Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday met party leaders in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to discuss a strategy for the upcoming general elections due on Feb. 8, 2024, including potential alliances with rival parties.
Reportedly, the former president empowered local leaders to form electoral alliances and seat adjustment agreements with all parties—except for the PTI, which continues to face crackdowns following the May 9 riots.
Having ruled KP for nearly 10 years, the province is considered a stronghold of the PTI, with party leaders organizing workers’ conventions in various districts over the past month. Earlier this year, several PPP leaders said they were amenable to an alliance with the PTI, particularly in Punjab, but Zardari’s meeting suggests the party has decided to avoid any potential linkages while Imran Khan’s party remains on the outs with the establishment.
Citing sources, daily Dawn reported that Zardari had urged all urged KP party leaders to pursue their election campaigns with full fervor, while acknowledging that he was “pessimistic” about the exercise being free and fair. Nonetheless, he maintained, the PPP would form the government in Sindh province.
According to the PPP, Zardari stayed at the Governor’s House in KP “for security concerns,” and also met KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali—affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl)—during his visit. He also chaired a meeting, joined by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari via video-link, to review the credentials of candidates who have submitted applications for party tickets from the province. According to daily The News, the former president also attended the wedding ceremony of PPP leader Ziaullah Afridi’s son.
During his visit, Zardari also welcomed back former federal minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi to the PPP’s ranks. Local religious scholar Ahmed Saeed Kazmi also joined the party, along with others.
He also met several PPP leaders from Balochistan, where he is set to address a workers’ convention in Turban on Monday and welcome several political personalities to the ranks of the PPP.