Benazir’s 68th birth anniversary: Zardari, Bilawal vow to fight for parliament’s supremacy

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Sunday renewed their pledge to continue to fight for the rule of the Constitution and supremacy of the parliament.

“Conspiracies are being hatched today against the 18th Amendment; the parliament is being disrespected, the media is being restricted and freedom of expression is being curtailed, but we are committed to combatting with the anti-democratic forces," said Zardari in a statement on the 68th birth anniversary of former prime minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Zardari paid homage to Benazir Bhutto and renewed his pledge to follow her mission and the philosophy of Quaid-e-Awam Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. “Today every strata of the country is suffering from deaths, and the youth is disappointed. The PPP will end these frustrations and disappointments,” he added.

“Today we pledge to build a Pakistan for which Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto struggled for, where there will be peace, freedom, and democracy will be strong, rule of the Constitution will prevail and the parliament will be empowered,” he said.

Remembering his mother, Bilawal said today when governance in Pakistan had derailed and the institutions as well as the people of the country were at the mercy of ruthless cartels, it was but natural for every Pakistani to miss the daughter of the East. “Her vision for the country's future was one every patriot of our nation dreams of even today,” he said.

Bilawal said no matter how many years or centuries pass, Benazir Bhutto's struggle, great sacrifices, and humanitarian philosophy were eternal.

“Owing to the efforts she made in her lifetime, the day isn't far when Pakistan will achieve the status of victory at the international level," he said. He said his mother was not solely Pakistan's former prime minister, but also was the name of a movement.

He said such movements made a mark in the history of the world and were responsible for the birth of new progressive eras. He also spoke about the false accusations and propaganda to tarnish her reputation.

"Benazir Bhutto was subjected to extreme persecution because the oppressors knew that the daughter of the East was not only the inheritor of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's intellectual struggle, but was also a follower of Quaid-e-Azam's vision and ideology," he said.