in the family. He grandfather was hanged, her mother was assassinated, her maternal uncle Murtaza was asassinated, another maternal uncle Shahnawaz was poisoned and her father spent about a decade in jail. As such she had all the reasons to get the attention of the attendees.
she came she saw
In 2017, her father Asif Ali Zardari announced that she would enter the election arena in the next 2018 general elections besides her brother Bilawal. So her jump into the political arena is not merely an accident but planned in advance. In a way she is a born politician with her own voice in political matters. On several occasions, Bilawal Bhutto and Asif Zardari have had to change their decisions due to Aseefa’s objections or disagreement. The most important of these was Irfanullah Marwat’s joining the PPP. Aseefa even tweeted against her father’s decision, after which Asif Zardari withdrew his decision to include Irfanullah Marwat in the party.

Similarly she expressed her anger in the Sindh Assembly when the provincial minister Imdad Patafi made immoral remarks against a lady member of the opposition, Nusrat Sehar Abbasi, which forced the party leadership to take action against Imdad Patafi and he was asked to apologize to Nusrat Sehar Abbasi in the House. These decisions show that she has her own say in a number of issues.

Aseefa was already active in Sindh’s politics where she was assisting her aunt Faryal Talpur in political matters. She has been doing commendable work in Sindh in the fight against polio besides actively assists Faryal Talpur in other social work. So the party’s decision to involve her in mainstream politics is quite understandable.

Even PML-N chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, commenting on her maiden speech, said. “It is very encouraging to see that she (Aseefa) is following in the footsteps of her great mother and getting actively involved in politics. Her participation at the PDM gathering is a valuable addition for all of us that would further strengthen PDM.’

Sherry Rehaman, senior PPP leader has rightly said, “Circumstances have always catapulted key members of the Bhutto family into the churn of the political mainstream in Pakistan, both Benazir and Bilawal found the life of politics choosing them, instead of the other way around.” Benazir Bhutto was compelled to join politics when her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was ousted in a military coup, jailed and executed. She went on to lead the PPP, which her father founded, and became the first female head of government of a Muslim-majority nation. Similarly Bilawal was made the chairman of the party after the assassination of his mother.

Likewise, 27-year old Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari was official launched into politics almost by chance. She was filling in for her brother, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who was quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 and could not lead the party in a pre-planned opposition rally. Political analysts believe that the content of her speech was not as important as her aura, which generated the same feelings and energy as her mother.

A PPP lawmaker has disclosed on condition of anonymity said that Bilawal is trying to distance himself from the PDM and is at odds with former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and (Jamiat Ulema Islam chief) Fazlur Rehman’s policy of targeting the security establishment and naming individuals during PDM speeches. To counter this perception, it was deemed suitable that someone from the Zardari family should actively be part of the PDM Multan gathering and Aseefa was the natural choice.

Whatever may be the reason to launch Aseefa, it is clear that her entry in politics will give a much required boost to the PPP, especially in the Punjab.

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