Bilawal Bhutto returns to Lyari area where his convoy was attacked

ISLAMABAD: In a courageous move, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari went back to Lyari’s area where his convoy was attacked with stones and sticks on Sunday.

A PPP statement said that Bilawal Bhutto delivered a message of peace to miscreants who pelted his convoy with stones and forced him to divert his rally. 

The PPP chief is vising the NA-246 constituency of Karachi to formally kick-start his campaign for general election 2018.

Dozens of protesters in Lyari's Bihar Colony stopped the PPP’s convoy and smashed windows of several vehicles, leaving at least two workers injured.

In a press statement after the violence, Bilawal Bhutto’s spokesman Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar urged his supporters to remain peaceful despite provocations.

The spokesman also called for the Election Commission of Pakistan to take notice of the violence. 

In a separate statement, Senator Sherry Rehman lamented that a group of 25 people had been protesting in Lyari in front of a Rangers post.

“We reject the negative politics of 25 hooligans. Those who were baffled over Bilawal Bhutto’s public support blocked his rally,” Ms Rehman said.

“People are shielding their leader and themselves from those who are doing politics of hatred,” she said, adding the whole of Lyari was on the streets to greet their leader and shower him with rose petals. 

PPP statement

1) A handful of people, specifically tasked with disrupting the rally, starting pelting stones at our unarmed, peaceful workers

2) Tv screens are evidence that these people were carrying sticks and throwing stones

3) there is a difference between peaceful protest and stone pelting. Next thing we know, people firing guns will also be called protestors!

4) We showed immense restraint - especially given the fact that we had armed security that could have responded to this.

5) the miscreants were a handful and we numbered in thousands. If party workers had reacted, there would have been bloodshed

6) Rangers role has risen eyebrows when this happened in front of them and they didn’t intervene

7) LEA role was highly questionable - they were entirely unwilling to stop the criminals.

8) The forces of violence were peacefully countered by the people of Lyari, who continued to come out in droves, to welcome the Chairman.

9) Chairman ended his rally at the same place where these miscreants first pelted stones. Thousands gathered there to greet Chairman.

10) We understand that there is a water issue - in fact, Chairman has been addressing it in every speech .. THIS was not about water.

11) Today was a very successful launch to the election campaign.