Bhutto - still our guiding spirit

Saturday, April 04, 2009
By Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
The writer is prime minister of Pakistan

The Holy Quran ordains that martyrs never die. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, thus, lives in the annals of history, through his deeds and through his political philosophy. Decades after he mounted the gallows, he refreshes our minds like the morning breeze.

The most towering political personality of our recent history, he demonstrated immense courage in taking initiatives in the late 1960s and early 1970s to strike at the roots of a hackneyed system that was based on exploitation of the people by a handful of men.

When he founded the Pakistan People's Party in November 1967 the people, who believed that the exploitative system must be overhauled through drastic changes, expressed their support to the party which promised a moderate, modern and progressive Pakistan, socio-economic justice and an egalitarian society. The PPP then caused a phenomenon - the rise of a new breed of political workers drawn from all walks of life and different shades of opinion.

This was a major political movement in the country's history. It has continued to sustain itself and, despite conspiracies and repression let loose by dictatorial regimes, it has grown manifold. Even today, Shaheed Bhutto and his revolutionary programme are a major reference of commitment to pro-people ideals. On the other hand those who opposed him and his political thought find themselves in disarray and political confusion.

The people of Pakistan are lucky in the sense that they witnessed with contentment Shaheed Bhutto's illustrious daughter, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, pick up the political thread where the great leader had left it. She showed the same exemplary courage and commitment in advancing the political legacy of Shaheed Bhutto. She took the torch of democracy and justice into her hands and continued the endeavour to achieve the dream of her illustrious father – the empowerment of the exploited.

She too embraced martyrdom in her struggle to defeat dictatorship. Continuing the great mission of Shaheed Bhutto is now the obligation of the PPP leadership and workers.

I personally feel proud sitting in the chair which Shaheed Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had occupied to serve the people and to take historic decisions and steps to improve and promote the image of Pakistan as a democratic nation.

Historians, political analysts and commentators attach great importance to the era when our party's founding father was leading the turmoil-ridden country. They pay tribute to Shaheed Bhutto for his vision and foresight, his statesmanship, his charisma and his sharp understanding of issues. They describe that period as the most meaningful in our history.

The unanimous constitution adopted in 1973 was a task which only Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto could accomplish and the world witnessed this event with keen interest. The making of the constitution was one of the happiest moments of our political life. It was a great step forward. Constitutions had also been made and enforced in 1956 and 1962, but they had died their logical death because they had neither enjoyed popular support nor had been debated in parliament. Even the opinion of provincial leadership had not been sought. In contrast to this, the 1973 Constitution was a passion with Shaheed Bhutto. Its drafting and approval by parliament was the result of his patriotism, his commitment to the people, his enlightened thought and his deep sincerity. He held negotiations with the national and provincial leadership, convincing them about the importance of having the basic law for a country which had long been without a constitution. Although the constitution since then has been amended drastically and held in abeyance several times, it has an inherent strength that no despotic ruler has been able to weaken.

The supremacy of parliament was another political and democratic area which was very close to Shaheed Bhutto's heart. He made no compromise on his commitment to the state institutions, and the pre-eminence of parliament was his paramount concern. He never ignored parliament as he thought his political strength lay in taking it into confidence. He also held the armed forces in deep respect and wanted them to become the best in the world.

Every page of our history and every inch of our homeland bear a deep and illuminating impact of his revolutionary message and the dynamic political ideology he gave while launching his own political organization. He made all Pakistanis love their homeland, created an awareness in them of their inviolable rights and made the people feel that no one should infringe upon their self-respect. He went to meet the people in areas where no one had gone before.

Shaheed Bhutto founded the Pakistan People's Party at a time when the media was forced to follow a dictated policy and was not allowed to tread an unconventional path. This was a time when impartial and independent TV channels were not permitted and PTV was not allowed to cover events without government instructions. Even the newspapers more or less ignored the launching of the PPP. They reported big PPP rallies in single-column news items. But the great leader knew the art of mobilising public opinion. He intensified his political campaign and made it so effective that it directly reached the masses. His objective was clear and his voice powerful as he led his campaign like a crusader who has unshakable faith in the power of the people. He cherished the desire to take the country and the people to new heights of progress and prosperity. His contact with the people was direct and consummate. His bond with them was too strong to break.

Shaheed Bhutto established a stable democracy, strengthened state institutions and brought basic changes in the dispensation of socio-economic justice.

His ability to foresee the future was immense. He saw dangers rising in South Asia and ventured to make his country's defence impregnable. He decided that Pakistan must acquire nuclear technology, not only to defend itself from external threats but also for speedy development in all spheres.

This also means that Shaheed Bhutto had rightly felt that Pakistan was capable of providing leadership to the Muslim Ummah in the circumstances that were distressing and that made all Muslims feel concerned about their future. Within the country, the government of Shaheed Bhutto started a massive programme of infrastructural development and helped the provinces in that task with a mind to strengthen the federation as envisioned by the 1973 Constitution.

Who can forget the Second Islamic Summit Conference held in February 1974? This proved to be such a representative conference of the Islamic world as never witnessed before. The decisions of this conference were far-reaching. Also no one can forget that Shaheed Bhutto was the first leader who initiated socio-economic development in FATA, so that this underdeveloped but fertile territory was brought at par with other areas of the country. The dream he saw was the welfare of the down-trodden people living in these backward but most splendid valleys whose scenic beauty has no parallel in the world.

We are now trying hard to restore peace in these areas and resume their development as envisioned by our great leader. We strongly feel that the best tribute we can pay to him on his 30th death anniversary is that we transform Pakistan into a moderate, modern and progressive society, which was the hallmark of the Shaheed's era and which served as a source of inspiration for the Muslim world and the rest of the third world.

The repressive and oppressive dictatorial regime which followed the enlightened period of Shaheed Bhutto led the country towards obscurantism, which gravely threatens moderation and progressive thought.

But as the custodians of the enlightened political thought of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, we can combat such dangers with the power of commitment and conviction.

Today, we pledge solemnly to the founding father of our party, and to the people, on behalf of our government, and in my own personal capacity, that we will combat extremism and sectarianism with the help of the political ideology of Shaheed Bhutto, by taking steps to ensure the restoration of peace and progress in the country. We pledge that we will realise the idea of Pakistan as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam and Quaid-i-Awam.

Jiye Bhutto!!!