Sindh Assembly passes resolution to pay homage to Bhutto

The Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution to pay homage to the democratic and national services of former prime minister and founder Pakistan Peoples Party Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on his birthday.

Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah deferred all the items on the agenda for the day’s session and granted permission for tabling the resolution and holding a discussion on it. Sindh PPP chapter President and senior parliamentarian Nisar Ahmed Khuhro presented the resolution in the house.

Khuhro told the house that no other leader in Pakistan could match the stature of the late Bhutto. He said the formation of the Peoples Party was one of the major achievements of the Bhutto. He told the house that the passage of a consensus constitution was one of the landmark achievements of Bhutto.

He opined that Pakistan could have progressed much, had Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had got the opportunity to serve their motherland for more time. He emphasised that the Constitution of 1973 should be implemented in letter and spirit.

Khuhro said the entire PPP leadership had remained steadfast to protect the constitution and spent time in prison due to their commitment to constitutionalism in the country. Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon stated that the resolution presented in the Sindh Assembly regarding Shaheed Bhutto falls far short of doing justice to his legacy.

The Pakistan that the people’s leader envisioned and established was vastly different. Today, Pakistan owes its constitution, legal framework, and institutional capacity to Shaheed Bhutto.

Yet, the dream of the Leader of the People remains unfulfilled. “We continue to lag in many areas, and there is much that needs to be rectified. In addressing these challenges, Bhutto’s philosophy will remain a guiding force.”

The senior minister stated that in seventy-five years, apart from the PPP, no other political party could claim to have contributed something to Pakistan that future generations could cherish and preserve. He stated that numerous attempts were made to alter and dismantle Pakistan’s constitution, which was repeatedly violated. Even the politicians imposed on us by dictators tried to undermine it.

He emphasised that there is still no leader in Pakistan comparable to Shaheed Bhutto. A visionary and intelligent leader like Shaheed Bhutto is essential to steer Pakistan out of its current challenges.

Memon stated that the late Bhutto’s vision for Pakistan was not one of conflict, violence, extremism, or cultural discord. During Shaheed Bhutto’s era, Karachi was a hub of education, attracting people from around the world. Unfortunately, extremism took root, and political parties emerged that propagated hatred and division.

He stated that Shaheed Bhutto’s vision was to unite Islamic countries across the globe. As a consequence of this vision, the peoples’ leader was judicially murdered in a fabricated case as part of a conspiracy. Even the Supreme Court now acknowledges that Bhutto was denied justice and a fair trial. It was not just Bhutto who was hanged; it was the future, progress, and prosperity of Pakistan that were sacrificed.

Memon remarked that today, no one dares to look at Pakistan with ill intentions, thanks to the nuclear programme initiated by Shaheed Bhutto. The Leader of the People, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, sacrificed his life to make the country a nuclear power. If Shaheed Bhutto had not made Pakistan a nuclear power, what is happening to other Islamic countries today might, God forbid, have happened to Pakistan as well.

He stated that even today, some individuals who have contributed nothing to Pakistan are attempting to compare themselves to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He emphasised that any significant achievement in Pakistan’s history has been the result of the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and no one else can claim such accomplishments.

The senior minister stated that the leader of a particular party demands release, and if not granted, threatens Pakistan. His party writes to the IMF to halt Pakistan’s aid and attempts to negotiate on Pakistan’s nuclear programme. He further claimed that the party in question is aligned with Israel, and it is Israel’s plan that has been imposed on Pakistan.

These are the people whom Pakistan once respected, yet they are now willing to sacrifice the country for their personal interests, the senior minister said. He pointed out that during the US presidential election, these individuals celebrated the most, despite not having spent even a year and a half in jail.

From now on, they are prepared to make any compromises that undermine Pakistan’s security, he alleged an asserted that these individuals are not true leaders; true leadership belongs to the Bhutto family, with President Asif Ali Zardari having raised the slogan of “Pakistan’s Khapy” at all costs.