Daily Times

The PPP’s public meeting at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Karachi, was an impressive show as tens of thousands of people gathered to listen to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Addressing the mammoth meeting he said, “Only Bhuttoism could save the country from civil war, as it is the only political philosophy that calls for unity of the people and the state.” He renewed his pledge to complete the mission of the party’s founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and former party chairperson Benazir Bhutto, who laid down their lives while fighting for the rights of the downtrodden and haplessly teeming millions. However, he did not say much about the PPP’s original manifesto of providing ‘roti, kapra aur makaan’ (bread, clothing and shelter). He lashed out at the MQM, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and PML-N. The MQM, in reaction, withdrew from the coalition government in Sindh.

To dispel the impression of the PPP being confined to Sindh only, its leaders refer to the coalition governments in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir but this presence is not significant, as the PPP was almost completely routed in the 2013 elections in Punjab. The fact remains that Punjab has 148 general seats and 35 women’s seats out of 342 National Assembly seats. Punjab is the deciding factor so far as formation of the federal government is concerned, as the number of National Assembly seats is more than the seats from the other three provinces put together. The reasons for its failure are not hard to see. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari could not launch an effective campaign in Punjab, partly for security reasons. After the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the terrorists are on the run and the PPP feels the climate is conducive for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to frequently visit Punjab.

The question being asked is whether Bilawal Bhutto can reinvigorate the party when its image has been so badly tarnished. It is worth mentioning that the PPP was established in 1967, and its first convention was held at Dr Mubashar Hasan’s residence in Lahore. It was the Cold War era when the world was divided into two camps: the US and the west on one side and the former Soviet Union and eastern European countries on the other. PPP Chairman Zulfikar Bhutto and founding members of the party like J A Rahim, Dr Mubashar Hasan, Mairaj Mohammad Khan, Mehmood Ali Kasuri and other left-oriented politicians in the party decided that it would be a multiclass party but left-leaning to create a society based on socio-economic justice where people, irrespective of religion, caste and creed would be equal citizens before the law and the state.

In the 1970 elections, the PPP emerged victorious in then West Pakistan and the Awami League in former East Pakistan. After the country was dismembered, the PPP formed a government because it previously had a majority in West Pakistan. Bhutto’s government had tried to implement the PPP manifesto and introduced land reforms to emancipate farmers. When Bhutto tried to unite the Muslim ummah (community) with the support of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Moammar Qaddafi of Libya, and also decided to achieve nuclear capability, the US warned him of dire consequences. Most probably at the behest of the US, a conglomeration of political parties launched a movement against the PPP government and later General Ziaul Haq promulgated his martial law. Bhutto was sent to the gallows on a murder charge for which a case was registered during his tenure.

Benazir Bhutto nevertheless kept the party flag aloft and proved to be the undisputed leader of Pakistan in her own right. She was determined to eliminate extremism and terrorism in every form and manifestation, and went down fighting the scourge of terrorism. Whether it is Asif Ali Zardari or Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the helm of the party, the PPP cannot live on the past performance of Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto alone. The first thing Bilawal Bhutto Zaradri should do is distance himself from the so-called stalwarts who have tarnished the image of the party. He should go back to the basics, as the people of Pakistan want a change in the system. They want a better deal. Pakistan is endowed with material resources, hardworking people and, above all, a wealth of cultural, historical and philosophical resources. Bilawal should capitalise on these rich resources and release the immense, latent energy of Pakistan to reach the goal of social cohesion and solidarity of the people.

However, the time has come for our political class to call a truce and give a bit of respite to the masses battered by a multiplicity of miseries and hardships domestically while demons from outside stare them in the face. The course our politicians are presently on is fraught with danger. The plutocracy, which they deceptively call democracy, is under no threat externally. The fear of derailing democracy they rake up is more to do with their imbibed paranoia than with objective realities. On the street there is only derision and scorn for the contestants of this game. If some wisdom is still left in the political class they would make peace, at least for the time being, and get on with the arduous work of nation building.

The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at mjamil1938@hotmail.com