Benazir Bhutto's Son Tries to Revive His Party's Fortunes

Islamabad: Seven years ago, Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after a decade in exile to a boisterous welcome from hundreds of thousands of her followers. Over the weekend, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 26, tried to reclaim the legacy of his mother with a huge rally in the southern port city of Karachi.

Thousands of party loyalists dressed in party colors of red, black and green gathered on the vast lawns in front of the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the country's founding leader, dancing to party anthems and chanting slogans of support for the young party leader.

The rally was an attempt by the Oxford-educated Bhutto Zardari to capture the popular imagination and revive the sagging fortunes of his political party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, which was battered in the 2013 general elections after completing a five-year term in power, tainted by allegations of corruption and ineptitude. The party has been swept from the national stage and now wields power only on the provincial level, and in just one province, Sindh, where the party has had its power base for decades.

Bhutto Zardari has a tough task in rebuilding his party. Highlighting the challenge was a poor showing in a by-election in the central city of Multan last week in which the PPP's candidate came in third, drawing only a few thousand votes. The winner of the election was an independent candidate supported by the opposition politician Imran Khan, a charismatic former cricket player.

Khan, who has since mid-August been one of the leaders of a protest in the capital, Islamabad, against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is fast gaining momentum as a challenger to Sharif. He has been drawing huge crowds in rallies across the country, especially in Punjab, the most populous and prosperous province, which determines the political future of any political party here.

Khan is calling for fresh elections, claiming that Sharif came to power after a rigged electoral process, and tapping into a widespread feeling of discontent with the government.

Inflation, power failures and allegations of nepotism and corruption against the Sharif family - forcefully articulated by Khan - seem to have struck a chord with the public in recent months.

Khan's rallies have been drawing growing numbers of young men and women, mainly from the middle and upper classes, attracted by his calls for change.

The rally in Karachi on Saturday signaled a new effort by Bhutto Zardari to project himself back on to the political stage and present himself as a future leader of Pakistan, as well as casting himself as the real representative of the country's youth.

He appeared to be trying to reincarnate the spirits of his grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto - both charismatic figures who served as prime ministers.

"I am Bhutto," he said when he took to the stage Saturday.

Bhutto Zardari bears a striking resemblance to both his grandfather and mother and clearly emulates their oratorical styles in his speeches. His grandfather was executed in 1979 by the military government in power at the time; his mother was assassinated in 2007 after her triumphant return home.

The rally in Karachi attracted at least 100,000 people, mostly from rural areas of Sindh, with some 22,500 police officers providing security, according to a police statement. A public holiday was declared in the city.

However, fewer people turned up than the organizers had hoped for, especially from the urban population of Karachi. And many people started leaving in the middle of Bhutto Zardari's speech, analysts in the crowd said.

In his speech, Bhutto Zardari accused his political opponents of using allegations of corruption to sink his party. "Slogans about corruption are an excuse to stop us from serving you," he said.

Political analysts seemed unimpressed with Bhutto Zardari's efforts to project himself as a leader and his oft-repeated contention that "only Bhutto-ism can save Pakistan."

The speech was "rhetoric steeped in the past", said Cyril Almeida, an editor at Dawn, the country's leading English-language daily.

"Bhutto-ism means nothing for the new generation," said Najam Sethi, a prominent political commentator who is the editor of The Friday Times and a talk-show host on GEO TV. He added that the PPP was being eclipsed by the passionate supporters of Khan's party.

"Bilawal's threat to Sharif and Khan is largely symbolic," said Mosharraf Zaidi, an Islamabad-based political analyst. "To make it a real threat, Bilawal needs to dramatically make over the PPP in Sindh, and especially in Punjab. More of the same will not do."