April 4 is the day when self-respected nation refused to bow before the arrogant authority of dictator General Ziaul Haq who hanged their inspiring leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He opted for embracing martyrdom. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto made history and Ziaul Haq became despicable history. People’s hero became immortal and his tormentor thrown in the oblivion. People’s leader stood vindicated and evil condemned for all times to come. ZA Bhutto’s legacy has given the courage and fortitude to the people to oppose and resist the usurpers and their reminiscent in all forms and manifestations.
He is cherished by all today who want to see Pakistan a democratic, progressive and welfare state at peace with itself and the world as envisioned by the father of the nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The overwhelming majority of Pakistani people share his vision that indeed is very reassuring for the future of the country to emerge as a moderate and pluralistic state notwithstanding the pangs it is undergoing now. The nation is bound to settle down based on ideals of its founding fathers. The retrogressive forces will inexorably meet the fate of redundancy and irrelevance. Pakistan People’s Party and its ideology resonates with the ideals of modernity and moderation. Its role had been, is and will be critical in determining the course of political history of the country based on the aspirations of the people.
The Pakistan People’s Party is committed to espouse unabatedly the cause of the legacy of its great founding leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. That means full realisation of the empowerment of the people of Pakistan as the final arbiter. The Party had been in constant and arduous struggle since then and has succeeded in putting it on the trajectory of democracy. The modicum of danger to democracy in Pakistan today is qualitatively less. For, PPP’s unequivocal commitment for its continuity is a great source of strength for the democratic edifice. Its role in the tempestuous spells in the recent past in salvaging democracy and ensuring its longevity is of profound importance that earned wider appreciation among the political observers. The existence of other factors— assertive civil society; free media, independent judiciary; consensus among the people against dictatorships have co-relationship with the PPP struggle. Above all, people are not prepared to abdicate their right to elect their representatives whom they would like to confer upon the right to rule to serve them.
Pakistan People’s Party has proved itself as custodian of the heritage of ZA Bhutto by saving democracy from the tsunami of sit-ins and container politics as its unwavering stand made the real big difference and as such democratic dispensation in Pakistan remained unscathed. Other political Parties also put their weight behind according to their size and stalled the advancement of those who were determined to bulldoze the symbols of Democracy— Parliament, Supreme Court President House, Prime Minister House, Pak Secretariat and other institutions. There was no doubt if the PPP had joined the apologists of disruptive politics it would have proved the final straw to break the back of the democracy. PPP could not afford to pay such a heavy price of selling out the blood of its pioneer leaders who nurtured democracy with their blood. Asif Ali Zardari took the strategic decision to shoulder democracy come what may. He mobilised the political forces and succeeded in scuttling the designs of the political forces determined to turn over the apples cart without compunction. The saving of democracy by the PPP’s leadership is the exceptionally handsome tributes to the living legacy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan People’s Party, as the true heir, has the singular distinction of never aligning itself with the Establishment since its inception and had always come to power through vote. It had been struggling throughout for the people of Pakistan to make them the real stakeholders. People are the source of power is the corner stone of the PPP political philosophy. It never abandoned their cause and has assiduously struggled for their empowerment with the determination to strive recklessly for the total realisation of the rights of down trodden. It is in consistent struggle to fight out the system that is heavily weighted against the less privileged and exceedingly pro- privileged class. Its founding leader Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto opted to sacrifice his life but refused to submit before the dictator who wanted to humiliate the most popular leader. Dictator General Ziaul Haq offered him to spare his life if he filed clemency appeal from the death cell. He refused without giving a second thought. He said, ‘I would like to be murdered by the dictator to live in history’. It was a decision that could only be made by a leader of a stature of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He had become immortal and sun would never go down on him and on his legacy. On the other hand, his executioner had been condemned for ever and the history had put him in its dustbin reducing him even not worth of its footnotes. He will continue to suffer the revenge of history on eternal basis. Millions of people visit the shrines of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to pay their highest respect and rich tributes for the meritorious services rendered for the country and for the people of Pakistan. On the other hand, an insignificant number of people who visit the grave of Ziaul Haq despise him for the national woes he is held responsible for.
Every crisis throws up a new leader of thought and action. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was such a leader who was at the central stage to steer the country out of the crisis of appalling proportion caused by naked aggression of India in 1971. His immediate formidable challenges were lifting the morale of the defeated nation, return of prisoners of war (POW), retrieval of thousands square of miles of territory under Indian occupation and framing of the new constitution.
After the military debacle in 1971, the political, diplomatic and economic mess in the country was grotesquely looked beyond the scope of redemption. The enemies within and without were active to reduce the defeated nation to total submission marred in indignity and living like a dead man walking. But, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who had massive political support right across the country mobilised the people to give them the hope of a democratic, stronger, prosperous and stable Pakistan. He introduced a number of reforms in all walks of national life mainly focused to ameliorating the lot of the less privileged sections of the society who were hitherto ignored and were “crushed under the heels of haves”. The mainstreaming of the common people in the national affairs by the most popular leader brought back their confidence and they readily got involved in the nation building process with zeal.
He undertook the whirlwind tour of many capitals of the world especially of the Muslim world. He also dispatched his personal envoys to important countries assuring that Pakistan would formulate and implement its policies within the context of new realities and within the parameters of best practices of diplomacy. His initiative based on sincerity also nudged India to respond to his offer for negotiations to live in peace like good neighbours and to concentrate to eliminate hunger, disease and illiteracy from the faces of the two countries. He successfully negotiated Simla agreement with India in which both countries reaffirmed their resolve to address all outstanding issues through peaceful means. He secured the best agreement under most inhospitable conditions entailing the release of POWs and got back thousands of square miles of territory from the enemy country without quid pro quo. While addressing the Parliament in April 1972, ZA Bhutto said, ‘But we do not, no true Pakistani will ever accept is dictated, imposed peace. Such a settlement, let us make no mistake about this, will mean subjugation and servitude, a living death. I shall never be party to such an ignominious settlement’. These lines clearly reflected his leadership as an embodiment of vision, courage, and far-sightedness that would never yield to hegemony.
After India exploded nuclear device in 1974, he anticipated gave dangers to the security of Pakistan and therefore decided to make Pakistan a nuclear state to save it from the nuclear blackmail that could be the worst of its kind when sprouting from India. His vision and his successful endeavours led Pakistan to become nuclear power fortifying the defence of the country as impregnable. Events in 1999, 2002 and 2008 proved that as the potential aggressor could not afford of picking up confrontation with Pakistan in the face of nuclear deterrence.
Had Pakistan not been a nuclear power it would have not been able to stall the expansionist designs of Eastern neighbour? Please do recall the bellicose of the then Indian Home Minister LK Advani before 1998. He threatened Pakistan with arrogant assertion to forget Kashmir and was also bad-mouthing of AJK occupied by Pakistan. His tone and tenor took horizontal turn in favour of negotiations and normalisation of relations between the two countries when Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests in May 1998. Statesman saves the nation from the future calamities and dictator’s misdeeds unfold miseries of appalling proportion. Pakistan’s history bears it out beyond a shred of doubt.
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto also gave the consensus constitution to Pakistan reflective of the aspirations of the people. Pakistani nation got such constitution after the lapse of more than twenty five years. Its survival in the face of ruthless dictatorships speaks volumes of the total ownership of the people of the country. It is the primary law of the land in 2015 and will remain so for all times to come. The dictators mutilated it by incorporating unilateral amendments to perpetuate their illegitimate rule but they could not abrogate it. PPP has the singular honour of restoring it in its original form through the 18th amendment. PPP has proved worthy of being custodian of the legacy of its founding leader. Constitution is the greatest and invaluable national asset ZA Bhutto bequeathed to the nation. The unity of the federation of Pakistan today owes greatly to the constitution of 1973 after the fall of Dacca.
ZA Bhutto is held in the highest esteem by all sections of the society across faith, creed, regions, gender, and ethnicity except the retrogressive forces. Happy to note, he is honoured as such across political divide reflecting maturity on the political horizon of Pakistan. Pakistan’s future is bright. I have no doubt about it.
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