New Delhi: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has responded to rumours that he was going to marry an Austrian princess, calling the speculation a “social media tamasha”.
A day after reports of his impending nikah, Bilawal, in a video on X, said, “I don’t even know a princess Gloria. Nothing of this sort has happened.”
He called it a social media tactic to divert attention from important issues at home, including the fire at PIMS, Islamabad’s biggest public hospital that killed 14 infants. Islamabad is governed by Shehbaz Sharif-led PMLN.
In his rant, which looked like he was reading from a prepared document, he said the country’s PM wants to break the country into provinces and be the next Gorbachev. In his broken Urdu, he added that any such announcement, if it ever comes from his family, will be made, and until then these rumours need to be discarded.
‘You weren’t even worthy of marriage’
Pakistanis are still not convinced. The curiosity hasn’t stopped, nor has the sarcasm.
‘We knew you weren’t even worthy of marriage! It’s just that your close journalists are stuck in this delusion,” X user Zeeshan said.
Another added: “Good to know. I was wondering even an indigenous person from an isolated island would not marry him, how did he land up a princess.”
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari earlier found himself at the centre of speculation over the weekend after travelling to Vienna with his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, on a private trip. The visit prompted rumours that the two were in Austria in connection with wedding preparations, claims the PPP dismissed as “incorrect and unfounded.”
The speculation intensified after a source described by Geo News as a “trusted” PPP source claimed that Bilawal and his father had met members of the prospective bride’s family three times since arriving in Austria last week.
Also read: Is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari marrying Austrian princess? Pakistanis are already planning his exit
‘Sometimes speak up for your own’
Some reports have linked Bilawal’s reported prospective bride to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, Austria’s former imperial family. Some accounts have further described her as a descendant of Karl I, the last reigning Emperor of Austria. The claims, however, have not been independently verified.
With the clarification, Bilawal laid the claims to rest. X user Sadia summed it up: “I was feeling bad for that Gloria for no reason”
Meanwhile, Pakistanis are least interested in hearing his clarifications. Instead of criticising others, they want to know when he would speak up for the people of Sindh.
“Sometimes speak up for your own Sindh too—what’s the state of Sindh, have some shame! You’ve been sitting there for 14 years—neither does Sindh have roads, nor are people dying, don’t you see them? Have some shame, Bilawal Bhutto, have some shame! How long will you keep buying people’s votes by handing out money from Benazir’s cards?” an X user, Shabana Sha, added.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)