Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday paid a tribute to the martyrs of Karsaz, Karachi who lost their lives while welcoming Shaheed Mohtamra Benazir Bhutto on her return home from exile eight years ago on this day.
“Today we salute the martyrs of Karzaz and indeed all martyrs of democracy and vow to carry forward the democratic and egalitarian mission of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as envisioned by its leaders Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” Zardari said in a message on the occasion.
Zardari pledged to continue her mission to banish extremism and root out dictatorship from the country. “An important lesson of democratic struggle is that dictatorship rears its ugly head in different forms and in different manifestations at different times,” he said.
“A subtle and often-overlooked form of threat to democracy is when institutions and individuals exceed their constitutional authority and trespass into the domain of other constitutional institutions. We must be vigilant against the dictatorial mindset that seeks to drive from the rear seat. This tendency must be exposed and fought,” he added.
The former president said that the parliament is our shield against dictatorship and that it must be strengthened and not undermined. He said that the PPP would not allow anyone to undermine the parliament.
Zardari said that on this day in 2007, battle lines were clearly drawn between forces of democracy on the one hand and the militants and extremists on the other. “Since then the battle lines have sharpened. The battle must continue till it is won,” he said.
The former president asked the people to remember in prayers all those who laid down their lives and made untold sacrifices in the fight against extremism.