Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, reflecting on the legacy of Benazir Bhutto, described the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) decision to boycott the 1985 non-party-based elections as a cause of political damage in hindsight.
According to a an official information on Sunday, the statement was part of a telephonic address delivered to the Dallas, USA chapter of the PPP, commemorating the 18th martyrdom anniversary of the former prime minister.
Mr Gillani, who worked closely with Ms Bhutto in several roles including as Speaker of the National Assembly and Prime Minister, lauded her as a deeply committed and highly focused stateswoman who exemplarily advanced the political inheritance of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
He recounted her enduring years of exile, imprisonment, and immense personal sacrifices, noting that she never retreated from her struggle. According to the Senate Chairman, she successfully revived the PPP as a party for the populace, even after much of the senior leadership had abandoned her to align with the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq.
The Chairman recalled Ms Bhutto’s relentless campaign that led to the restoration of party-based elections, a victory that saw the PPP triumph and resulted in her becoming the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim country at the age of 35.
Her journey in power was not straightforward, Mr Gillani noted, stating that various forces opposed to a progressive leader conspired against her, leading to acts of terrorism and the eventual dismissal of her elected government.
He detailed her role in pressuring military ruler General Pervaiz Musharraf to hold free and fair elections, her historic return to Karachi on 18th October, where she survived an assassination attempt, and her subsequent martyrdom during an election rally in Rawalpindi.
Describing her death as an irreparable loss for the entire nation, Mr Gillani praised the statesmanship of President Asif Ali Zardari in the ensuing crisis. He highlighted Mr Zardari”s call for national unity under the slogan Pakistan must come first, which prevented the country from descending into chaos and ensured elections were held.
As the succeeding Prime Minister, Gillani affirmed that his government fulfilled the commitments of the Charter of Democracy, an accord between Ms Bhutto and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. He pointed out that this led to the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which enabled a third prime ministerial term for Mr Sharif, demonstrating the PPP”s dedication to Ms Bhutto”s democratic vision.
He concluded by noting that, in line with this vision, President Zardari voluntarily transferred his constitutional powers to Parliament, a rare act for any world leader, which restored parliamentary supremacy and firmly re-established a genuine parliamentary democracy in Pakistan.