Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Begum Nusrat Bhutto; Mader-e-Jamhoriyat


By: Dr Mahreen Razaque Bhutto

 Begum Nusrat Bhutto was one of the most outstanding and courageous female leaders in the post-partition political history of the sub-continent.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto is no more in this world but she would long be remembered for her great qualities with which she was blessed in abundance. She was a woman of substance, commitment and determination.The role Begum Nusrat Bhutto played in politics and in the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD), particularly when her illustrious husband and first democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was overthrown and hanged by the military dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, would always be remembered as a golden chapter in the country’s political history. She took both the PPP and the MRD to new heights which even her political opponents have always recognized and appreciated then and even now when she lies in eternal rest alongside her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and daughter Benazir Bhutto in the family graveyard.
She was also the Chief Organizer of PPP Women Wing, Begum Nusrat Bhutto was so committed to the cause of democracy and democratic process. She was herself elected unopposed as the Chairperson of PPP Women Wing.
Her life was full of struggle, sacrifice and suffering. She had seen a lot of strife and hardship in her life but had stayed steadfast and undeterred.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto first lost her illustrious husband Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then her one son Mir Shahnawaz Bhutto, then second son Mir Murtaza Bhutto and furthermore, her eldest daughter Benazir Bhutto but she was in the best of her mental and physical health conditions while living in Dubai when Benazir Bhutto was martyred in December 2007.
She had stood firm and strong even when she was beaten up brutally by the police with batons at Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore, resulting in wounds to her head. She had faced all the rigours of military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq with courage, boldness and determination both as PPP Chairperson and as MRD leader.
Dr Mahreen Bhutto said that Jiyalas and workers of the PPP will be paying homage to Begum Nusrat Bhutto on her 5th death anniversary and PPP will never forget her struggle against the worst dictatorial regime and leading the most popular movement against tin-pot dictatorship in Pakistani history.
MNA Dr Mahreen Razaque Bhutto (General secretary Ladies wing Sindh) Khairpur

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