This is apropos Business Recorder's editorial "Dyn-astic politics" carried by the newspaper recently. The newspaper has concluded its arguments by saying that "the fact also is that the PPP, much like other parties in Pakistan, hardly has the kind of internal democracy that could allow people other than the Bhuttos to climb up through the ranks on merit (the case of the PML-N and ANP is similar). But this phenomenon of dynastic politics is not confined to Pakistan alone but rife throughout South Asia. The dynastic politics on display now and in the past in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka proves the point. This South Asian phenomenon is perhaps rooted in our social ethos."
There is little or no doubt about the fact that the South Asian phenomenon regards all kinds of legacies, material, political and social, as the rightful heritage of heirs alone. While many in Pakistan reside high hopes in Bilawal rescuing the PPP from the slough of despond it seems trapped in, the factor of the father's shadow remains a dampener to the hopes of a fresh beginning.