Daily Times

In a country which except for its first couple of years had always been ruled by its establishment, founder Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, proclaimed “Democracy is our Politics” and “All power to the People” as two of the four of the Founding Principles of his new party on its foundation day. In spite of all the machinations of the establishment PPP defeated all reactionary pro-establishment parties in elections of 1970 and won with a big majority in what is now Pakistan. A new pole of power that of the power of the people was thus created in Pakistan. In the post-Bhutto period political power has been oscillating between these two poles: establishment and the people.

It is dictatorship when the establishment captures State power, either directly or through proxy parties created by it to block the march of democracy. One distinguishing factor for Pakistan has remained that the establishment has always ruled with the support of western imperialism, who in the garb of friendship have always been taking military duty from our country. It has been democracy although for limited periods when the forces of the people have asserted their right on State power even after heavily rigged elections.

Quite a few countries have experienced long periods of military dictatorship and their tyranny after the execution of their democratic leaders with one general succeeding the other. Those aspiring for democracy in Pakistan also faced the worst tyranny after the assassination of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Many went to the gallows and suffered lashes and jails. Some went in hiding. Some others secretly left the country. There was despair and hopelessness. The forces of democracy were all scattered and uprooted. What was happening in Pakistan during military dictatorship was not dissimilar to what had happened in other countries which had faced long military dictatorships.

Yet there was a difference and the difference was young Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed who in that darkest period of our history stepped forward with commitment, courage and wisdom to lead the democratic movement.

She understood that all growing movements are inclusive in essence. One could not lead by dividing the nation. Power of the people lay in their unity. Leading from the front she set out to collect the scattered workers of her party. She rekindled hope in their hearts. She made them believe that the flow of time and history was towards the future. Dictatorships and their tyranny could not last forever.

The journey towards democracy had to be restarted with unity in their ranks and faith in their hearts. PPP workers responded with a new determination. Her next step was to bring other parties together on a common platform of restoration of democracy. Many of these parties had been opposed to Bhutto Shaheed and had provided political support to the military dictator. Yet they were watching that in spite of the dirty maligning propaganda campaign against the PPP and its leadership public support was with the PPP and Benazir Bhutto. For their own political survival there was no option left for them but to join the common platform of Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD).

Brave workers of the PPP led by their brave leader Benazir Bhutto gave immense sacrifices in the MRD movement. MRD did not remove the dictator. But both within and outside the country dictatorship was crippled. Within the country the dictator was no longer feared by the people. Outside the country the movement had made it obvious that people of Pakistan wanted revival of their Constitution and Democracy. The very forces of western imperialism which had brought and sustained military dictatorship for their own reasons started raising questions on whether it was possible to continue the old policies. The dictator was forced to call general elections to appease his foreign support. In an attempt to fortify his rule through the policy of dividing the nation on multiple fault lines of language, sect, biradri, tribe etc. as also to ward off the danger of a PPP victory these sham elections were called on non-party basis. Ground was already slipping from under the feet of dictatorship. The forces of Democracy were making new advances in the leadership of Benazir Bhutto. General Elections had to be called in the country after the military dictator was killed in a plane crash. A great damage however, had already been done by the dictator in the process of appeasing the West in the shape of recruiting non-state militants for the so called Jihad against Russia.

The next 10 years are conspicuous with the establishment resorting to continuous manipulations and conspiracies against the two elected governments of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and their ultimate dismissal by the President and bringing up the PML (N) as their own proxy in the Government. This partnership arrangement being devoid of the support of the people had its own internal contradictions with each of the two partners clamouring for more space in governance. The conflict between the two however did not stop the two PML (N) governments to institute false cases against the PPP leadership and throwing Mr. Zardari and other PPP leaders in jail.

Statesmanship and commitment to democracy of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is seen at a climax when she saved the PML (N) government from being dismissed by the President through directing her Party’s elected members in the Parliament to vote for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution thus taking away the powers of the President to dismiss governments. The next step for strengthening democracy was taken by her when the door to floor crossing was shut with the PPP support to the passage of the 14th Amendment. Saving the PML (N) government on both these occasions by her had been unconditional. To her own party members she explained that the Parliament had to be protected against the establishment because ‘Democracy was our Politics’.

A power drunk PML (N) government refused to learn its lessons even after its narrow survival. Instead of creating a broad based consensus for strengthening democracy they continued with the policy of false cases against the Opposition and throwing them in Jails. Journalists writing against the government were similarly victimised. The Supreme Court was physically attacked. Two Army Chiefs were dismissed. The advent of the next military dictator Pervez Musharraf can be seen as nothing but the culmination of the internal growing conflict between the creator and the creation when any reconciliation between the two was no longer possible. However, after a brief term in jail and a court decision against them the PML (N) leadership soon reached one more compromise with the establishment with the help and arbitration of a third country. They agreed to live abroad for a fixed period leaving a leaderless party behind them. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who was already leading her party from exile took over the democratic struggle against the new dictatorship.

Inside Pakistan she was in daily contact with her party leaders and directing them in their struggle. Abroad she was continuously meeting opinion makers in other countries and giving lectures on the dangers of denial of democracy in Pakistan. She told her audience everywhere that to the existing dangers had now been added new threats from non-state actors in the shape of extremism and terrorism. These non-state actors enjoyed the overt and covert support of our establishment.

She realised that it was necessary to bring PML (N) the other major party in the democratic camp for revival of democracy in Pakistan. The Time was ripe since PML (N) had been stung by the ruling dictatorship. Leaving all grudges behind she moved forward to convince them on the need of reviving democracy in Pakistan. The Charter of Democracy which has resulted in the passage of 18th Amendment under the guidance of President Asif Ali Zardari after her martyrdom was signed between the two parties.

Democracy and terrorism cannot coexist. Unfortunately the denial of democracy for a long period had let her country slip in the expanding grip of terrorism and extremism. Very few understood but she was the one who successfully negotiated a return for PML (N) leadership and herself to Pakistan at great risk to her life to run election campaigns with their respective election manifestoes in order to make the elections meaningful and democracy sustainable in Pakistan.

It was this day in 2007, when as the winter sun was setting at Rawalpindi, Benazir Bhutto rose from her vehicle for the last time to respond to the rousing slogans which the people were raising. They stood in all directions as far as one could see. These were people for whose political, economic and social rights she had fought all her life and given her all, for whom she had returned at great risk to her life: her people. For her this was a familiar sight but being amongst her people had always renewed her faith in the destiny and the bright future of her nation. Then suddenly she was no more.

Someone said that she could have saved her life if she had not stood up in her vehicle. Perhaps not. These people were her people and she was Benazir Bhutto. A Real Champion of Democracy.

The writer is a former Senator of Pakistan