Black day is being observed today against the toppling of democratically elected government in 1977.

On this day in 1977, a military dictator overthrew the government of the then prime minister Zulifqar Ali Bhutto Shaheed and imposed dictatorship on the country.
The black day is being observed on the appeal of Prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is also the vice chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party. In their messages on the day President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minsiter Yousuf Raza Gilani said that July 5 will always be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of country.
The president said the dismantling of democratic structures that began on July 5th 1977, reminds us how one military dictator nurtured extremists for his political survival, and how another dictatorship exploited the same extremists, by running with the hare and hunting with the hound again, for perpettuating himself in power.
The President said the day calls for dismantling the destructive structures of personalized rule created by dictators by distorting the constitution. The President said in his message, it also calls for restoring power to the people, to whom it belongs.
The President said Pakistan Peoples Party which gave the nation a unanimous constitution has, in consultation with all political and democratic forces, undertaken the process of purging the nation’s basic document from all undemocratic provisions.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in his message said the imposition of dictatorship on the country scuttled the process of progress and prosperity of the nation, under the leadership of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.He urged all stakeholders to play their role to ensure the sovereignty and the security of the country, promotion of democracy, stability of democratic institutions, supremacy of constitution and rule of the people by the people.