Bilawal cancels his launch speech on Aug 7

Updated at: 0807 PST, Friday, August 06, 2010
LONDON: Chairman of the PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari dramatically declared last night that he would not address the Birmingham rally on Saturday, August 07, putting cold water on the plans that he would be launched as the party chief and adding a new sense of drama to the countrywide campaign against President Zardari.

In a dramatic climbdown, the 21-year-old son of Benazir said that he would continue with his studies and wanted to stay away from the media. The move comes as a humiliation to the party mandarins who were preparing for weeks for his grand entry into politics.

The press release by Bilawal Bhutto, the party chairman who shares the party portfolio with his father, the president, puts him at odd with the party leaders who were betting on him all along.

Through the High Commission of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Oxford graduate, said that he would not even be attending the event and instead “I will be opening a donation point at the Pakistani High Commission in London for victims of the terrible floods which have ravaged northern Pakistan.”

He said, “As for my future plans, I intend to continue my education, both academic and political. I am currently looking into the possibilities of studying law, just as my grandfather Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did. I feel that an understanding of law and an appreciation for the rule of law is important for any politician seeking to strengthen democracy in Pakistan”.

I have been inundated with requests from the British media for interviews. Following my mother’s assassination, the press had kindly agreed to allow me to continue with my education without being disturbed, he said.

He said, “I hope this courtesy will be extended until I complete my further education as well. I do look forward to working with the media, the international community and most importantly the people of Pakistan in the future to achieve our shared goals of strengthening democracy in Pakistan and combating the forces of extremism that robbed me of my mother and threaten the world today.”