FOUNDING DAY OF PPP
Qamar Zaman Kaira
PPP was founded by Shaheend Zulfiqar aAli Bhutto on 30th November 1967. He set in motion a
social revolution through his people-oriented politics declaring “ Socialism is our economy, democracy is
our politics and people are the source of power”. After installing PPP he entered into a social contract
with the people of Pakistan. He made the covenant that he, his sons and daughter will sacrifice their
lives for them. There is no example in the world where a political leader while launching a political party
ever made such a social contract with the people like the one made by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. PPP’s
manifesto is rooted in such a great philosophy and truth that no enlightened person can deny it provided
it is looked at with an unprejudiced mind. In the General elections held after three years of founding of
the party, PPP presented itself in the court of the people with the manifesto of “ Roti, Kapra aur Makan”.
On 20th December 1971, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was given the responsibility to lead the crestfallen country. The nation felt humiliated due to defeat in the war. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto launched the
initiative to restore the prestige of the defeated nation in the comity of nations. He held parleys with
Indira Gandhi as a leader of a dignified country rather than a defeated one which led to an honourable
repatriation of ninety thousand POWs and retrieval of 5 thousand square miles of land captured by India.
The PPP also enjoys the unique distinction of hosting the leaders of the Islamic world and laying
a foundation for unity among the Muslim countries. The founder of PPP made the parliament supreme
through politics of democracy which gave the nation a unanimous constitution of 1973. Bhutto Shaheed
bequeathed the ideology “ Socialism is our economy” which meant that all citizens of the country are
equal. In fact this ideology was a follow up of the philosophy of equality presented by the prophet
Muhammad(PBUH). While unfurling the programme of Roti, Kapra aur Makan, the founder of PPP had in
view the saying of Caliph Umar that even if a dog died hungry on the banks of a river, he would be
answerable for that. The first PPP government also launched a programme for adult education with a
view to increase literacy ratio and to enable the illiterate adults to keep themselves abreast of the
national and international circumstances by reading newspapers. PPP and its leaderss also enjoy the
distinction of giving the country a nuclear progrmme. Addressing the national assembly the founder of
PPP had declared” we would eat grass but make a nuclear bomb”
On 5th of July 1977, the dictator General Zia ul Haq captured power at gun point and what
followed the coup till 17th of August 1988 creates a nauseating feeling. The PPP is proud that its brave
sons and daughters fought a callous dictatorship for eleven years,
under the dynamic leadership of
begum Nusrat Bhutto and Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto. There is no doubt about the fact that without the
leadership of these icons, the struggle for restoration of democracy would not have been so enthusiastic
and determined as it turned out to be. The dictator perished in an air crash on 17 th of August 1988.
In the ensuing general elections, the people supported the PPP. Despite the fact that 44 seats
were stolen, the attempts to deprive PPP of simple majority failed to materialize. With that the dream of
the people to see the successor of
Minister,
Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto as Prime
was fulfilled. This was the second power stint for PPP. Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed
instead of taking revenge preferred the mission of the founder of the party and said that Democracy was
the best revenge. All the political detainees who opposed the dictator were released and all the exiled
leaders including Ajmal Khatak(late) and other Baluch leaders
returned to the country. During her
regime all the government employees who were sacked during the dictatorship were reinstated. For the
first time millions of sons of workers and labourers were provided high ranking employment. During the
second government of PPP First Women Bank and women Police were launched besides appointing
women judges in the higher judiciary. Roads, hospital and schools were set up in the backward areas
under the Peoples Programme. Muhtarma visited France to revive the project for Reprocessing Plant that
had been shelved by the dictator. She also entered into an agreement with the Indian Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi not to attack each others nuclear installations. It was because of this agreement that on
several occasion when the armies of both the countries were deployed on the borders the two countries
did not go to war, which saved South Asia from a nuclear holocaust.
In 1993 new elections were held and the nation was once again given the opportunity to elect
the government of their choice.
The nation once again elected Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto as Prime
Minister. This was the third PPP regime. Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto reinstated the sacked employees and
created new avenues of employment. Her first preference was to address the foreign affairs and second
was the revival of the economy. It is also an honour and distinction for PPP that because of Shaheed
Benazir Bhutto the country received missile technology,
Mirage planes and Augosta submarine that
enhanced our capability to defend our shores. Yet another achievement of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto is her
initiative for power generation. If the PPP had not brought in the IPPs and Hubco project, the entire
country would have been submerged in darkness today. The PPP government had also conceived Thar
Coal and ketty Bander Project which could have provided cheap electricity to our coming generations for
thousands of years.
On 12th October 1999, General Musharraf staged a coup and the restoration of democracy in
the country once again became an elusive dream. Muhtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto led the struggle for
the restoration of democracy from exile while President Asif Ali Zardari resisted the dictatorship from jail.
The dictator finally had to resort to a retreat. It must be remembered that the leadership of PPP and its
workers again had to sacrifice their lives. On 27th December, Shaheed Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto signed
the social contract bequeathed by her Shaheed father with her blood. The democracy was restored as a
result of the sacrifices made by Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto and her devoted workers. By the grace of God
the PPP for the fourth time is in power today. This time again the PPP inherited the disasters like febrile
economy, scourge of terrorism, deluge of unemployment and energy crisis, set in motion by the wrong
policies of the previous regimes.
President Asif Ali Zardari who is the co-chairman of PPP, through his leadership qualities,
political sagacity and strategy made the dictator to abdicate power. PPP restored peace in Swat and
Malakand and re-hoisted the Pakistan flag there by eliminating the terrorists. Thousand of employees
dismissed during the previous regimes have been reinstated besides providing jobs to thousand of youth.
Benazir Income Support Programme has been initiated to alleviate the suffering of the poor masses. For
the first time poor and indigent are being helped through Bait-ul-Mal . Poor women in Sind have been
given cultivable lands. The present PPP government has withdrawn anti-worker Industrial Relations
Ordinance and secured their future. The workers have been made share holders in the state-run
industrial units through a legislation. The limit of the marriage grant for the children of labourers has
been enhanced to seventy five thousand. Domestic violence and harassment of women have been made
cognizable offences. PPP also has the honour of cleansing the constitutional aberrations through
eighteenth amendment with the cooperation of its allies and the members of the parliament. When the
leader of PPP Asif Ali Zardari was elected as President , he asked the parliament during his address to
revive the 1973 constitution in its original form.
By bringing 89 amendments, the 1973 constitution has been made completely parliamentary for
which PPP has been fighting for the last 31 years. We have started implementation of the Aghaze
Haqooqe Baluchistan Programme to eliminate sense of deprivation and restiveness among the people of
Baluchistan. After a long time the four federating units have been given substantial money in their budget
through the NFC Award. Under the BISP a country-wide survey is underway to banish poverty.
The PPP government is relentlessly engaged in fulfilling the philosophy of Qaid-e-Awam which was the
mission of Shaheed Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto. We have accepted the responsibility for the rehabilitation
of the flood affected people in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pukhtun Khawa, Punjab, Sind and Balochistan. It is
the pledge of the PPP that the people devastated by the floods, will by the Grace of God, be rehabilitated.
Their rehabilitation and prosperity is a mission of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed
Yousaf Raza Gilani. God willing we will succeed, we will succeed.
Ends…………………. (The Writer is the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting).