‘Bhutto’s ideology still relevant’

Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

was a historical personality and all such personalities have followers and rivals, yet his ideology is still relevant today.Bhutto’s visionary political intelligence can be gauged from his effort to unite all Muslim nations, a concept which had been materialised by the European Union. These views were shared by speakers at the Jang Forum held on the topic, ‘Bhutto’s Ideology and Pakistan’. The guests at the forum were Political Scientist Analyst Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi, PTI leader Ejaz Chaudhry, PPP founding member Aslam Gurdaspuri and Scholar Dr Laal Khan. The forum was hosted by Iftikhar Ahmed. Ejaz Chaudhry said ZA Bhutto’s personality and life had different aspects, which were inspirational for some while others, opposed them. He said that ZA Bhutto capitalized on the lack of leadership and ideology in Pakistan at the time of Ayub Khan. He said there were many question marks on Bhutto’s profile such as whether he could or couldn’t be blamed for the Dhaka Fall and the murder of political leaders during his era. He however acknowledged that Bhutto was a brave, straightforward and intelligent leader. Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi said Bhutto was a historic personality and all such personalities were disputed as they challenged rigid dogmas. He said while analyzing historical personalities, the social and political perspective of that time needed to be kept in mind to understand the actions of these leaders. He said Bhutto started in a world caught between imperialism and communism wherein he carved out the concept of Islamic Socialism, which was a solution for the impoverished classes but this didn’t go down well with the religio-political leaders and the establishment. He said that the forced ideological wipe-out during the 80s created a totally different Pakistan. Dr Laal Khan said that personalities of great leaders evolved over time depending upon international political dynamics of their time. He said that ZA Bhutto was not just a leader, who adapted to the evolving scenarios around him but he dictated a new ideology to contribute his share to the evolution. He said that Bhutto was never a product of dictatorship but the sole opponent who eventually brought down a dictatorial regime. He brought the most revolutionary health, education and land reforms. He expressed concern that today’s PPP lost its way and was scared of socialism. Aslam Gurdaspuri said the Bhutto Doctrine was a unique approach where he thought the concept of state and nation in Pakistan, which was missing. He said that Bhutto brought together leaders of Islamic countries who otherwise had severe rifts among each other. Bhutto Shaheed is not just an inspiration for Pakistanis but for the world. He said that Bhutto was a visionary leader who set out to achieve the task of unifying all Muslim nations at that time and now the European Union has achieved it to show how important and potent it can be. The revolution, which ZA Bhutto brought, can be gauged by the fact that Pakistan politics can still be divided into two clear factions of pro and anti Bhutto sections. He mentioned that Pakistan was still paying the price for killing Bhutto through judicial murder.