Benazir Bhutto’s birthday is as good a time as any to examine the democratic credentials of PPP. Bhutto’s shoddy treatment of the ANP governments in NWFP and Balochistan is a long and sordid tale of how Bhutto first caused insurgency in Balochistan and then tried to crush it with an iron hand but failed. We are still suffering from the fall out of those undemocratic actions of Bhutto.
So much for Bhutto being a democrat. His daughter was no better. She spent all her time out of power to get back into power and did not rest until she had unseated the sitting government. Even if it meant pushing the country into a nuclear arms race with India. To her thinking, it was democracy only when she was in power.
As to the sacrifices of the Bhuttos for democracy, Bhutto did not sacrifice his life for any noble cause by refusing to compromise on his principles with a dictator when no such compromise had been offered by the dictator. As for Benazir sacrificing her life for democracy. She did not spend a whole year and millions of dollars in wheeling and dealing just to come and sit at home. She had come to win an election.
Winning the election required electioneering and that was exactly what she was doing. It had nothing to do with bringing about democracy. If she had not won, it would still have been democracy. There were many others who were doing the same but making no claims that they were doing it for democracy.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
