Support for 18th Amendment Bhutto Zardari has repeatedly criticized the historical
One Unit Scheme, and warned against any attempt to bring in a
presidential system, explaining that it will not be in the interest of
democracy. During a press conference on 27 April 2019, he stated that the "presidential system is neither in the interest of the country nor the federation and all democratic forces will resist any such move."
Freedom of expression A devout advocate for democracy, Bhutto Zardari has repeatedly denounced censorship and likened any forms of curbing media freedom to living under a dictatorship. He made a speech at the
Karachi Press Club on
World Press Freedom Day where he said, "An undeclared censorship is stifling the freedom of expression in Pakistan and journalists are coming under threat from state and non-state actors." He added, "Journalists and media persons as human rights defenders suffer the most when freedom of expression is stifled. After the right to life, the most important right is the right of expression and the freedom of association because all other rights cannot even be articulated without it." During the speech, he also criticized the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016 and stated that it had been misapplied to stifle dissent. On the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child, the PPP chairman said that a future based on progress and prosperity could remain a dream without empowering girls and taking them on board in all matters. Bhutto Zardari acknowledged all those women who stepped forward in all sections of life and field while defeating many impediments at every level and social taboos. He specifically named
Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto,
Asma Jehangir, and
Maryam Mukhtar. A statement released by Bhutto Zardari House later said that his party would not tolerate any offence against the struggle for gender equality and women's rights. The statement went further to read, "The PPP chairman extended his enduring support to the members of the
Aurat March and its activists who are struggling for their genuine and legitimate rights as enshrined in the unanimous constitution of Pakistan." Bhutto Zardari has also advocated for the abolishment of child marriages in Pakistan. The Sindh government under PPP abolished child marriages by making the legal marriage age eighteen years in the province under the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013. He as a member of the opposition in the National Assembly has also advocated that the legal marriage age should be made eighteen years across the country. On 4 May 2019 he tweeted, "UAE marriage age is 18, Indonesia is 18, and Turkey is also 18. Are they not Muslim countries? In Sindh where marriage age is 18, we saw how law stopped an adult marrying a 10-year-old! Every 20 minutes a girl dies in Pakistan as a result of underage pregnancy.
Civil rights Bhutto Zardari has repeatedly defended the rights of minorities in Pakistan. On 4 December 2012, in a statement responding to reports about the demolition of a Hindu temple in Karachi and a desecration of an Ahmadiyya graveyard in Lahore he said, "Our forefathers did not sacrifice their lives for an intolerant, extremist, sectarian, and authoritarian Pakistan. I appeal to all of you to rise up and defend Jinnah's Pakistan. My party and I will stand by you, shoulder to shoulder." During a cake cutting ceremony for Christmas in Karachi, on 25 December 2018, Bhutto Zardari said that he PPP is the custodian of social justice, parity, religious, and interfaith harmony in the country and its advocacy for the prevalence of peace and tranquility across the world is heavily established. At the memorial for the 7th death anniversary of former Federal Minister of Interfaith Harmony,
Shahbaz Bhatti on 3 March 2018, Bhutto Zardari said, "May I take this opportunity to say that we share the concerns over the misuse of blasphemy laws. This is the concern of not only the Christian community but of all of us. It is my concern too. These laws have been used as a tool by extremists to settle personal scores. They have been used to grab the properties of Christians and other non-Muslims. The blasphemy laws carry the mandatory death penalty. We must prevent their misuse. We will." On 29 September 2019, he visited the Hindus in Ghotki and the Sacho Satram Dham temple which was desecrated in the
2019 Ghotki riots and condemned the attack.
Climate change Bhutto Zardari has proposed a plan to "completely restructure Pakistan's economic development model, putting the threat of
climate change front and centre." His party's election manifesto aims to ensure that funds exceeding $10 billion are directed to fighting climate change, in the wake of the
2022 Pakistan floods that displaced more than 7 million people.
Foreign policy at the
59th Munich Security Conference in 2023 On 20 September 2014, while speaking to party workers in Multan, Bhutto Zardari said, "I will take back Kashmir, all of it, and I will not leave behind a single inch of it because, like the other provinces, it belongs to Pakistan." The statement was to be the first marking his stance on the Kashmir issue and remarked upon widely in local and international media. On 6 February 2019, Bhutto Zardari met with the Kashmir Council in Washington to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir. During the meeting, he assured the delegation that he would continue to raise his voice against the brutalities of Indian forces against innocent and unarmed Kashmiri people at every available forum both nationally and internationally. He said that loyalty to the cause of Kashmir was in his blood and he would stand with the people of Indian-administered Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination and freedom from illegal and immoral Indian occupation. On 15 October 2022, after U.S. President
Joe Biden referred to Pakistan as "one of the most dangerous nations in the world" and as a carrier of "nuclear weapons without any cohesion" at a
Democratic Party fundraiser in California, Bhutto Zardari summoned American diplomat
Donald Blome to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demanded an explanation as well as called for an official
démarche. In June 2025, two months after India suspended the
Indus Water Treaty over Pakistan's alleged "cross border linkages" to the
Pahalgam Attack, Bhutto Zardari threatened war with India stating that "either India shares water fairly or we will secure it from ‘all 6 rivers.’" In August, at a function organized by the Culture Department of the
Sindh government, Bhutto Zardari once again raised the prospect of war with India, citing escalating tensions over the Treaty. He warned that if India continued actions perceived as "violations of the treaty", Pakistan would be compelled to consider all options, including military action. He stated that the people of Pakistan were "strong enough" to wage war in order to "reclaim all six rivers".
Terrorism On 18 February 2018, while addressing a function in Washington, Bhutto Zardari said that there is a growing increase in terrorism in Pakistan and that democracy can win over extremism, but the biggest battle is of ideologies. "The battle is between modernity and extremism." Bhutto Zardari has also repeatedly criticized the government's resistance to implementing the National Action Plan, which he deems resistance to democracy and peace in the nation. He has also demanded the removal of three federal ministers accusing them of having connections with banned militant outfits. On 7 March 2019, during a provincial council meeting, Bhutto Zardari said, "I demand a joint parliamentary committee for implementation of National Action Plan and removal of all three federal ministers for their connection with extremist organisations. If our demands are not met, we will not support the government anymore." In a 2025 interview with
Al Jazeera, Bhutto Zardari stated that Pakistan had no objection to extraditing individuals such as
Hafiz Saeed and
Masood Azhar to India as a confidence-building measure, provided New Delhi showed willingness to cooperate. He claimed Pakistan was ready to extradite "individuals of concern" as part of a broader dialogue on terrorism, but simultaneously cited legal and procedural obstacles. Despite both Saeed and Azhar being proscribed under Pakistan’s
National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), Bhutto Zardari argued that prosecuting them for cross-border terrorism was difficult. He further dismissed India's firm stance on pursuing terrorists as a “new abnormal,” stating it did not serve the interests of either country. Bhutto Zardari faced strong criticism from the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following his remarks suggesting that Pakistan could extradite “individuals of concern” to India as a confidence-building measure. PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram condemned the statement as undermining national security and appeasing a "hostile neighbour", calling him an “immature political child” and accusing him of lacking understanding of regional geopolitics. Akram argued that such proposals compromised Pakistan’s sovereignty and contradicted the legacy of the Pakistan Peoples Party, particularly on the Kashmir issue. He further criticized Bhutto Zardari’s political credibility and called for a leadership change within the party. Talha Saeed, son of Hafiz Saeed, condemned Bhutto Zardari remarks on the possible extradition of Pakistani citizens to India, calling them contrary to state policy and national interest, and defended his father by asserting that none of his actions were against Pakistan. == Notes ==