New Delhi: A parent’s ability to embarrass their child is not constrained by national borders or politics.
Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari gave lessons on how to hold a desi press conference when he called his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari “Prince Charming” right in the middle of the interaction. Even the newly knighted Prince Charming, who was a foreign affairs minister with the previous government, seemed surprised and embarrassed by this sudden outpouring of fatherly pride.
“Parents at Random shaadi functions”, an X user commented while another said, “Actually Bilawal is a charming PRINCESS”, to which another added, “Emerging Princess of corruption bolo (call him the emerging princess of corruption)”. The Express Tribune posted a video of Bilawal wearing a crown before airing the clip on its YouTube channel.
While the consensus was that ‘Pakistani parents will be Pakistani parents’, many critics saw it as a “vile display of dynastic politics”. After voters stymied Nawaz Sharif’s grand comeback in the general elections, his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has agreed to form a new coalition agreement with the Bhutto-Zardari Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Shehbaz Sharif, 72, will once again be the Prime Minister of Pakistan while Asif Ali Zardari, 68, will be the joint candidate for the president’s office.
The Prince Charming comment was a welcome and irreverent diversion from the fact that the old guard will be back. Little has changed.
Also read: Ideal statesman, basis of shame—Bilawal’s India trip divides Pakistani politicians, citizens
Will Bilawal become Prince Charming?
If reports about Shehbaz wanting him as foreign minister prove to be true, Bilawal may soon find himself in a position to flex. He was the country’s 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 2022 to August 2023 under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led coalition government.
As foreign minister, Bilawal made a contentious statement during his visit to India for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Here, he denounced the planned G20 meeting in Srinagar. Bilawal even warned India, saying, “We will respond to this in time, and they will remember it”. He had to be chastised by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for his comments and for repeatedly challenging the repeal of Article 370.
On 19 February, Bilawal revealed he had rejected the power-sharing formula between PPP and PML-N, which proposed the PM’s post to be shared among the parties. Bilawal, who was the PPP’s prime ministerial candidate, had said: “I said no to this. I said I do not want to be a prime minister like this. If I become the prime minister, it would be after the people of Pakistan elect me.” He had also said that political parties, rather than focusing on their personal benefit, “should think about the people of this country”.
Bilawal’s PPP secured the third position in the 8 February elections, with 54 seats in the National Assembly.
However, in the viral press conference that has garnered more views for Zardari’s comments on his son than its government-forming objectives, Bilawal announced that his party had agreed to establish a coalition government with the PML-N.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)