Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Sunday that he ‘could’ launch a protest if appropriate forums did not provide justice over rigging claims. He also announced that Asif Zardari would be candidate for president in return for supporting PMLN’s candidate for prime minister.

Addressing a rally in thatta on Sunday, Bilawal said he had not contested elections simply to sit in the prime minister’s chair.

He said Pakistan was going through a political and economic crisis and he wanted to be the one to talk about the peoples problems. He said that he had emphasised the people’s problems, such as historic inflation, everywhere he went.

All parties should think about the peoples interests instead of their own, he said.

Bilawal added that there are three types of parties in Pakistan without taking names. The first he said were those who have never been able to win without rigging, while the second were those who could not win even with the help of rigging.

He said that the third kind of party included those who manage to win despite rigging. He said that the PPP belonged to the third category.

The PPP chairman said that he had forms-45 where PPP candidates had won but the final result had awarded victory to PMLN, MQM or even PTI-backed independents.

“Should I divide my country, set fire to my own house?” he asked the crowd.

He said that PPP was consolidating its candidate’s complaints and would approach the appropriate forum. He added that if the party did not get justice, he ‘could’ come to the public and call for a protest.

Without taking names he hinted at rigging claims by a ‘pir’ and a ‘maulana’.

Bilawal said the party has decided that it will not be a candidate for PM or get ministries but only wanted to put out the ‘fire’ raging in all four provinces.

He added that the Shehbaz Sharif-led PDM government had not fulfilled it promises and if the PPPsupported them again, they would ask for development instead of government positions.

The PPP chairman claimed that he had been offered to become PM for the last two years of the next government but said ‘no’.

He said that if democracy was in danger, he would ask people to come out like they did for Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.