WE DID NOT COME THIS FAR TO FAIL...

Picture
Those were the incredible instants of the history of Pakistan – At a caucus, held on December 30, 1967, Pakistan Peoples’ Party was founded in Lahore and the “enigmatic” Leader of the People, familiarly “Quaid-e-Awam” Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the party. The Party Creed was proclaimed as:-

1. Islam is our religion.

2. Democracy is our policy.

3. Socialism is our economy.

4. All Power To the people.

This merge of Islam and Socialism maneuvered a course away from Secular Dogmatic Marxism and came to be known as Islamic Socialism.  

Though, the endeavor of establishing Pakistan was to create a state, where the people had the right to lead their lives according to their preference – where there was no partiality on the basis of faith, race or color – Where people had the right to opt for their delegates & the very rationale of army was to shield the borders, than to preside over the state. It is something of a grave distress that none of the aims was accomplished– The authority passed on to different hands, but all of them were from the “Elite” class. The voice of the commons was censored whether it was a civilian Government or a Martial Law One. There was alteration in the names of the rulers, but not even the least divergence in their conducts. Most of the population lived below the line of scarcity, greater part of the man power, not conversant and unemployed and the peasants and labors, dispossessed of their privileges _ where uttering a word against the master was an Unforgivable Crime – For there was mere power hunger, but no intentions to work for the poor population – the rulers of time, who considered themselves to be the GODS – for they considered themselves powerful enough to snatch someone’s life or property – What a greater curse!!! Where the women were treated as articles of trade and given no opportunity to work for their country’s betterment.

Ever since foundation, Pakistan Peoples Party intended to hand over supremacy to the commons and to give them a fair say in how they were being ruled – unlike other groups, which could never pierce the masses. Pakistan Peoples Party won the support of the poor people of Pakistan, - the purpose of it to provide “BREAD, CLOTHING & SHELTER” to the people of Pakistan. Though, these are the indispensable prerequisites of life, but so many in our country do not get snacks even to endure, have no means to swathe them up or find a situate to live on.

In the wake of the fall of Dacca, Yahya Khan handed over power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as President on 20th December 1971. 

“We have to gather pieces – very small pieces & make a new Pakistan- A prosperous Pakistan”.

The First Government of Quaid-e-Awam Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto introduced the Constitution of 1973, which was passed unanimously _ the lasting heritage of the Pakistan Peoples Party to Pakistan.  

The first Bhutto administration was an Age of Reform and re-enactment. Bhutto established Pakistan's first Steel Mill, a second Port, commissioned Pakistan's first hydro electric dam on the mighty Indus at Tarbela, and made Pakistan self sufficient in fertilizer, sugar, and cement. He nationalized the Banks and Life Insurance Companies. He also commenced Pakistan's Nuclear Programme. The economical policies of Bhutto were anti-imperialist and base on state socialism following the stack of other Third World leaders such as Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmad Soekarno of Indonesia, and his own contemporary Salvador Allende of Chile who was elected, over thrown and assassinated during the same period. The Cold War was its most frosty during this epoch. The Neo-Colonialists made a terrible example of Bhutto for his anti-Imperialistic stance, his efforts to unite the World of Islam, and his demarche towards bringing the Third World on one Platform apart from the Nuclear Issue.  

5th July , 1977_ The sinister day in the history of Pakistan _ When the Government of the founder Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party Quaid e Awam Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was eliminated by the then tyrant Zia ul Haq, and thereby, Pakistan , under the longest era of Martial Law ever since its underpinning. Moments were too awful _ Murky nights _ Gosh! The end of a democratic Government, followed by the judicial murder of ZA Bhutto on April 4, 1979 and those three months of elections _ that day never arrived! 

The whiplash of the Martial Law fell heavily on the Pakistan Peoples Party from July 5, 1977 when Zia declared Martial Law until December 1985, when Martial Law was lifted. Thousands of the cadre of the Pakistan Peoples Party were incarcerated, hundreds whisked .Others were killed or forced into exile.  That was the nerve of Pakistan Peoples Party & only Pakistan Peoples Party, which faced all these obstacles and murders with patience and sagacity, for we deem, neither in prisons, nor in bullets, but DEMOCRACY is our vengeance and that is a fact that the forces of democracy & justice triumph.

Shaheed Mohtarmah Benazir Bhutto then started to work for the rehabilitation of the party, following in the footsteps of her father for the Restoration of Democracy. Though, the dictator of the time was as unswerving to stay in power, but doom twisted to be absolutely diverse from his yearnings and the atrocious rule of Zia came to an end on 17th August, 1988 when the C-130, carrying him crashed in a ball of fire and Zia went from vestiges to vestiges and his system from grime to grime. The destiny took payback of the murders and brutalities he’d committed on the workers of PPP, for the vindictive always comes to conclusion, but leaving behind his calamitous acts and thankfulness of masses to God to swab him from the globe.

Benazir Bhutto rode the apex of the brandish to conquest to become the first Muslim Prime Minister and the youngest women Prime Minister in history at the age of 35. The Government she led immediately marked on an ambitious program of political liberalization, an end to press censorship, legalization of trade unions, and a commitment to the long, neglected social structure with an emphasis on education, health delivery, women’s rights and macroeconomic reforms. Intensely concerned about the problem of child labor in certain areas of our economy, the Government cracked down on child labor and determined to out an end to the dreadful statistics of polio, launched an anti-polio campaign in Pakistan. Throughout her career, she attempted to combine the best of many cultures, the richness of disparate experiences, to build for the people, the ability to compete and thrive in the challenging new technological era. For in the lexis of Mohtarmah Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, she was guided by the philosophy and words of an American President Abraham Lincoln, who said the following words, 100 years before she was born :- “The legitimate object of a government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but cannot do , at all or cannot do so well, for themselves – in their separate and individual capacities.

In all that people can do for themselves, the Government ought not interfere”.

Unfortunately, the camouflage of corruption was always used to put an ending to the elected Government of the people, which has always been the most familiar assertion used to put an end to democratic Governments in Pakistan & in South Asia. But not even one case of sleaze, against her & her family could be proved. The goal of the regime was quite obvious – to establish a one-party dictatorship in Pakistan.  According to Mohtarmah Benazir Bhutto

“If the goals of those in power, those who supported military dictatorship in the past, is to keep my party out of politics, to keep us from speaking out on issues, that we care strongly about, no amount of intimidation or coercion can shake our commitment to democracy and to our country.

My husband shares my decision.

For those of us, who fought and died for democracy and freedom in Pakistan, the return of a fascist, one-man dictatorship is painful beyond comprehension”.

Though, the ground realities were too vindictive, but Benazir Bhutto returned to her state with a BENAZIR nerve, audacity, that was nowhere else to be found! Copious chanting out for Benazir & of course, the world can never close eyes to the martyrs of Karsaz, who gave up their own lives to shield their leader & so many, who became crippled. Yet, history has never witnessed a day like October 18 _ Knowing all the menaces & BB who returned, when the Damocles’ sword was still hanging on her head! That was a day of carnival _ A day, when the soil of Pakistan gained its life, as BB’s feet touched it! In fact, a day like that can never be elapsed & history’s for sure, going to engrave it in Golden books!! She sustained her thrash about for democracy in Pakistan and lasted with giving her blood to make the hallucination of her father veracity…

With directs, hard-hitting as ever, the Pakistan Peoples Party started its expedition to the manifestation of their leaders’ delusions, under the alluring leadership of the Man of Courage President Asif Ali Zardari & Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Certainly, we’d be successful to make a Pakistan of our beloved leader’s apparition!

To This day, I hear the adversaries of PPP, questioning “Will the PPP endure”? A single statement is enough, if can be understood:-

A move, my party and I are resisting vigorously,

We did not come this far to be silent,

We did not come this far to fail.

Long Live Pakistan People’ Party.

You can never Execute A Vision.

Regards,

Saria Benazir.