Youth appeal and ambitious plans to combat climate change form the core of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's effort to become prime minister of Pakistan, which, if successful, would make him its youngest premier since his mother Benazir was in office.
As general elections near on Feb. 8, the 35-year-old, a former foreign minister and scion of a family that gave the nation two prime ministers, called for new ideas and leadership to calm political and economic instability.
"The implications of the decisions taken today are going to be faced by the youth of Pakistan," Bhutto Zardari told Reuters in Larkana, his hometown in the southern province of Sind, a family bastion.
"I think it would be better if they were allowed to make those decisions."
About two-thirds of Pakistan's population of 241 million is younger than 30, while its prime ministers since 2000 have been older than 61, on average.
The Oxford-educated Bhutto Zardari is less than half the age of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, 74, whom analysts consider the frontrunner in next month's election, and former cricket super star Imran Khan, 71, who won the last election in 2018.
The eventual winner faces the task of reviving a struggling $350-billion economy grappling with historic inflation and an unstable rupee currency that limit growth and job opportunities for the young.
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