Asif Zardari hopeful for Bilawal Bhutto's victory after ‘rise of February 8 sun’

• "PPP will end people's problems," former president says.
• Asks party workers to be ambassadors of Benazir Bhutto.
• Thanks Karachi for PPP's victory in local govt by-elections.

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman and former president, hoped his son Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would be victorious with the rise of February 8's sun next year when general elections will take place in the country.

"The PPP will end people's problems," the party supremo said, hinting at the former foreign minister's success in a statement posted by the PPP on X, formerly Twitter.

Zardari asked all his party's workers to start campaigning for the polls, which will take place in the next couple of months.

"Every PPP worker should start the election campaign by becoming the ambassador of Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed," the party's stalwart said.

The former president, who has been leading the PPP alongside his son, Bilawal — since Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007 — assured people that their problems would be resolved in a matter of few days.

His remarks came in a statement issued expressing gratitude to the people of Karachi after the party clinched victory in the municipal by-elections in Sindh.

"Karachi, the heart of Sindh, has also raised the slogan of jiye Bhutto," Zardari said.

The PPP co-chairman said that the success of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad is a special message for the people opposing Karachi.

The PPP co-chairman paid tribute to the party's workers following the victory, which has granted them the control to helm the city's affairs.

On Sunday, Wahab won the union committee (UC) chairman seat from Karachi’s Saddar Town area in local government elections held across 14 districts of Sindh on Sunday.

Wahab secured 3,976 votes against Jamat-e-Islami (JI) candidate Noor-ul-Islam, who bagged only 1,556 votes, according to unofficial results.

Following the announcement of the results, the jubilant PPP workers took to the streets to celebrate the victory.

Karachi’s deputy Mayor Salman Murad of the PPP also won the chairman’s seat from Karachi’s Malir district.

Karachi mayor elections were in June this year and under the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act, the mayor and deputy mayor are required to contest and win UC chairman elections within six months after being elected.

The party is now gearing up for the general elections next year after the Supreme Court facilitated the decision of the polls' date announcement by President Dr Arif Alvi and the Election Commission of Pakistan on November 3.