Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Early years

Born on 21 September 1988, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the eldest child and only son of the Pakistani politician and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, the former President of Pakistan. He is also the grandson of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan.

After completing his studies from the United Kingdom in 2013, Bilawal took over the formal charge of the PPP and made changes in it. He wants to bring reforms to the party, as well as the country.

He is the grandson of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who in his time was one of the most prominent politicians Pakistan has ever seen. Z.A. Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan’s Peoples’ Party (PPP).

Childhood

He went to Aitchison College Lahore for early education, but due to security threats later he was moved to Karachi Grammar School. Bilawal also attended Froebel's International School in Islamabad.^[11] He went to the Rashid School For Boys in Dubai, where he was Vice President of the student council.^[13] 

Bilawal also has a black belt in Taekwondo that he gained during this period. However, he regrets not playing cricket actively because of his family circumstances.^[10]

Bilawal spent most of his childhood in exile in Dubai and London, away from the public eye. He grew up amongst the political turmoil of Pakistan. As a result, he grew very close to his sisters.

Bilawal spent most of his time growing up far away from his father, Asif Ali Zardari. It was not until 2004 that Bilawal and his sisters were reunited with their father, who had been absent from the crucial years of their adolescence. Bilawal, who until then had been kept away from the spotlight and media, finally shared his thoughts publicly in a series of interviews. When he was 16 years old, in an interview with Dawn, he shared the impact the absence of his father had had on him and his sisters. “I have gone through lots of things and he wasn’t there. At the time when we needed him, he was taken away. We were denied a normal life” said Bilawal.

His father was in jail in Pakistan from 1996 to 2004 for corruption charges. He left Pakistan with his mother and sisters in April 1999.^[12] He spent his childhood in Dubai and London during his family's self-exile.^[10] 

Only three years after his father returned from jail, Bilawal lost his mother, who for the most part had been the central figure in his life. He had just started university at Oxford, when his mother Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

University and early career

In 2007, Bilawal Zardari enrolled at Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. He studied British history and later transitioned to study general history.^[9] Here, he became a part of the Oxford Union debating society ^[14], learning a craft that would later come in useful for a budding political career that was still in its infancy.

Time at Oxford

Studying at Oxford University seems to be the norm for the Bhutto family. He enrolled in fall 2007 to study history and politics. Christ Church is known to be the most aristocratic college in Oxford and has produced 13 British prime ministers. It also has a Pakistani prime minister to its credit – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Bilawal’s grandfather).

Benazir’s brother, Mir Murtaza also attended Christ Church College, while she attended Lady Margaret Hall at the same university and went on to become president of the Oxford Union in 1977 – the first Asian woman to do so. Following her example,

During his time at Oxford, Bilawal studied British history and later transitioned to study general history. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari completed his education in June 2010.

 In December 2007, he returned to Pakistan after his mother, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. He came back to Pakistan once more in September 2008 to witness his father being sworn in as President of Pakistan.^[15] 

Political beginnings

Bilawal completed his education in June 2010.^[16]

By then his political involvement was reserved to the extent of Oxford Union. However at 19 years of age Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir Bhutto, had inherited the reins of her Pakistan People’s Party. In order to take more interest in the party’s affairs, Bilawal has started participating in important meetings, along with his father and other senior PPP leaders. He has also chaired high-level meetings of the party, in order to better engage in his role as chairman.

At that time still young, Bilawal held “independent opinions” regarding various issues of national interest, as well as on the affairs of the party. His political engagements increased in December 2011 when he took over the party’s affairs following Zardari’s sudden and much-speculated-upon trip to Dubai on account of medical treatment.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was appointed chairman of the PPP on 30 December 2007. Asif Zardari also announced his son's name change from "Bilawal Zardari" to "Bilawal Bhutto Zardari". However, he made his official political debut on December 27, 2012, which was Benazir’s fifth death anniversary, with an emotionally charged speech.

In 2016, former president, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari announced that together with his son PPP’s Chairman Bilwal Bhutto-Zardari, he will contest the next elections.

His Role As Party Chairman

When he took command of People’s Party Chairmanship, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had two major aims. One was to reorganize the political party to infuse new blood into the system and revitalize the spirit that people’s party has been known for since Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s days. The second aim was to mobilize the party workers to play their role in the 2018 elections. While achieving these aims, the PPP chairman has expressed his interest in working along the guidelines and advice provided by senior party membership, calling them “our great asset”.

While taking charge of the party resources, he independently manages the affairs of PPP, actively paying attention to the restructuring and reorganizing of party efforts in Balochistan, Punjab and Azad Kashmir. All provincial chapters of PPP were dissolved in an attempt to revamp the party. Senior party leaders were set the task to come up with recommendations and ideas for the ultimate setup of a modern Pakistan People’s Party. They were also asked to advise party leadership on the right candidates for the offices of president and general secretary at provincial and district levels.

 The reorganization of Pakistan People’s Party has resulted in successful transition down to the district levels.

Culture

In 2014 Bilawal laid the foundations for the Sindh Festival. The aim is to highlight the historical heritage and unique culture of Sindh as well as celebrate the legacy of thousands of years old archeological sites at Mohenjo-Daro and Makli. Bilawal also invited his political rivals to the Sindh Festival to keep the proceedings apolitical.

Kashmir Cause

Bilawal has time and again reiterated the commitment of his Party towards Kashmir, assuring locals of every moral and legitimate support for their right to self-determination. The PPP Chairman urged the international community and the United Nations to force India for implementation of UN resolutions for holding a plebiscite in Held Kashmir to determine their future.

Equal rights for minorities

Bilawal attends yearly Holi events, celebrating the occasion with local Hindu community.  In a speech during one such event he said, “We want to make Pakistan the country of Quaid-i-Azam… he said you all are free to go to your places of worship — mosque, church and temple. The state has nothing to do with it”. The PPP chairman also wants to bring laws for equal rights in the country.

Empowerment of women

He is a strong proponent of equality of women as partners in Pakistani nationhood. This stance takes center place in legislation brought on by his party. In also, the PPP campaigned for law-making for the protection and promotion of women to curb domestic violence and child marriages while a PPP Bill against Honor Killings was passed by the Senate and still waiting from the National Assembly, where PML-N has the majority in 2016.

Propagation of Sufism

A young Bilawal accompanied his mother to some of Pakistan’s prominent shrines, namely Dulha Sabzwari Bukhari Shah in Kharadar (Karachi), Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Sehwan Sharif), Bari Imam (Islamabad) and Abdullah Shah Ghazi (Karachi). He has said that Sufism is the country's first line of defense against terrorism.

Fight against terrorism

Terrorism in real is an attack on Quaid-e-Azam and the nation, and we as a nation have to work together to stop it in all forms” said Bilawal.