Faryal Talpur. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE:
With local government elections on the horizon, MPA Faryal Talpur, sister of President Asif Ali Zardari, has recently been entrusted with overseeing the province’s organisation, previously under the direct control of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, party sources said on Friday.
Talpur is expected to spend two days in Lahore in the second week of November, a visit that some party sources say could become a monthly feature.
Multiple party sources confirmed that, over the past few weeks, Talpur, a member of the Sindh Assembly who also heads the party’s women’s wing and is regarded within the party as its third most powerful figure after the chairman and co-chairman, has been actively holding meetings in Islamabad with representatives of the party’s Punjab chapters.
These included the People’s Youth Organisation, the women’s wing and office-bearers from Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Sialkot and Faisalabad, as well as discussions on complaints raised by party office-bearers.
Sources said speculation first emerged within the party in early October that Talpur had been assigned the task of overseeing Punjab affairs and would visit Lahore in the first or second week of that month.
However, the imposition of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the second week of October caused speculation about her expected visit to subside. The subsequent round of meetings in Islamabad, however, lent credence to reports that she had been given the driving seat in Punjab.
Recently, party sources said, Punjab leaders had been informed that Talpur, popularly known as Addi, was expected to visit Lahore on November 10 and 11.
The visit is ostensibly to attend the wedding of Nawab Shehzad’s child, but party sources believe it will mark her formal entry into Punjab politics. They said Addi would subsequently visit the province once a month, staying for two to three days.
One source said the PPP Central Punjab secretariat was being extensively renovated to accommodate Talpur and her staff. The office of the party’s general secretary on the first floor had been allocated to Faryal Bibi, while access to the entire floor during her stay would be restricted to those with prior clearance.
The source said the Central Punjab secretariat had been divided among several mid-tier party leaders, who were bearing the costs of the renovation work. The arrangements, the source added, were being made with Talpur’s expected monthly visits in mind.
However, a second source said he was not entirely certain whether she would visit Punjab every month.
Another party leader said a schedule of meetings had also been prepared for Addi, under which she would meet district-level organisations, mainly from nearby districts, with the exception of Sahiwal.
Party ticket-holders would also be invited, including candidates for National Assembly seats who had secured around 30,000 votes and provincial assembly candidates who had obtained approximately 20,000 votes.
The leader said PPP Punjab General Secretary Hasan Murtaza would brief Talpur on the party’s organisational structure in the province and the overall political situation.
Another party leader, requesting anonymity, said Talpur’s presence was a good omen for the PPP in Punjab, particularly as local government elections approach.
He said her leadership would allow decisions to be made more swiftly, arguing that decisions routed through the party chairman often took considerable time, causing party workers and leaders to lose momentum.
He said Addi was well versed in street politics and that her leadership during the local government elections would be a major asset for the party.
PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan said Talpur would visit Lahore on November 10 and 11 and was expected to look after the party’s affairs in Punjab.
However, he said it would not be entirely accurate to suggest that she would be calling all the shots in the province, as party decisions were made after consultation.
Chan said the party had President Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Bibi Faryal Talpur, and that matters overseen by Talpur were subsequently discussed with the party chairman before a final decision was reached.
Asked whether she would visit Lahore every month, he said they would know once she arrived.
Meanwhile, amid complaints submitted to Talpur and the party chairman, a disciplinary committee has been established in Punjab to address internal grievances and strengthen organisational discipline.
