KARACH: The leftist Barabari Party Pakistan (BPP) aims to give voice to the working and middle classes to challenge and change the prevalent system as the ever-growing social inequality and exploitation of the poor are proving to be detrimental for the Pakistani society.
This was stated by singer-turned-politician Jawad Ahmed, the founder and head of BPP, during his visit at the Bol News offices here in Karachi.
In a candid discussion with the Bol News’ senior team members, Jawad expressed his disillusionment with the existing political scenario, saying that Pakistan’s three big political parties – the PTI, the PPP and the PML-N – have no interest whatsoever in uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the masses.
“We have seen them all and how they have been operating,” said Jawad while referring to the leading political parties. “They all make a fool out of the people and Imran Khan’s PTI is no different from the PPP and the PML-N. All their rhetoric is a gimmick to woo the public, nothing else,” he claimed.
Jawad, however, said that many Pakistanis can see through the game of these politicians. That’s why the BPP leaders and its rank-and-file remain hopeful that a change for the better may not be too distant a reality.
Jawad, accompanied by the BPP’s Vice Chairman Dr Shahnaz Khan, spoke at length about his early days as a singer and his motivation to launch the BPP. “Ï loved music and also longed for fame, so I joined the Jupiter band and did reasonably well,” he recalled. “Later, I launched my own CD which was quite a success. But the social inequality always had me perturbed and deep down in my heart I wanted to do something for the downtrodden, oppressed people of Pakistan.”
“I am a middle-class person and son of a respected educated family,” he said. “My father was an upright person, who always stood up for truth and justice. So, I would say my parents are my inspiration for my struggle for equality and justice.”
Elaborating on the aims and objectives of his party, Jawad said that it’s a leftwing party, working to politically empower the middle, and working classes. “But being a leftist party does not mean that we are revolutionary or socialist in a classical sense. We are leftist because we want to change this exploitative system.”
“We have seen how political parties like the PPP and the PTI have dithered from their grand manifestos and their initial goals and are, therefore, losing ground quite rapidly.
“At the BPP, we want to consistently work at the grassroot level and make the masses aware of their rights. And mind you, I am in no hurry to win a seat and join the bandwagon of the pseudo politicians,” clarified Jawad. “Though I contested simultaneously from Lahore and Karachi in the 2018 elections, and that too in front of big names such as Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto, the prime aim was to register my party’s presence.
“In the 2023 polls, we intend to field some candidates, though I personally will not be contesting. There is still a year-and-a-half to go, so the BPP will make its best efforts to increase the membership and get our message across to more and more people,” he said.
Jawad admitted that his party needs the support of the mainstream media to reach out to the maximum number of people. The BPP will soon appoint a media coordinator for Karachi and Sindh and hope to make rapid strides in the province, he added.
