Dynastic politics a tragedy, says Pakistani daily

Islamabad, April 5 (IANS) Describing dynastic politics as a tragedy, a Pakistani daily has criticised President Asif Ali Zardari's son Bilawal for not showing any independence and thinking "along the same lines as his father".

An editorial in the News International Thursday said that the speech made by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on the occasion of the death anniversary of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) founder and late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is being seen by many as his "official launch into politics".

Bilawal also brought up the key issue of the letter to Swiss authorities, stating that the prime minister would "never violate the law of the land" by writing to seek the re-opening of cases dropped under the National Reconciliation Ordinance.

Zardari, accused of graft, had been granted amnesty under the NRO which was issued in 2007 by then president Pervez Musharraf to facilitate the return of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and himself.

The daily said that Bilawal's words will only add to the tensions which exist between the judiciary and the executive.

Calling it unfortunate, it said: "They indicate that the young man expected to lead the PPP electoral campaign thinks along the same lines as his father."

"We see, then, in Bilawal a continuation of the now established PPP line under Zardari. There is no streak of independence, with hostility against the judiciary coming through the speech, even if there was some attempt to soften the tone by praising some Supreme Court actions.

"Politics being dynastic is one tragedy, the attitude of a dynasty not changing even a little bit for the better with the arrival of its next generation is tragedy multiplied," the editorial added.