Bilawal slams PML-N for presenting public buses as personal gifts, urges AJK voters to support PPP

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday slammed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for presenting state-funded buses as personal gifts, as he made a final appeal to voters in Mirpur division to support the party’s ‘arrow’ symbol in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections held on Monday (tomorrow).

“These buses are not a gift from anyone; they are a right of the people,” Bilawal said in a special message broadcast from Islamabad on the eve of the polls.

Claiming that the PPP had enabled practical development rather than simply making promises, he criticized what he described as politically programmed development announcements, saying projects funded by taxpayers’ money should not be presented as personal gifts from political leaders.

Launching a political attack on the PML-N, Bilawal said the people of “Kashmir and Kashmir, Mirpur and Mirpur Khas” shared the same spirit of defending their rights and would not allow anyone to undermine their claims to their land or their future.

He asserted that just as the PML-N was rejected by voters in the previous elections in Kashmir and Kashmir, the electorate would repeat this verdict in the current polls.

Bilawal described the election as a referendum on the rights, development and future of AJK.

He urged voters to give a strong mandate to the PPP, promising that the party would not compromise on the rights of the people of AJK and would continue its struggle to secure what he described as the sovereignty, property and employment rights of Kashmiris.

“The people of Mirpur sacrificed their homes and lands for the Mangla Dam and it is because of these sacrifices that a large part of Pakistan was electrified,” he said.

“No one can deny that the people of AJK have an equal stake in the resources, decisions and future of the region,” Bilawal said, adding that Pakistan owed a debt to Mirpur for its sacrifices rather than reciprocating it.

Read: Bilawal vows to protect AJK rights, accuses PML-N of pursuing ‘anti-Kashmir’ agenda

He argued that people in AJK should enjoy the same basic rights as any Pakistani citizen, including what he called sovereignty, property and employment rights.

Bilawal also called for the immediate creation of a dedicated compensation fund for those affected by the recent violence, saying such measures would help restore public confidence and normalcy.

He concluded by urging voters of Mirpur division to stamp the arrow symbol and vote for development, prosperity and protection of the rights of the people of Azad Kashmir.