The PPP on Thursday became the first major party of the country to make public its manifesto ahead of the July 25 general elections.

The manifesto was launched by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Islamabad in the presence of senior party leadership, including co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Titled 'BB ka wada nibhana hai Pakistan bachana hai' (We have to fulfil BB's promise and save Pakistan), the manifesto pledges to curtail hunger, rebuild the country's economy and foster harmony between different institutions of the state.

The policy statement is guided by an extension of PPP's original slogan: "Roti, kapra aur makaan; ilm, sehat, sab ko kaam" (Bread, clothing and shelter; education, health and jobs for everyone)

See the full PPP manifesto for 2018 elections here.

Bilawal in his speech said the current economic situation in the country in "unstable" and "exclusionary", the parliament has been reduced to the status of a bystander and state institutions appear to be at loggerheads. He said there was a need to stop the drift that has resulted in the country being isolated in the world.

"We must get the government on a track that is modelled on serving the people," he said.

In its manifesto, the party has pledged:

• To free all Pakistani people from the fear of hunger, thirst and helplessness
• To open opportunities for all children and youth so that they may excel, become active citizens of Pakistan and confident members of the global community
• To rebuild and build an economy that works for all our people, now and into the future
• To deepen democracy by fostering harmony among our people, between our people and our state, and among the institutions of our state, and to make the government accountable and answerable to the people by strengthening the parliament and other institutional frameworks
• To secure rights and peace — for our state and for all our people
• To reclaim Pakistan's rightful place in the world

What is a manifesto?

A manifesto is known as a “published verbal declaration” through which parties express their “intentions, views and vision” about national issues and also make public their “motives” and “targets” which they plan to achieve after assuming power.

Political experts believe that a manifesto is actually a pledge a political party makes with people before elections and later it acts as a gauge to measure its performance.