Legacy of defiance

ZAB gave voice to every voiceless

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s achievements before assuming power and as prime minister are simply historic. During the anti-Ayub Khan movement he roused the common people, inspiring courage to challenge the high and mighty – something the political parties centred in West Pakistan had failed to do so far. The movement spread like wild fire all over what constitutes Pakistan today. The peasants in Punjab challenged big landlords; the nascent middle class in Balochistan began to question the all powerful tribal leaders, in the erstwhile NWFP small landowners and tenants asserted their right over the lands they had tilled for decades and in Sindh where feudal hold was the strongest people felt they were entering a new era. The working class formed trade unions in industries where none had been allowed by factory owners before so that could retain savage control over the work force. The students who had fought several battles during the Ayub era against the University Ordinance and the law allowing cancelation of degrees found in Bhutto the leader they had been looking for. ZAB gave voice to every voiceless community.

Bhutto was a man with a vision who was capable of taking unpopular decisions for the good of the country. To bring back thousands of troops from India he had to recognise Bangladesh. Mindful of the opposition from right wing leaders and powerful sections of media he called the Islamic Summit where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also invited. He announced the decision to recognise the breakaway country as he basked in the glory of the summit attended by heads of state then popular in Pakistan, like the Saudi King Faisal, Libyan leader Gaddafi and UAE’s Sheikh Zaid bin Nahyan. This made the repatriation of thousands of Pakistani soldiers possible. Bhutto also gave the country its first consensus constitution and initiated the nuclear programme.

Bhutto’s failures too were colossal. He dismissed the first elected government in Balochistan and ordered military operations in the province. He got the secular and democratic NAP banned through the Supreme Court and initiated a cooked up Hyderabad Conspiracy Case against its leaders. Yielding to the pressure of the religious parties, Bhutto declared Ahmadis non-Muslims.

Bhutto defied powerful military rulers twice. He succeeded in giving momentum to the anti Ayub movement. This was to make him a popular leader all over West Pakistan. Subsequently he defied Gen Zia who had conducted military coup against his legitimately elected government. Instead of bargaining to save his life, he continued to challenge the military dictator until his death – thus emerging as a symbol of struggle and fortitude.

Benazir Bhutto, like her father, had the vision, political maturity and the courage to defy military dictators. Compared to ZAB she was more tolerant of the opposition and a better bridge maker with opponents. ZAB’s legacy seems to have been lost after Benazir’s cruel assassination. It remains to be seen if Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is able to fill the party chair inherited by him.