Bilawal and his younger siblings were publicly unveiled in Multan this July. Each gave a speech that was in English save for some greetings and slogans in Urdu. The speeches were very hollow. The kids spoke on working for the poor, but failed to articulate any pro-poor policies. Asifa spoke of her hope to be able to match her late mother’s achievements, but never mentioned what exactly her mother achieved. She looked a bit uncomfortable with the random jiyalas yelling slogans in her name. I don’t blame her. But it’s clear these kids, whose formative years were not spent in Pakistan, are really Dubaiwallas.
I found a few things interesting.
One, it appears that Bilawal is attempting to imitate his grandfather’s style of speech in English. He’s off to a good start, but the English language’s political utility is really limited in Pakistan today.
Two, after Bilawal raises his voice, the camera pans to Asif Zardari, who has an obvious smirk on his face. The same thing occurred during Bilawal’s infamous scream speech, in which he proved Zardari’s statement that “Bhuttoism begins where logic ends.”
Three, it appears that Jehangir Badr might be their manny (male nanny)/political tutor.
