Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and son of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, visited the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University on February 11, 2019 for a conversation with Pardee School faculty and students on a range of topics including Pakistan’s most recent national elections, foreign policy, and investment in youth in Pakistan.
The event was part of the Policy Leaders Forum series at the Pardee School that brings senior international policymakers to Boston University for important policy conversations with guests including faculty, students and experts from across Boston University.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s mother and grandfather both served as Prime Minister of Pakistan, his father served as President of Pakistan, and the 30-year old Oxford graduate now leads one of Pakistan’s historically most important political parties and is a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. The discussion was moderated by Adil Najam, the inaugural Dean of the Pardee School.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari spoke with Pardee School faculty and Dean’s Ambassadors on a range of topics including the most recent national elections in Pakistan; Pakistan’s foreign policy including relations with the United States, India and Afghanistan; civil-military relations in Pakistan; the role of Pakistan’s youth in determining the country’s future; investment in education; the prevention of violent extremism; the importance of bureaucratic reform; and the need to address poverty in Pakistan.
He stressed that despite the many challenges that Pakistan faces, he was hopeful for the country and its future, mostly because of its youth. He believed that even though Pakistan’s democracy was far from perfect and the 2018 elections were clouded by many irregularities, “the sensibility of the Pakistani people is fundamentally democratic.” He added, that this was the third consecutive change of government done through elections and it will now be very difficult to “put the democratic momentum into reverse gear.”
He also discussed the current state of the Pakistan People’s Party, the future he sees for his party, and the fulfillment and drive he gets from carrying on the political legacy of his family.
http://www.bu.edu/pardeeschool/2019/02/11/policy-leaders-forum-bilawal-bhutto-zardari/
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