No US Deal for Bilawal Bhutto

The speculation centred on Bilawal Bhutto’s much-discussed private visit to the United States came to nothing after all.

The charismatic young Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) sojourned there for a week on private business – nothing about which is known. This allowed speculators ample opportunity to invent a reason for the visit, and they did not disappoint.

Also touring the United States those days were Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, an aunt of Bilawal. This provided further fuel to speculators, who purported that the PPP chief was out to lobby the powers-that-be in Washington for a role in the next government “at the pleasure of White House”.

This scribe tried to speak to many PPP leaders for their take on the situation but none had much to say. Sindh Minister for Local Government and spokesperson Syed Nasir Hussain Shah was unreachable despite repeated reminders.

However, all of them were confident that Bilawal is “not out to beg for power”, and termed the theory as “insecure thinking of the selected government.” The most emphatic rejoinder came from PPP-USA President Khalid Awan, who categorically said: “[Bilawal] Bhutto will not be traveling to Washington during his visit.”

But none of this mattered to the ruling PTI, who rolled out the big guns to target Bhutto. He was mocked for carrying a “curriculum-vitae” to the White House. The foremost of the fire-breathers was Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Shahbaz Gill, who apparently is a disciple of the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

Many others followed the stalwarts’ lead, reflecting poorly on the government’s stability – as if Prime Minister Imran Khan’s days were numbered if only Bilaw- al could tap the right connections in the United States.

These were the same PTI big-mouths who very recently had dubbed Bilawal and his party as a spent force. PM Khan’s media management has always been a disaster,

and who needs enemies, when you have disgusting friends like these!

In any case, it has been debated in the Pakistani establishment for quite some time that the state should not place all its eggs in one basket. This notion gained currency especially as Khan used the words “absolutely not” to an American journalist’s query if Pakistan would “allow the US to have bases for operations inside Afghanistan”.

The proponents of the doctrine argued that while President Joe Biden was reviewing his South Asia policy, Pakistan’s interests would be best served if we could pitch an alternate leadership. This, plus the known fact that the PPP has always maintained good connections with the establishment, added up like two and two to make four: Bilawal was the alternate leader being pitched by Pakistan. Whether or not Bilawal’s trip was related to this pitch, it proved to be a googly on the domestic turf. Well-placed sources contacted by this writer said that the message of Bilawal emerging as the candidate for Prime Ministership at the behest of Washington was meant to cow down the NAB, FIA, and other prosecuting authorities going after the PPP leadership.

The need for such a signal is self-evident: The PPP is said to be increasingly worried about maintaining the status quo in Sindh, it’s home province. Its vote bank is shrinking, and the unpopular government in Sindh has torn to pieces whatever credibility the Bhutto name commanded. Sindh and Karachi are two mutually exclusive fiefdoms of power, bereft of any coordination whatsoever.

Also, trials in the courts of law against PPP leaders on charges of financial impropriety are nearing conclusion. Legal pundits are said to have strongly advised the leadership to go for an out-of-court settlement. What that means is anybody’s guess. Under the new paradigm, the FIA now heads all prosecutions while the NAB looms large in the background as the watchdog.

Reports say the magnitude of the alleged corruption by the PPP top brass is to the tune of USD 33 billion, almost one-third of Pakistan’s total international debt. The NAB has already recovered around PKR 35 billion from various proxy (Benami) accounts of the leadership; whereas hundreds of similar cash-stacked accounts are under the spyglass.

Last but not least, what sends shivers down the spine of the Sindh government is the

simple question now raised by the federal and prosecuting authorities: Where have the PKR 10,000 billion (approximately) of federal grants to Sindh gone? The Sindh chief minister, the provincial finance wizard during the yesteryears, is prima facia suspect; and from him, the money trail leads upward.

Many say Bilawal and his illustrious father, have a plan of action. On one hand, they are busy making inroads with the powers-that-be in Rawalpindi, evident from their softies delivered at military-drawn meetings in GHQ and Parliament House; and on the other, they also tend to read between the lines as Biden administration ignores Imran Khan.

The PPP is not new to lobbying. Rather, it has effective channels and they have worked too, previously. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had confidence in lobbyists to an extent that she wrote an email to one of her buddy lobbyists, making him a point man if she was assassinated.

Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in her book, admitted that on Benazir’s behest “she initiated and facilitated a deal between President Pervaiz Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto for protection of US interests.” Likewise, the father-and-son duo sought a ‘Breakfast with Obama’ invitation after reportedly paying a hefty amount to a lobbyist. As President Biden was sworn-in, it was said that Zardari

had been invited to the oath-taking ceremony but could not attend because of the novel coronavirus.

Even now the luck isn’t on the PPP side. The regional paradigm changed well before Bilawal flew into the US. This is how God disposes! Taliban are knocking on the doors of Kabul. A civil war is likely imminent in Afghanistan. There are reports of the Doha Deal too becoming a victim of changed circumstances. The regime in Kabul is unrelenting and has launched an anti-Paki- stan campaign. Slogans and national songs once played against the Soviets are being improvised to attack Pakistan.

This is where Pakistan has once again become indispensable for the United States. Whoever ignores Pakistan’s influence or its geo-strategic vitality in the region does so at its own peril. Washington will have to work with the leadership in Pakistan willy-nilly in an attempt to stabilize Afghanistan. While the civil-military leadership is on one page. Prime Minister Imran Khan has built a national narrative on Afghanistan and the US, and has gained high moral ground. The Army stands with him. This is why Bilawal was unlikely to find eager ears in Washington.