The birth of Benazir Bhutto on the longest day of June (June 21, 1953), was not an ordinary event. It was the birth of an icon that was to mean different things to different people. It ignited hope among the poor for better times; it meant empowerment for the women, the less privileged communities and the minorities. It meant equality of gender, caste, creed or colour. It meant a healthy environment for children and place of respect and honour for Pakistan in the comity of nations.
Bhutto had made her choice – of her own free will – to carry on the struggle against dictatorship that was in cahoots with the religious parties and the retrogressive Taliban out there to rampage Pakistan. Just a few days before her departure for Pakistan she disclosed to me that something “horrible was in store for her”. I tried to dissuade her but she shut me up – “which death would you prefer — walking down with me crossing Brompton Road, getting crushed under a double-decker bus or dying for the cause one has struggled all one’s life for?”
Bhutto’s was a non-negotiable commitment with the people – to return home to her beloved Pakistan, to fight to her last — to uproot dictatorship, to usher in democracy and to scotch the hydra-headed threat to Pakistan’s existence posed by growing terrorism, sectarianism and bigotry.
She was aware of the gigantic domestic problems that had piled up due to dictatorship. She was also conscious of multifaceted external issues – that had threatened not only Pakistan and the region, but was sure to have consequences for rest of the world too as are being now manifested in its regional and global ramifications.
Martyred Benazir Bhutto rightly believed that democracy was never really given a chance to grow or nurture by the powerful establishment that had directly ruled the country for over 30 years and rest of the time pulled the strings from behind the façade of democracy to make the government of the day dance to martial music. Indeed, Pakistan continues to reap the bitter harvest of the seeds sowed by General Zia ul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf.
The results of long suppression of democracy have had profound institutional consequences. Parliament is there but a non-serious government has made it almost dysfunctional. One had thought that the present government instead of germinating grounds for extra-constitutional intervention would use Parliamentary platform as a way out as it did during the Dharnas of 2014 when the situation had reached a point of touch and go; the involvement of the Parliament bailed it out from a deepening crisis.
I had forecast that the battle of ToRs would end in an exercise in futility. So far there is no sign of a breakthrough. It seems imminent that the matter would go to the street and it would -advertently or inadvertently—prove to be fatalistic for the system or gravely undermine it. Political parties and their leaders are already overly demonised through a method. Most deplorable is the case of Dr Asim Hussain who perhaps would have made more money by churning out so-called professionally confessional tapes than doing his medical practice.
Analysts believe that it would be a happier occasion than October 12, 1999 when people had distributed good riddance sweets. The on-going politickings by unidentified spooks for undermining the political parties, creation of splinter groups—are not new. These are laid out in the book of standard procedures readily available in Aabpara to bring about a change—in house or outside.
General Musharraf sought to strengthen himself on the crutches of religious parties and by running with the American hares and hunting with the Taliban hounds. It was perseverance of Bhutto and her sacrifice in blood that made elections inevitable early 2008 that paved the way for democratic change and General Parvez Musharraf’s ignominious exit. However, she had hoped that her people inspired by democracy, human rights and economic opportunity will turn their back decisively against extremism.
Unfortunately it has not happened the way she had wished for. Return of electoral democracy was no doubt harbinger of hope but it was still not all that rosy. While the establishment played wily games as usual from behind the scene as manifested in Memo-gate conspiracy, the then Supreme Court Chief Justice, kicked out by General Parvez Musharraf, restored by the PPP government—had his own agenda or personal scores to settle in destabilising the fragile democratic dispensation.
The decision by ex President Zardari to sustain Benazir Bhutto’s vision in Charter of Democracy as a panacea to political ills and his historic decision to further empower the provinces through 18th Amendment– have diluted and grossly weakened the overbearing existence of the Centre and the powerful establishment. Despite the fact that machinations are on to strike back at 18th Amendment by both Takhte Lahore and Takhte Rawalpindi—emergence of yet another centre of power is indeed landmark achievement in consolidating the federal structure with maximum autonomy to the provinces.
While poor people in the country wish Bhutto were alive today to solve their multifaceted problems inflicting their lives – be it high prices, perpetual load-shedding, deterioration in law-and-order, galloping unemployment – the most to long for her are women, children and minorities. Exploited and abused women and oppressed minorities – would have found her standing with them against male chauvinism and oppressive bigotry of the religious extremists who continue to bask under the overt and covert patronage of the government and the establishment. Both continue to treat them as non-state actors or strategic interests useable—wherever and whenever need be.
As a tribute to her on the occasion of her birth anniversary, PPP leadership must get down to stock taking of its pluses and minuses. It must realise that the odds it faces today are extremely onerous. With Benazir Bhutto not around, to surmount them would be overly challenging. It would require extra ordinary effort and rare qualities of leadership. It must understand that the present government and the Establishment–though sleeping in different beds—have the same dream—to destroy PPP in its base.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto and PPPP President Asif Zardari must have a common strategy to address immediately problems of the abused women, children and minorities. The number of women that have been burnt to death recently in Punjab is alarming, sexual abuse of children, rape of girls and victimisation of minorities under blasphemy laws—all are multiplying. And the irony of the horrid scenario is that neither the Punjab provincial government is bothered nor the Federal Interior Minister—is remotely concerned.
Last but not the least, it was the cherished dream of both Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter, the martyred Benazir to revert Pakistan to its founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohamed Ali Jinnah’s vision of a secular, liberal and progressive country. Being a young man Bilawal would do well in returning PPP to its original left-of-the-centre ideological moorings. Success at that would be the best tribute to the Quaid, SZAB and SMBB.
When I write comments against PPP, the Jiyala sitting behind the desk seldom approves them. Very disgraceful. Have courage to call a spade a spade.
Wrote comments against the writer of the article who whisked away twelve boxes of original documents pertaining to a withdrawn case against Mr 10% in Swiss court – and that became the basis of dismisal of the case in Islamabad HC. The Jiyala behind the desk saved the writer and his masters.
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