Sindh asks Centre to declare Bhutto ‘national democratic hero’

karachi: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh has unanimously passed a resolution demanding that the federal government officially declare Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a “national democratic hero” and a “Shaheed” (martyr), and initiate a civil award, ‘Nishan-e-Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’, for political workers and activists who struggled for democracy.

The resolution was presented on Thursday by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, and supported by members of the assembly belonging to the PPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Speaking to the House, Shah said that even before the recent opinion of the Supreme Court on the 1979 death sentence given to Bhutto, the whole world had been echoing the slogan that he was innocent. “It has been confirmed now.”

He said that a dictator had murdered the PPP founder, using the SC for his agenda. The CM recalled the day when his father had informed him that Bhutto had been hanged.

“The pain of the family can’t be felt by anyone else. This was a martyrdom that brought tears to every eye and sorrow to the entire nation.”

He said that today an important resolution has been presented in the PA to demand that the constitution be amended to fulfil these demands. He added that political workers who faced oppression from fascist regimes and dictatorships should be honoured with Nishan-e-Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that injustice was done to Bhutto, adding that the judges later accepted that it was done under pressure.

Khuhro said PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari had initiated this reference against Bhutto’s capital punishment during his tenure as the country’s president. He said that 11 years after that reference, the SC rectified a historical error.

MQM-P MPA Abdul Wasim lamented that justice is not for everyone in this country. “Who will hold the court that pronounced this sentence [against Bhutto] accountable?”

Condemning the death sentence, Wasim said that the judicial system took so long to deliver a decision on this case that it was Bhutto’s grandson who had to hear it. He pointed out that there are also many similar unjust incidents that also demand attention.

PTI-backed MPA Shabbir Qureshi said Bhutto gave awareness to the people, and as a result, he was sentenced to death. He stressed that it has been proved that those who fight for the people always face such an ordeal.

JI MPA Muhammad Farooq said the country and the nation have suffered from controversial judicial decisions. He asked who will put an end to this spree. He said that if such situations arise in future, democratic people should stop them.

At the outset of the session, PA Speaker Awais Qadir Shah administered the oath of membership to MPA-elects Tanzeela Imran, Jam Mehtab Dahar, Sardar Shah and Samina Abbasi.