“I made mistakes and I am prepared to admit them but so must others. Others also owe it: they owe it to their own armed forces, to the people of Pakistan and to the Muslim world.” In one of her most candid interviews, Benazir Bhutto bluntly talks about her two terms in office, the difficulties that she faced, the things that she implemented and her vision for the future of Pakistan.

As Pakistanis, we are a little bit crazy when it comes to politics. We either love to make our politicians holy cows so much so that we cannot even accept constructive criticism regarding their policies or we just hate them to the extent that we will believe any allegations against them without even needing or wanting a proof. Benazir Bhutto fits perfectly into both camps. There are those who are ever ready to admire her (and very rightly so) for her courage and struggle for democracy in Pakistan by overlooking some of the faulty laws or policies enacted by her party; At the same time, there is certainly no shortage of those who are only going to believe whatever her opposition has to say and will never pay attention to her sacrifices for this country.

Despite being in power twice, she was a great believer in the power of the people and saw herself just as their representative, not a ruler. Even though military in Pakistan has always been successful in getting public support by picking up causes that has hurt this country in the end more than anything else, Bhutto always wanted to play the game of politics through proper channel in an unfair system which was ever ready to demolish democracy even before it had any chance to blossom. She believed that it was the people of Pakistan that should determine the future of this country as it is their country. “The real solution lies not with any individual. I can only give a clarion call. Then it depends on the masses whether they rally around that call to say that they want a constitution based on the supremacy of the will of the people and that the prime minister and parliament must determine national security and not the military.” However, I must say, we as people have disappointed her.

And it is not just a thing of the past, just look at the power balance in Pakistan today. People are always very sensitive to listen to any criticism of our military leadership and intelligence agencies. What they fail to realize is that pointing the mistakes of policies that are destroying our country is not less patriotic or treasonous; In fact it is more patriotic because you always criticize those who you love the most. If you don’t care about something, you are never going to interfere in their business and let them go down the path of destruction. But in case of Pakistan, the role of such institutions “has led to the destabilisation of political governments, the collapse of the economy and has undermined our standing in the international community.” Therefore, it is our duty as citizens of this state to question and speak against those whose decisions are causing problems for this country. The tragedy however, is that majority of our nation is unaware of the past and present policies of army and intelligence that has led Pakistan into one chaos after another. Benazir Bhutto clearly express her frustration when she says that people expect politicians to solve our problems but “how can a political party fight an organised military, several intelligence outfits, the president and the judiciary? It is very important to create this awareness. It is very important for the press to come on board to expose these manipulations.”

Now people always malign PPP government for being a puppet of US. You can certainly have your opinions on that but it’s not like the military has been making Pakistan independent of US slavery. In fact, some of the worse puppets that are the cause of our dire state today were army generals who have never cared about the prosperity of ordinary people and have this country be used by outside powers to fight wars with which we had nothing to do with. Despite the role of army in destroying our democracy and persecuting democratically minded leaders, Bhutto’s vision of future Pakistan included reconciliation between different authorities, not confrontation because at the end what matters is Pakistan, which is bigger and better than any one individual or institution. In her words, “It is for us, as a nation, to decide what we want together. The army can reveal its true intentions by eliminating democracy and Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan through rule by puppets — and there are a lot of puppets in the market. Or else, the military has to learn to acquiesce to the people’s will. We are all part of the problem and we are all part of the solution. I think there is a need for a frank and open talk between all the different players because, in our own ways, we all love Pakistan.”

Even though she was attacked by religious right for her progressive and modern ideals, she was not only well aware of her roots but also proud of them. For her, it was her identity as a Muslim woman that gave her the courage to do the things that she envisioned and face the atrocities that lied in her path. “I see life as a journey where every single soul is tested by Allah. What sustains me is my faith. I am not a fanatic though my enemies portray me as a fundamentalist with a dupatta on the head and a tasbih in hand. I am devout. I am like many modern Pakistanis who do believe in equal opportunities, freedom and free markets but who also need spiritual sustenance in a world that is increasingly materialistic.”

While this particular interview is some 10 years old, she very accurately predicted the future of Pakistan. Today we are standing at the same cross-roads where we have always found ourselves in. “Either the democratic forces win or the establishment wins. If the establishment wins, the past will be repeated and that is what has happened for 50 years. If the democratic forces win, maybe the 21st century will be different for Pakistan. It is a fight and we are unable to say who will be the winner. But then, democracy is also about evolution. And democracy is also about fighting for what you believe is right and not giving up.”

Just as candidly as she started the interview by accepting her mistakes, with the same honesty she tells that whatever power she has to bring any change, it’s the same as people of Pakistan want to give to her. “I am not a messiah. I can only work within the limitations placed upon me by the people (in terms of my ability to effect constitutional change) and the institutional realities of Pakistan.”

You don’t have to be a PPP or Benazir Bhutto’s supporter to realize that when she talks about the power imbalance in our country, she does have a point. Nations who don’t learn from their past are bound to repeat it and go down the path of doom. Civilizations after civilizations have been destroyed and not a single sign of them has been left just because they forgot to adapt to demands of modern world and were too busy glorifying the past or what could have been. It is high time that we do take a stand for something that we believe in because if we don’t, may be nothing would be left to take a stand for.

وہ تختہ دار پر پیدا ہوا تھا؟

اور 4 اپریل کی درمیانی شب دو بجے 3 ذوالفقار علی بھٹو تختہ دار پر پیدا ہوا تھا۔

اس کو ہمیشہ کی زندگی عطا کرنے کی آخری تیاریاں مکمل ہوچکی تھیں۔
عدالت اعظمیٰ کے عزت مآب چیف جسٹس انوار الحق نے ایک فیصلہ صرف دس سیکنڈ میں سناتے ہوئے 6 فروری کے سپریم کورٹ کے دائمی زندگی کے فیصلے کو برقرار رکھا۔

6 فروری کو بھٹو کاتاریخ میں ہمیشہ کے لئے زندہ رہنے کا فیصلہ سپریم کورٹ کے چیف جسٹس انوار الحق نے پڑھ کر سنایا جس سے جسٹس کرم الٰہی چوہانٴ جسٹس اکرم اور جسٹس نسیم حسن شاہ نے اتفاق کیا لیکن تین ایسے جج بھی تھے جسٹس صفدر شاہٴ جسٹس دراب پٹیلٴ اور جسٹس ایم حلیم جنہوں نے اختلاف کیا کہ آج ایک شخص جنم لے گا کہ آنے والی نسلیں اس کو ہمیشہ یاد رکھیں گیà

وہ کوئی اور شخص تھا جو 5 جنوری
1929 ئ کو پیدا ہواٴ اور جس نے امریکہ اور برطانیہ کی اعلیٰ یونیورسٹیوں میں تعلیم حاصل کیٴ اور وہ جو آکسفورڈ یونیورسٹی میں قانون پڑھایا کرتا تھاٴ اور وہ شخص جس نے اپنے وقت کے ڈکٹیٹر سے اختلاف کیا اور اس کی سیاست کو ماننے سے انکار کیاٴ اور حکومت سے علیحدہ ہوکر عوام تک پہنچا۔ اس نے پاکستان کے 20 برسوں سے یرغمال انسانوں کو آزاد کرانے کی جدوجہد کا آغاز کیاٴ
وہ باغی تھاٴ وہ کیسا عجیب شخص تھاٴ وہ انقلابی تھاٴ وہ وزیراعظم بن گیاٴ اس نے عوام کو احتجاج کرنا سکھایاٴ وہ عوام کی آواز تھاٴ گہری تاریک رات میں وہ ایک تنہا آواز جو لوگوں نے سنی اور اس کو پہچان لیا کہ وہ لوگوں کو عزت اور احترام کی زندگی دینے آیا ہے۔ اس نے کمزوروں ٴ غریبوں اور مجبوروں کو اپنے پائوں پر کھڑا ہونے کی ہمت دیٴ اس نے عوام کے اندر بغاوت اور انقلاب کی آگ بھڑکا دیٴ وہ گرجتا تھا تو عوام کے دل دھڑکتے تھے۔ وہ کیسا شخص تھاٴ اس کو جنون تھا کہ وہ عوام کی زندگیاں بدل کر رکھ دے گاٴ سامراجی آقائوں کے غلاموں کو زندگی کا نیا چلن سکھائے گا۔
وہ عوام کی آواز تھا اور یہ اس کا جرم تھا۔ وہ عوام کی امید تھا یہ اس کا گناہ تھا۔ اس شخص نے یہ جرم کیا اور وہ خوش تھاٴ پرامید تھاٴ آنے والے دنوں میں لوگوں کی وہ تعبیر تھاٴ وہ صبح کا ستارا تھاٴ وہ چمکتا ہوا سورج تھا۔

ایک مستبد اور جابر ڈکٹیٹر کو اس کی یہ ادا پسند نہ آئیٴ اس نے دیکھا کہ لوگ اس کے لئے اپنی جانیں قربان کرنے کے لئے تیار ہیںٴ ڈکٹیٹر بوکھلا گیاٴ اس نے عجلت میں کہ کہیں عوامی بغاوت نہ پھوٹ پڑےٴ اس کو زندان میں ڈال کر عدل و انصاف کا سٹیج تیار کیا۔ عدالت اعظمیٰ میں بڑے بڑے ججوں نے اس کے مقدمے کی سماعت کی۔
مولانا ابو الکلام آزاد نے کہا تھا کہٴٴ دنیا کی تاریخ میں سب سے بڑی نا انصافیاںٴٴ

جنگوں کے میدانوں میں اور عدالتوں کے ایوانوں میں کی گئی ہیں۔

ذوالفقار علی بھٹو جانتا تھاٴ کہ وہ جسم میں زندہ رہ سکتا ہے لیکن اس نے تاریخ میں زندہ رہنے کو پسند کیا۔ انقلابیٴ باغی اور عوامی لیڈر اپنی پسندٴ اور اپنی مرضی سے زندہ رہتے ہیںٴ انہیں خوب راس آتی ہیں جیل کی تنہائیاںٴ جیل کی اذیتیںٴ اور ان کی راتیں جاگ کر گزرتی ہیںٴ عوام کے دکھوں کو وہ دن بھر محسوس کرکے سلاخوں کے پیچھے سے آسمانوں کو دیکھتے ہوئے وہ جانتے ہیں کہ زندگی اور موت کے کوئی معنی نہیں ہیںٴ وہ ایک ایسی زندگی گزارنا چاہتے ہیں جو موت کی بانہوں میں ہوٴ وہ اپنے عمل سے زندگی اور موت کا مفہوم اور مقصد طے کرتے ہیں۔

3 اور 4 اپریل کی درمیانی شب کو ذوالفقار علی بھٹو پیدا ہوا۔

27 دسمبر کی شام کو بے نظیر نے جنم لیا۔
20 ستمبر کو ایک سڑک پر خون میں لت پت مرتضیٰ بھٹو نے آنکھیں کھول کر مردہ لوگوں پر ایک نگاہ ڈالی۔
18 جولائی کو 27 سالہ شاہنواز بھٹو کی بے یارو مدد گار میت سے ایک نوجوان نے اپنے بابا کو پکارا اور دائمی زندگی حاصل کی۔

گڑھی خدا بخش کا فاصلہ کربلا کے میدان سے صرف چند لمحوں میں طے ہوتا ہے۔ صحراٴ تپتی ہوئی ریتٴ تیز دھوپ میں جلتے ہوئے خیمےٴ اور اپنے جسموں کے نذرانے پیش کرنے والوں کا مقابلہ کون کرسکتا ہےٴ کوئی تلوارٴ کوئی نیزہٴ کوئی بندوقٴ پھانسی کا کوئی پھندہ انہیں صرف ہمیشہ زندہ رہنے کا حوصلہ اور ہمت عطا کرتا ہے۔

زندہ لوگوں میں کتنے ہزاروں اور لاکھوں لوگ ہیں جو مرچکے ہیںٴ اپنے لئے زندہ رہنے والے ساری زندگی اپنی ہی لاش کو اٹھائے پھرتے ہیں اور وہ جو دوسروں کے لئے اپنی جان قربان کردیتے ہیں وہ گڑھی خدا بخش میں رہتے ہیں۔

کیسا گھر ہےٴ اور ذرا اس گھر کے مکینوں کو دیکھوٴ ایک ہی صف میں قطار اندر قطار اپنے اپنے گھروں میں کیسے سکون اطمینان اور خاموشی سے زندگی گزار رہے ہیں کہ وہ جو دربدر ہیںٴ اور جنہیں زندہ رہنے کی سزا ملی ہے۔ اور وہ جو حرف انکار کہنے کی جرات کرتے ہیںٴ وہ جو زندان میں ہیںٴ اور وہ جنہیں زنجیریں پہنائی گئیں
۔
اور وہ جنہیں ایک بار پھر کڑی آزمائش سے گزارنے کی تیاریاں شروع ہوچکی ہیںٴ ان کے سینوں میں بغاوت کے علم روشن ہیںٴ وہ گڑھی خدا بخش سے چاروں اطراف پھیلنے والی ہوائوں پر لکھے ہوئے اس شخص کا پیغام پڑھ رہی ہیں جو 3 اور 4 اپریل کی درمیانی شب پنڈی کی ایک جیل میں تختہ دار پر پیدا ہوا تھا؟

Source: Daily Mashriq Lahore

Note: I wrote the following tribute last year in memory of Benazir Bhutto. I am posting it again this year for my new friends and for countless admirers of BB to mark the 4th Anniversay of her martyrdom. This time, in both Urdu and Roman script [English translation also added, 28/12/2011] and with some excerpts from the book she so ominously finished on the same day she was brutally murdered.

From Note to the Reader by Mark A. Siegel, Washington, D.C., December 28, 2007 Benazir Bhutto was the bravest person I have ever known and a dear, irreplaceable friend. She was assassinated on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I find some solace in knowing that the last memory of her will not be the bloody carnage of the murder scene, but rather the legacy of this book, which manifests the strength, optimism and vision of a great woman.

From “Reconciliation – Islam, Democracy and the West” by Benazir Bhutto
General Musharraf’s regime knew of the specific threats against me, including the names and numbers of those who planned to kill me… The extremist threat within the Islamic world and between the Islamic world and the West can be solved, but it will require addressing all the factors that breed it… It is time for new ideas. It is time for creativity… There has been enough pain. It is time for reconciliation.

کب ہو گی پیدا پھر ایک اور بے نظیر
لڑتی رہی وہ عمر بھر عوام کے لئے
امن کی وہ دیوی چار صوبوں کی زنجیر

شہادت کو جس پہ فخر تھا زندگی کو ناز
بیٹی وہ ذوالفقار کی غریب کی شمشیر

ابھرا ہے اسی درد سے امید کا سورج
اس خون سے مٹ جائے کاش غربت کی لکیر

جمہورئیت ہے بہترین بدلا یہ اس کا قول
ہر فعل اس کا تھا اس ملک کی توقیر

پیدا تو روز ہوتی ہیں بیٹیاں یہاں
کب ہو گی پیدا پھر ایک اور بے نظیر

© Shoaib Mir, Dec 2010

Transliteration in English

Ladti rahi woh umar bhar awam kay leay
Am’n ki woh devi, chaar suubon ki zanjeer

Shahadat ko jis pe fakhar, tha zindagi ko naaz
Beti woh Zulfikar ki, ghareeb ki shamsheer

Ubh’ra hai issi dar’d se umeed ka sooraj
Iss khoon se mitt ja’ay kash ghurbat ki lakeer

Jamhooriyat hai behtareen badla, yeh uss ka quol
Har fael uss ka tha iss mulk ki tauqeer

Paida tou roze hoti hayn baitiyan yahan
Kab ho gi paida phir aik aur Benazir

A goddess of peace
[English translation, mine; 28/12/2011]

Her entire life, she’d devoted
to the common man’s cause.
A goddess of peace, and
‘uniter’ of nationalities, really she was

Martyrdom stood in awe
as did Life feel proud of her:
Truly, a sword for the poor;
befittingly, a Zulfikar’s daughter

A new dawn of hope
her memory has engendered.
Alas, may it change the poor man’s lot
for the sacrifice she’s rendered

Democracy is the best revenge,
was her word, as a matter of fact.
As did every action of hers
duly enhance the nation’s respect

Blessed are we, with daughters
new-born, every day.
Oh, when will another Benazir
come again our way?

© Shoaib Mir, Dec 2011

The writer, Shoaib Mir, is a Lahore-based independent communication consultant, a former executive creative director; he has served time as a political convict in Lahore Fort, Kot Lakhpat and Camp Jail as an Amnesty International “Prisoner of Conscience 1984″ who was sentenced to 7 years’ RI and 20 lashes by a military court for writing and
producing a fortnightly pamphlet “Awam Dost” during the martial law regime of General Zia-ul-Haq.

Benazir Bhutto with Natasha Fatah

Editor: We are pleased to cross post this heart felt tribute to Benazir Bhutto by Pakistani-Canadian journalist, Natasha Fatah. This was first published on the CBC news site.

The day Benazir Bhutto was killed, is a day I will never forget. I was away from my family, the devastation was overwhelming and I couldn’t stop crying. She was a gift and was stolen from us. This is my love letter to her published on the CBC’s new site in 2007.

Pakistan loses its prodigal daughter

http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_fatah/20071227.html

The loss of Benazir Bhutto serves as a massive blow to the potential for democracy and peace in Pakistan. But her death touches many on a personal and intimate level as well. We’ve known her for almost three decades, and watched her grow as major international force. And for many, including myself, her death was more than the loss of a political figure. It felt like the loss of a friend.

From the time I came to Canada as a young girl, Bhutto has been a presence in my life, sometimes even helping against the insults of schoolyard bullies. When school children called me a Paki, or said that Pakistan was backwards, or that Pakistanis were ugly and unsophisticated, all I had to do was point to Benazir Bhutto and that would shut them up. She was the first woman elected to the highest political post in a Muslim country, she was the youngest person to do so and she was often referred to, by the international press, as the most beautiful politician in the world. For a kid dealing with culture shock in suburban Ontario, Benazir Bhutto’s presence was a gift.

Many years later, I would find myself once again investing so much in the woman affectionately referred to as BB. Once again, she became an icon for so many Pakistanis who wanted a progressive and moderate Pakistan.

Over the past few years, the world has watched Pakistan deteriorate into a country of chaos, religious extremism and political corruption. We watched the U.S. continue to talk about the importance of democracy and yet continuously back a military dictator in Pakistan. We watched the spread of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda throughout such major cities as Islamabad and Lahore. And there seemed to be no end in sight. But when Bhutto said she would return after living in exile for eight years, it was a spark of hope for the moderates of Pakistan.

 With the U.S. orchestrating her return and her alleged deal with President Musharraf, many criticized her for being an opportunist and a sell-out. But in an interview she gave earlier this year, she said that as long as the U.S. saw Musharraf as their man in the region, she had no choice but to make a deal with him. In conversations with her, she said that she wanted to bring free and fair elections to Pakistan, and she could not do that from an apartment in London or Dubai. She had to be with the people.

She could have refused and continued to stay abroad, enjoying a life of diplomatic engagements and university seminars where she would have been rewarded handsomely. But she chose the harder path. She chose to return to one of the most dangerous countries in the world. 

Bhutto was not a stupid woman. She was fully aware of the dangers that awaited her in the country. Violence and threats were not new concepts in her life, and she knew all too well the price one pays for speaking out in Pakistan. Bhutto probably did have a sense of destiny about the whole matter. She lost her father, and both her brothers. She was jailed for years, and some of that time in the devastating solitary confinement cells of Pakistan. But her desires to see her country as a democratic society, and to be a part of that change, were stronger than her own concerns for safety.

Many criticized her for going out in public when she returned, because that not only put her in danger but also risked the lives of thousands of her supporters, many representing the poorest and weakest factions in the country. But Bhutto was a politician for the people. What good would it do to return to Pakistan and stay behind closed doors? She returned to win an election and no politician wins an election fairly by sitting at home. The failure to keep her safe was the fault of a defunct and completely corrupt military dictatorship, not of a woman who wanted to experience the freedom of returning to her homeland.

She was often criticized her for not doing enough for women during her time as leader of Pakistan, and it is said that Musharraf did more. But it’s easy to bulldoze changes at your whim when you’re a macho military dictator. It’s much tougher when you’re a young woman leading a democratic parliamentary process where much of the country doesn’t consider women as equal citizens under the law.

Unlike so many other Pakistani elite politicians, she was an incredibly approachable and charming person. This past summer, when I had the opportunity to meet her for an interview with the CBC, she arrived with no bodyguards, no security, no entourage of advisers, or press co-ordinators. It was just her and one good friend, who came for the company. This was the type of confident and genuine woman that could have once again led Pakistan.

There is much speculation about who killed her. Was it the Al-Qaeda? The Taliban? The government? Pakistan’s deadly intelligence agencies? Or a combination of all? We do not yet know.

But what we do know is that Bhutto died because of her bravery. Whether you liked her or not, whether you supported her party or not, ultimately, she was committed to her country. In her last moment she was peeking out of her vehicle to wave to her supporters at Thursday’s rally, and once again it was connection with the people that will be her enduring legacy. Unlike the cowards who hide behind masks and the guise of religious extremism, she died because she refused to hide.

As the suffering of this loss subsides, and as the haze clears, I hope that Bhutto’s death will not result in the death of democracy in Pakistan.

نظم
حسن مجتییٰ

‘تم کتنے بھٹو مارو گے‘

جو قریہ قریہ ماتم ہے
اور بستی بستی آنسو ہے
صحرا صحرا آنکھیں ہیں
اور مقتل مقتل نعرہ ہے
سنگ ستاروں کے لیکر
وہ چاند چمکتا نکلے گا

’تم کتنے بھٹو ماروگے
ہر گھر سے بھٹو نکلے گا‘

جو قتل ہوئی وہ خوشبو ہے
تم کتنا رستہ روکو گے
وہ اک ایسا جادو تھی
جو سر پر چڑہ کر بولے گی
ہر زنداں کے ہر مقفل کو
وہ چابی بن کر کھولے گی
شور ہواؤں کا بن کر
وہ آنگن آنگن ہولے گی
تم زندہ ہوکر مردہ ہو
وہ مردہ ہوکر زندہ ہے
’تم کتنے بھٹو ماروگے
ہر گھر سے بھٹو نکلے گا‘

تم خاکی وردی والے ہو
یا کالی داڑھی والے ہو
تم نیلے پیلے اودے ہو
یا گورے ہو یا کالے ہو
تم ڈاکو چور لٹیرے ہو
یا قومی غنڈے سالے ہو
اپنے اور پرائے ہو
یا اندھیاروں کے پالے ہو
وہ شام شفق کی آنکھوں میں
وہ سوہنی ساکھ سویروں کی
’تم کتنے بھٹو ماروگے
ہر گھر سے بھٹو نکلے گا‘

وہ دیس دکھی کی کوئل تھی
یا تھر میں برکھا ساون کی
وہ پیاری ہنسی بچوں کی
یا موسم لڈیاں پاون کی
تم کالی راتیں چوروں کی
وہ پنکھ پکھیرو موروں کی
’تم کتنے بھٹو ماروگے
ہر گھر سے بھٹو نکلے گا‘

وہ بہن کسانوں کی پیاری
وہ بیٹی مل مزدوروں کی
وہ قیدی تھی زرداروں کی
عیاروں کی سرداروں کی
جرنیلوں کی غداروں کی
ایک نہتی لڑکی تھی
اور پیشی تھی درباروں کی
’تم کتنے بھٹو مارو گے
ہر گھر سے بھٹو نکلےگا‘

وہ بیٹی تھی پنج آبوں کی
خیبر کی بولانوں کی
وہ سندھ مدینے کی بیٹی
وہ نئی کہانی کربل کی
وہ خوں میں لت پت پنڈی میں
بندوقیں تھیں بم گولے تھے
وہ تنہا پیاسی ہرنی تھی
اور ہر سو قاتل ٹولے تھے
اے رت چناروں سے کہنا
وہ آنی ہے، وہ آنی ہے
وہ سندر خواب حقیقت بن
چھاجانی ہے، چھا جانی ہے
وہ بھیانک سپنا آمر کا
’تم کتنے بھٹو ماروگے
ہر گھر سے بھٹو نکلے گا‘

وہ دریا دیس سمندر تھی
جو تیرے میرے اندر تھی
وہ سوندھی مٹی سندھڑی کی
وہ لڑکی لال قلندر تھی
’تم کتنے بھٹو مارو گے
ہر گھر سےبھٹو نکلے گا‘

Source: BBC Urdu

August 11, 1947 address of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, to the members of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly, to the status of a national covenant. That it has taken more than 60 years to reach such a conclusion is indeed most intriguing. In that address the Quaid said, among other things, the following:

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State.. . We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State… I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in due course Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”

Founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted a moderate and secular Pakistan. But soon after the departure of Jinnah, military establishment imposed a first martial law in the form of objective resolution as a soft coup in 1949. Which is still working as double edged sword to shed the blood of peace loving people of Pakistan. So called Islamic consitution of Pakistan(modified zia’s version) is proving to be a great faux pas. There should be a new social contract. A secular constitution of Pakistan is the need of hour. Existing islamic constitution of Pakistan seems to be lethal for for moderate and peace loving people, judiciary and military establishment are using this so called islamic constitution as a tool to sideline pro-democratic people.

Through the history of Pakistan, PPP leaders have been, hanged, jailed, brutally tortured and assasinated. And since the day one, PPP has never been allowed to address public gatherings freely. Our great leader daughter of the east was assasinated. She was the messenger of peace of universal brotherhood round the globe. But terrorists snatched her from us. And today killers of BB shaheed have been sponsoring their blue eyed men Mr. Khan(Maulana Imran khan) and maulana nawaz sharif to axe human right rights. This is naked aggression. It seems like these terrorists have made strong roots in Pakistan. Nawaz and Khan’s agenda is Mulaaism and terrorism. Where is Jinnah’s Pakistan? where is SZAB’s pakistan? Where is BB shaheed’s Pakistan? Arab spring was Al-Qaeda’s master plan and I think Maulana Imran khan’s and nawaz’s drama is also with blessings of Al-Qaeda. Both Al-Qaeda leaders are real threat within. All secular forces of Pakistan have to be steadfast with PPP to counter this threat. You can kill a person but you cannot kill an ideology. Military establishment killed our leaders but their ideology will remain alive forever. And we will get victory against terrorists by following ideology of BB shaheed. New Pakistan would be a moderate and secular Pakistan according Jinnah’s wishes and his last speech. And it was BB shaheed’s vision too. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto zardari will make it possible on practical grounds and the day will come when Pakistan will be safe heaven for peace loving people.

But at this stage any of the attempts to remove zardari would lead to disintegration of Pakistan. Because patience scale of peace loving people has been outnumbered now. Our great leaders always sacrified their lives for progressive Pakistan and staunch supporters of PPP recieved dead bodies of their leaders. Rawalpindi has sent four dead bodies of bhuttos to Naudero. This is not Jinnah’s Pakistan. Al-Qaeda terrorists like imran khan are allowed to work freely and progressive people are sidelined, jailed, brutally tortured, hanged and assasinated. This is terrorists’ Pakistan. This is not Jinnah’s Pakistan.
This is not SZAB’s Pakistan. This is not BB shaheed’s Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda and Talibans have made inroads into Pakistan under the umbrella of existing islamic constitution of Pakistan. In my opinion, there is an urgent need to review islamic constitition and it must be moulded into secular constitution.

Benazir Bhutto is no less than an idol of worship to me – the name engraved on my compassion and psyche from my evolution and the very rationale of my continuation. Nevertheless, it is by no means an idyllic claim. Penning her name is agonizing, for her life and her struggle necessitate as much gallantry to be penned down. This name moves every essence, and the tale of my murdered legendary spiritual mother is too protracted enough to sop up every second of my existence, every drop of ink and each single tabloid, but I’d die leaving it unfinished. The flood of her reminiscences reaches its zenith on this very day, the unruly December 27, which left this nation orphan and bleak… After four years, the twinge has not departed, the abrasions wreaked by her assassination have grown even deeper and it’s dubious to even reckon that they can be cured – The soreness of losing her does amplify with every instant, reminding one of the valiant warrior princess, who laid down her life for the people of Pakistan – for you, me and our children, and for their future.

Here, I do not incise her accomplishments – they constitute millions of books. All I’m trying to whittle is what Benazir means to me.Benazir Bhutto is no longer the name of the bravest woman of this millennium – it is the name of an ideology now, it is the definition to democracy, struggle and sacrifice now. She’s a bequest and the legacy continues. An insight for all, Shaheed Mohtarmah Benazir Bhutto continues to dwell in every psyche. Erasing her name is implausible; she has become perpetual in the annals of the precedent, her name being quoted on the apex of the golden books. I still crave for another June 21, 1953, but that’s restricted to a mere trance. Benazir exists as Benazir, with no analogous and this is the same case for the centuries to come.

This day, I can’t stop to screech out from the very bed of my sensitivity that Bibi, you’re my vigour and more vitally, my destination – my life. Courage like Benazir is a fable to subsist. Magnetism like her is a myth to possess, words like her are a legend to articulate and struggle like her is an allegory to portray. Her incredible astuteness and unyielding commitment and passion – astonishing! The words fall too short and I move on to search all the vocabularies, but one for Benazir ceases to be real – she is far beyond imagination. She’s too great to comprehend and her immense ardour to lead this nation to prosperity is too vast for any narrative. Nevertheless, she was the leader of the people, and gave her life serving them.

Rolling back the folios of the past, I covet to bring those instants back. Crowds which fervently waited to welcome her miss her this day – The slogans of JEYAY BHUTTO entail to be followed by ZINDA HAI BIBI now. “Meray Khoon ka suraj chamkay ga tau bacha bacha bolay ga, may baghi hoon, may baghi hoon”… – it’s the same instant now. This day takes me four years back – the view burns me to ashes and leaves me paralysed – the red sky, loaded with the colours of the Pakistan Peoples Party was the prophecy of another Karbala. “Yai baazi khoon ki baazi hay, yai baazi tum hi haro gay, har gar say Bhutto niklay ga, tum kitnay Bhutto maro gay”… echoed in every heart…. and after a few moments, my eyes caught sight of blood – a life taken too viciously. She was Saria’s world, which had ceased to exist after that moment.

December 27 – I implore you, to please be just to this blood. The world is callous, but Lord, nothing can match your justice. I beg you Lord to please never let this blood go waste. This blood carries the cries of millions of Pakistanis, who still struggle for their lives and their rights. Benazir Bhutto, as I knew of her was more than an icon of heroism and egalitarianism. She was the verve of trillions….

This blood is too sacred for me. Bibi – It’s your daughter’s promise to materialise your vision and die fighting for your cause, and following you in the form of Bakhtawar, Aseefa and Bilawal. It is Saria’s pledge that she would never let your anticipations down, InshahAllah.

With sheer love and respect,

SADA JEAY BHUTTO.

It was one of the largest shows of political strength in Pakistan’s political history after Benazir Bhutto’s arrival from exile in September 2007 (when about a million PPP workers and supporters had gathered to receive their leader at Karachi airport). On Benazir’s fourth death anniversary (27 December 2011), more than 300,000 PPP supporters gathered in Garhi Khuda Bux (Sindh) to pay tribute to their martyred leader. (Source 1, Source 2)

According to news reports, Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari addressed at least 300,000 mourners at the Bhutto mausoleum in his first public speech since being treated in hospital in Dubai, brushing his illness under the carpet and delivering a veiled barb against the army and its proxies in judiciary and media. According to APP, around 500,000 people had thronged the venue, which was also reported by daily Express newspaper.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari yesterday pledged to fight for democracy despite many challenges and threats to the democratic government in the country by the usual conspiracy network, Teen Jeem (3 Js), i.e., military (Jenerals), judiciary and (pro-military) journalists.

Zardari was addressing a rally outside the mausoleum of his slain wife Benazir Bhutto on her fourth death anniversary at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, the ancestral graveyard of Bhuttos.

“Whenever we would get into fight, our style would be democratic and we would fight for democracy,” Zardari rhetorically told a large crowd in a field in front of the mausoleum.

This was Zardari’s first public appearance after he fell ill and remained under treatment in Dubai amid rumours that he might not come back home.

“But this fight would be within constitutional limits,” he said.

The president philosophically narrated his vision about the political situation in the country, that suggested that anti-democratic forces want to declare democracy as a failed system.

“It is a theatre to me. It has tried to install tailor-made democracy and there comes a voice of a dictator that the democracy has failed to deliver,” Zardari said.

In a critical reference to the Supreme Court, which is considering an investigation into a memo asking the US for help against the country’s powerful military and which could implicate Zardari, he asked about the as yet unsolved case of his wife’s assassination.

“People ask what happened to Benazir Bhutto’s case,” he said. “I ask (Chief Justice) Iftikhar Chaudhry: what happened to Benazir Bhutto’s case?”

No one has yet been charged with her assassination at a huge rally outside Islamabad.

Zardari said that he has been asked why the assassins of Benazir Bhutto had not been arrested so far. He said he directed the question towards the Chief Justice of Pakistan as to why he was not taking up other important cases.
“I ask Chief Justice Ifitkhar Chaudhry as to why he can’t see the [other] pending case of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto,” he said referring to a case filed by the people to challenge a 1979 verdict, which hanged Bhutto.

“And when the time comes, we would face you directly,” he told the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case against “memogate” that accuses Zardari and former Pakistani ambassador to Washington of prompting Americans to tame the Pakistani military.

The death anniversary came the same day the Supreme Court began deliberations on whether it could open its own investigation into the so-called “memogate” scandal.

It also came two days after cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan brought at least 100,000 people into the streets of Karachi in a rally that increases pressure the government and cements his standing as a political force. (Source)

He trained guns on the military establishment in a rhetorical way. “Asfa [his daughter] would raise the flag from where it fell in Pindi,” he dramatically narrated the killing of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, the city that houses military headquarters.

“And she would ask that you gave assurance of protecting my mother here,” Zardari added.

Political analysts believe that the current government has become weaker and is not able to tackle the challenges.
“They have been weakened and the gulf is getting more wide, I am afraid,” said Aesha Siddiqa, a leading political and defence analyst, referring to the conflicting stances of the political government against the military.

“Once they threaten the army the next day they just back off,” said Siddiqa, who foresees an early end of the government, whether constitutionally or otherwise.

Zardari also criticised media for being partial against his government in favouring cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who at a rally declared Zardari as “sick”.

“Someone taunted me that I am medically out, I ask him ‘if you did not get your muscle pulled, so was mine’,” he said.
Without naming it, Zardari addressed the US, a close ally of Pakistan in war on terror, warning he would not take dictates about Pakistan’s decisions of joining any war or in trade. (Source)

Pakistan’s President Asif Zardari’s address on 4th death anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhotto in Garhi Khuda Bux

On the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, December 27, 2007, I am submitting my first published essay in Let Us Build Pakistan. The article compared the recently murdered Governor Taseer, to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s resolve for democracy.

Benazir Bhutto and Salman Taseer both respected and had just criticism of the U.S., but, both shared an admiration for the U.S. Constitution.

From the U.S. Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson :

“the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…We hold these truths to be self-evident [“self-evident “ edited in by Benjamin Franklin], tht all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

We, in the U.S. took a long time to contend with the evils of slavery, and then Jim Crow, and finally Civil Rights, so it is a process and a tough journey. The forefathers sacrifices and Pakistan’s forefathers, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sacrifices initially were those of liberty in much the same way, with the faults of men, but their intentions against all odds unrelenting for liberties, pluralism, and a reversal of restrictive laws from misguided interpretations from religious text- in our case, the witch hunts, in yours today, Blasphemy Laws, and other oppressions of minorities- must be rid.

Benazir Bhutto was a martyr of the true order of those that give their lives for their principles fighting against impediments to God-given liberties also reflected in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence,

Most of what I wrote a year ago, applies today, I repost it again lest we forget the sacrifices of Benazir Bhutto and Governor Taseer.

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Not unlike Benazir Bhutto, Governor Taseer was martyred because of his belief in a secular and democratic Pakistan – by Rusty Walker