Murtaza Rafiq Bhutto
We have always heard a debate that which system is good for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan whether it’s a democratic system dictatorship and most of our generation prefers the rule of the dictatorship over democracy & obviously, this perception exists because most of our politicians are referred as “Corrupt” but just for a while think of a Shaheed Zulfiqar Bhutto or Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto they are not remembered as one, why? Because they have sacrificed their lives for democracy and the people of this country.
It is a fact that both of the leaders could not complete a single tenure of the government in their lives but whenever they came in the power they had served a lot to the people. When I think of the key factors that is required to run the democratic system the first thing which comes in my mind is the endless bloodshed, endless struggle and facing the courts in political motivated cases ending up in prison sometimes as a political prisoner & sometimes as an accused for involved in the corrupt practices, forgery & asset beyond means trials and after decades when the democracy becomes heavier over a ruler & justice is prevailed than we finally hear the judgment that says the accused must be released with respect because the complainant could not provide enough evidence against the accused.
Now, just go back in the times from where it all started, Pakistan People’s Party emerged as the political force & voice of the people of this country with a slogan of food, cloth and shelter.
The leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who knew the law and nobody could deny the fact that he successfully provided what he promised to the people. The charm of this leader thought what was actually happened that he was arrested and the military had to take over the country? Well, I can’t comment on that because this is a judicial matter and the case is still pending in the court of law.
He was hanged till death and set an example as an unbowed politician, he showed us that no matter what happens democracy is above all. I am not going to continue with a brief about what happened after that it’s already written in the history one should must read it to revive the memories.
Moving on, the leader’s daughter Benazir Bhutto becomes the first women prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, after everything that she had faced or saw with her own eyes must have been turn into rebel but she chose the path to peace and democracy, in resulting to that she had lost her brother Mir Murtaza Bhutto and unfortunately, the rumors had surrounded that she’s involved in his own brother’s death for whom she walked barefoot from Bilawal house to 70 Clifton. After everything her husband and former president Asif Zardari have been accused of being involved in the corrupt practices and referred as “Mr. 10%” he was arrested and imprisoned in several cases and the victimization during this whole process is in the book of history.
Mohtarma had to go into an exile with her family and after more than a decade of imprisonment President Zardari was freed to go with respect by the honorable court of justice & law. Moving on to the return of Mohtarma from an exile to her beloved country, I have no further words to describe the feeling of a person who knew that in this political battle she will not be able to comeback alive but still she kept moving forward to her destiny and finally, she was martyred in Rawalpindi. Imagine where the nation’s leader is hanged, his young and brave son is martyred, his son in law is imprisoned, his daughter accepts the martyrdom whole heartedly & for what? The democracy, the democracy, the democracy.
It’s not just ends there the saga continues and after the Mohtarma, President Zardari took control over the party, I still remember Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was a young shy kid who look a lot like Harry Potter came in front with his father, it was definitely not easy to control the party matters in those circumstances but President Zardari had successfully completed the tenure of his government and in a smooth manner.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asifa Bhutto had slowly & gradually involved in the party matters and now Bilwal Bhutto is known as The Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and turn out to be a completely mature politician. We all saw the show after 2013 elections a lot of people came and left the PPP, the circle started to get tightened again to somehow get to president Zardari or to weaken his political party but these “Purani Mitti ke Bannay Log” people who are made up of old sand are not easy to deal with and the circle got tighter but this time not only to arrest Zardari but as the time passed, the limits were required to be exceeded and unfortunately, the families were involved & arrested.
The character assassinations & media trials have been started and it was on the peak. Most of the bureaucrat, democrat or technocrat were facing the charges or involved in references. The national accountability bureau were used as a tool and to measure whether the cases were or not political motivated just go to the Youtube and see the film yourself how they captured, arrested or break in their respective offices and houses, this shall tell you everything you need to know. We have witnessed that in this era there was a civil military partnership in governing the country and PPP leadership had mentioned this several times on the national assembly floors.
Once again, the leadership went through bad phase and somehow turn the bed of roses into beautiful garden and successfully created a government with an alliance. In this whole democratic political system the impact of these political motivated references and cases or accusation’s not only hits the top leadership but comes down to the low level of the political workers, I believe these scenarios were deliberately created to break or divide the party. Most of the politicians from the ruling government party were accused including the Chief Minister of the province, Whenever somebody tries to break the strength their first hit is obviously the middle level people who act as a bridge between the worker and leadership, in this hits a lot of people had suffered and faced the gallows e.g Sharjeel Inam Memon, he has been arrested with several business owners, bureaucrats and after 27 months of incarceration, damaged reputation and almost losing the business, personnel and social life they were released on bail.
Secondly, I quote the President of PPP Sindh Chapter Nisar Khuhro were also accused and disqualified by the election commission of Pakistan, the person who served his entire life to strengthen the party & democratic system had to face the disqualification it is not less than a humiliation for somebody who has served on top notch designations and is disqualified over a minor matter and sees himself secondary and yet they chose to stay loyal to the party. I am not as much as experienced as other senior members of the media fraternity but what I was taught is that the man’s character is measured by two things.
First is how you intact loyal when everything and everyone is against you and judges you for something which is not in your control and the second is how you accept the fact this how this world works and keeping moving forward. Nisar & Sharjeel proved to be loyal with their respective leadership and party. After the sudden shifts in the corridors of power, Once again we saw that the parties who used to emerge against the PPP were nowhere but with the ruling party, I am not glorifying the matter of horse-trading but what I am trying to say here is that they take the ownership in first place and then they leave as soon as their party is no longer beneficial for them and in those conditions I would just say that this time understand the value of your vote, please do choose the right politician and political party.
As far as the democracy and dictatorship preferences are concerned I would say love your arm forces more than anyone else but when it comes to governing always choose democracy over dictatorship because the democratic system is the only way to rise in these harsh economic conditions and no matter what happens just remember that there are still some politicians who are still willing to sacrifice their lives for democracy and supports the democratic environment.
