Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: Inherited Name, Earned Identity.

By Ahsan Rizvi

Objections to dynastic politics are nothing new in Pakistan. Whenever the Bhutto name comes up, one question inevitably follows: is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s greatest strength his own politics, or the name he inherited? It is a fair question. Yet an equally fair one is how much this young man has changed himself over the past two decades, having taken over the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party at just 19, after the assassination of his mother, Benazir Bhutto.

Bilawal did not enter politics in a calm environment. When the party was entrusted to him in December 2007, he inherited far more than an organization. He inherited the popularity of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the struggle of Benazir Bhutto, the history of the fight to restore democracy, and a family’s long record of sacrifice. At that age, hardly anyone fully understands themselves, yet Bilawal had to lead a party whose workers saw their leaders not merely as politicians but as living history. That was where his real test began.

Over time, he moved beyond simply repeating the Bhutto name and began to develop a political language of his own. He entered the National Assembly, learned parliamentary politics at close quarters, and became Foreign Minister, presenting Pakistan’s case on the international stage. His tenure from 2022 to 2023 mattered because it gave a young Pakistani politician the chance to prove himself in the demanding arena of global diplomacy.

The most interesting feature of his career is that he has never treated power as his final destination. In the 2024 elections, the Peoples Party named him its candidate for prime minister, and he campaigned across the country on youth, the economy, water, food, and employment. When the vote produced no clear majority, he withdrew from the race for the premiership, and the party chose to cooperate with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in forming a government.

That decision deserves a closer look. If power were his only aim, he would not have stepped aside. Instead, the party helped form the government while staying out of the cabinet, in an effort to preserve its own political identity. It was no ordinary strategy in Pakistani politics.

Now, in 2026, the picture seems to be shifting again. Bilawal remains an ally of the government but criticizes its policies. He meets opposition leaders but has not formally joined the opposition. During the political activity of August 20 and 21, his contacts with opposition figures drew attention, while Maulana Fazlur Rehman made clear that, because the Peoples Party is part of the government, it is not currently counted in the proposed united opposition.

In politics, keeping a door open and breaking it down are two very different things, and Bilawal seems to be doing the former. He is telling the government that it would be a mistake to treat his party’s support as a permanent blank check, while telling the opposition that the door to dialogue cannot be closed. It would therefore be premature to describe his present course simply as lining up against the government.

Bilawal has now reached a stage where he must move beyond the political legacy of his father and mother and establish an identity of his own. The Bhutto name can carry him to the people, but not to all of Pakistan. Sindh is the party’s stronghold, but national politics does not end at its border. The party must build a place for itself in Punjab, carry its message to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and make its presence felt in Balochistan. Speeches alone will not achieve this. It requires a national narrative that convinces Sindhis, Punjabis, Pashtuns, Baloch, Hazarawals, Saraikis, Kashmiris, Gilgitis, and every other citizen that Bilawal speaks not for one province or one family, but for the whole country. This may be his next great destination.

Along the way lies another test: democracy. In recent days, Bilawal has stressed the need for more parliamentary contact and dialogue on political matters, and he has spoken of placing public authority at the center of the system. If he truly wants his politics to belong to a new generation, he will have to rise above the game of making and toppling governments. Pakistan’s young people do not need to be told which politician comes from which family. They want to know when they will find jobs, when a hospital will be built in their city, when their children will get a good education, when the electricity and water crises will end, and above all whether their voices can genuinely shape decisions in this country. These are the questions Bilawal will have to answer in the coming years.

Acknowledging his struggle and criticizing his politics are not contradictory. In a healthy democracy, a politician is praised with argument and held to account with argument. Over his long journey, Bilawal has passed through youth, family tragedy, electoral defeat and success, parliamentary politics, the Foreign Ministry, and coalition government. The biggest stage still lies ahead: can he go from being the heir of the Bhutto family to becoming the leader of Pakistan’s new political generation?

The answer lies neither in his name, nor in his father’s office, nor in the date of his mother’s death. It will come from his own performance. If he treats politics as more than a route to power, and instead strengthens political institutions, talks with his opponents, narrows the distance between the provinces, and gives young people a real political role, then one day he may no longer be introduced merely as “Bhutto’s grandson.” People will say instead: this is the Bilawal Bhutto who inherited a name but earned his identity through his own politics. For a dynastic politician in Pakistan, there may be no greater test, and the next few years will likely decide it.

For his supporters, the conclusion is already settled. They regard Bilawal as the nation’s last hope and the future of Pakistan, the one leader who can steer the country’s economy and politics out of the whirlpool. They call him Pakistan’s most popular leader and credit the training he received from Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari for the speed with which he has proven his leadership. In their view, he is playing an excellent role on both domestic problems and Pakistan’s global image, and remains a strong voice for ordinary people even within the current government. They also point to his active efforts to resolve Balochistan’s problems and the importance he gives to the province.

As the true heir to the legacy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, they argue, Bilawal alone possesses the vision and capability to uphold that legacy, lift Pakistan’s deprived classes out of hardship, and decisively curb rising inflation, unemployment, and injustice.

Ends.

Ahsan Rizvi is Deputy information secretary PPP Central Punjab and can be reached on @ahsanabbasshah