Year 2008
Crans Montana Prix de la Foundation
Miss Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari: 28th June 2008
Response by Miss Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari following presentation of the Prix de la Foundation to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed.
Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentleman,
It is with great pride and sadness that I accept this award on behalf of my mother, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. It goes without saying that I wish that she were here – standing where I am now standing – to receive it. I know that she would have been greatly honoured to have been recognised amongst so many other world leaders. That she has been singled out to receive the award posthumously as ‘a martyr for liberty, inseparable from world history’, is also a great honour for our family, my father, Asif Ali Zardari, my brother, Bilawal and my sister, Aseefa.
As you know my mother was a martyr for liberty. She returned to Pakistan last year to fight elections in order to enable Pakistan to resume, once more, a democratic system of government. As leader of the populist Pakistan Peoples Party, her participation was essential in order that the election should have some credibility. She knew that in returning to Pakistan, she was putting her life at risk. As she said often to us while we were growing up, where there is dictatorship, the forces of extremism can flourish. And this is why she believed so passionately in democracy. She had no illusions. She knew that she could not wave a magic wand and make a country democratic overnight. But she also knew that she had to try. And I am sure you will all agree that her courage was unflinching and enduring. Ever since she left University, at a time of life when her contemporaries were enjoying themselves, getting jobs, starting families, she was challenging the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq. During that time she spent six years in prison or under detention, often in solitary confinement. Elected as the youngest Prime Minister of a Muslim country, she rose to the challenge, even though the problems she faced of governing a developing country were immense.
As a woman, she also had to realise that she was working in a predominantly male Muslim society; and she had the daily challenge of fulfilling her duties as a wife and a mother. As children, we may not have seen her as much as other children see their mothers but what I hold dear to me is the certain knowledge of her devotion to us. At the same time, we always knew that her life was on the world stage, amongst the people. She did not want to become a drawing room politician; and it is of some consolation that she died on December 27 last year, among the people she loved and who loved her.
Thank you for honouring her with this award.
Address by Miss Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari: 28th June 2008
English rendering of Last speech of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi December 27, 2007
English rendering of
Last speech of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi
December 27, 2007
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was a true student of her illustrious father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed. While he taught and trained his meritorious daughter in politics, he was also her teacher in the art of speaking at public rallies. Her style and the way she sent the message home, motivating and mobilizing the people to action touching their heart, all has been a true copy of Shaheed Bhutto. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto must have rendered hundreds of public speeches and the last she delivered was at the Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, as part of her election campaign soon after which she fell to the assassin’s bullet on the unfortunate evening of December 27, 2007.
Wrapped in the traditional Sindhi ‘ajrak’, when she rose to speak to a massive gathering of enthusiastic party workers and the people carrying the national and tri-colour Pakistan People’s Party flags raising slogans that shook the vast park and its neighbourhood, she raised her hands above her head clapping the spirited gathering. She raised catchphrases and the huge number of people responded with great spirit. “Nara-i-Takbeer, Allah O Akbar”, Nara-i-Haidri, Ya Ali”, Nara-i-Bhutto, Jiye Bhutto”, and Awam Hero Hero, Baqi Sab Zero Zero”, were some of the slogans before Shaheed Benazir started her address. Pakistan People’s Party workers have raised Bhutto slogans even when they gather bodies of their fellows. They ask the dictator’ “Tum Kitne Bhutto Maro Gay, Har Gali Se Bhutto Nikle Ga” (How many Bhuttos you will kill, Bhutto will emerge from every street).
The following is the text of the last speech of her meritorious career and life:
“These are the slogans a I have come to Rawalpindi today, I understand this is the city of brave and sacrificing people; I consider Rawalpindi as my second home. When Bhutto Sahib was a minister, I used to live here, I used to go to a school at Rawalpindi. I have seen moments of joy and gloomy times in Rawalpindi. I must say that the brave people of Rawalpindi have been with me in moments of happiness; brave sisters and brethren of this city stood by me in hours of our sadness; they have never let me alone.
“This is the same city which saw that when Yahya Khan was not leaving, they thronged to the Liaquat Bagh to hold a huge and powerful rally and that forced dictator Yahya step down; it was after that the government of the Pakistan People’s Party was established. Rawalpindi is the same city from where Zulfikar Ali Bhutto started his struggle against the dictatorship of General Ayub Khan and young Abdul Hameed sacrificed his life for democracy. This is the city which has defeated all dictators and Inshallah its people will once again inflict a crushing defeat on another dictator and usher in an era of democracy; the sun of democracy will again rise on the horizon of Rawalpindi.
“The people of this city love democracy and have never bowed their head before autocratic regimes. Gen Ziaul Haq came and let the rein of terror loose; young people were persecuted and sent to jail; young Abdul Hameed burnt himself to death and Idrees Tooti was hanged. Thousands of workers were flogged and made to face brutal treatment at Lahore’s Shahi Fort. Yet, they did not leave their sister and the Pakistan People’s Party.
“Quaid-i-Awam Shaheed Bhutto established the Pakistan People’s Party for the poor, hapless and the oppressed people. He worked for the welfare of the down trodden in his government. He made the defence of Pakistan inviolable and the comity of nations held our country in esteem and respect. When you voted Bhutto into power, you did not merely elevate him to the office of the prime minister; you also chose the chairman of the Islamic Summit Conference which Shaheed Bhutto held in Lahore and gathered leaders of the entire Muslim world. He chose Lahore (for the conference) because Lahore is the heart of Punjab and Punjab is the heart of Pakistan. The people of Punjab have always put up a courageous struggle for the unity and integrity of Pakistan. Even when Pakistan was yet to be established, the people of Punjab stood behind the Quaid-i-Azam. The emergence of Pakistan in 1947 has been through a bloodbath and no-one can forget that great sacrifice of the people of Punjab. They have always been in the forefront of democratic struggle and offered every sacrifice for this cause. The people of Punjab have not only offered unforgettable sacrifices for the establishment of Pakistan but also demonstrated audacity and valour for its survival, progress and development. Who can forget the bravery and steadfastness of the people of Punjab when they saved Lahore and Pakistan during the war in Gen Ayub Khan’s period. They tied bombs to their bellies so that Indian tanks overrun their body and Lahore does not fall nor does Pakistan. I pay my compliments to the sons and daughters of these brave people.
“My dear sisters and brethren, you are the real power; if Pakistan is a big country of the world and the world holds Pakistan in respect, it is because of your strong will and sacrifices. Your sister feels confident that they way you stood by the Quaid-i-Azam, the Quaid-i-Awam and the Pakistan People’s Party for the development and well being of Pakistan, you will lend your strength to the daughter of the Qaid-i-Awam to achieve the cherished goal of a glorious, strong and prosperous Pakistan where they live in peace and an environment of dignity and honour.
“Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a great leader, he gave the country the Constitution in 1973; the people and he brave workers of Pakistan People’s Party safeguarded the constitution in all odds; you remember the days when dictator Ziul Haq attempted to undermine the constitution, hey stood against him in saving the country’s basic law. They used to gather at Liaquat Bagh vowing to protect the constitution and when they came out they were meted out the worst coercion. They were flogged and maltreated but after every lash they received on their body, they yelled the slogan of restoring the constitution and the release of Bhutto; they always said they stand for justice and will not yield before tyranny. This was the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto which turned Pakistan into a nuclear power. When India detonated its nuclear device, fretfulness spread all over Pakistan. India first broke Pakistan during the Yahya Khan regime and then exploded atomic bomb. This was the time that a fear crept across the country about the security and unity of Pakistan. It was at this point of the time when Shaheed Bhutto said that we will eat grass but make nuclear bomb as a deterrence and ensure that no-one cast an evil eye on our country. And the world saw Pakistan joining the nuclear nations and this secured our country from the danger of another dismemberment. Thus Bhutto made Pakistan’s defence strong.
“When the daughter of the Quaid-i-Awam came to power, army generals came to me saying that Indians have a missile technology that we do not have. This technology enables Indians to hit Pakistan with bombs; Pakistan will not be able to respond in making sure of our defence similarly secured. If they (Indians) know that Pakistan has the missile capability to give a befitting reply to their assault, they will not be able to attack Pakistan. Brethren and sisters, I provided the Pakistan armed forces the required missile technology as a deterrent and made the country’s defence strong so that no aggression can be done against Pakistan and its people are able to live with dignity.
“Brethren and sisters, the Pakistan People’s Party has always made hectic efforts to make Pakistan strong. And when you elected your sister you did not only elect a prime minister but also the first woman head of government in the whole of the Muslim world. This raised the image of Islam and Pakistan as an enlightened society. The Pakistan People’s Party firmly believes in the well being of the people which alone is the greatest of the powers. We have a firm conviction in the thinking that strong army lone does not make countries strong, the real strength of a country lies in the empowerment, development and well being of its people. That is whenever the Pakistan People’s Party came into power, it has held progress, development and improving the economic lot of the people in the highest priority. You may have nuclear power or missile technology but if you are poor and deprived of basic necessities, non-one can ensure the strength of the any government or the people to make that the country’s defence is secured. The Pakistan People’s Party has written in its manifesto that if the poor is living below the human standards, if the stomach of an industrial worker or a child is empty, if a good number of the people are living in abject poverty, if the educated youth and skilled and semi-skilled workforce is unemployed, if the salaries class is unable to keep the relation of heart and soul together and if an elderly pensioner is unable to live within his own means, the country can not be said to be strong in defence and security no matter if it has nuclear power or missile technology. Such a country is always vulnerable to the dangers and conspiracies of the elements who are unsavory in approach and attitude towards the country; they will exploit the situation to their benefit.
“The Pakistan People’s Party has always enjoyed the support, love and cooperation of the people. We have made strong governments and this strength was bestowed upon our governments by the people. No-one dared in the Pakistan People’s Party governments to undermine our country; no-one ventured to impose war on us during our government; no-one was emboldened to resort to terrorism in our government. All these wars, whether in 1965 or in 1971, began in undemocratic regimes. Pakistan had to abdicate unilaterally during the Kargil episode and left our army men in lurch. This unfortunate incident did also not take place during the People’s Party government because we hold the honour of this country as our own honour and we all can offer sacrifice for the country.
“Comrades, People’s Party governments established peace in the region. Our country was facing the threat that it will be declared as a terrorist state. When the People’s Party came into power it got the country rid of the menace of terrorism and the threat of being declared as a terrorist state. The country is once again is in the danger. Balochistan is our largest province and army operation is in progress there; the result is that a wave of despondency is current across the province. Our borders present a strange situation because the people have not been organized and there is a lack of cooperation with the administration. The circumstances have so deteriorated that our police say that terrorists are about to attack and they want reinforcement.
“How the Quaid-i-Awam saved the country; he organized and mobilized the power of the people to retrieve the country out of every crises. Today our motherland is calling us that I am in danger, see Balochistan, see northern areas, see our mosques; this land, our land, is asking you, asking me for help. That is why I have come to you, I have come to this Liaquat Bagh at this historic moment; I have come to ask you to fix your seal on the arrow; arrow is the symbol of this country; arrow is the image of the pride and splendid future of the country. Inshallah, when the government of People’s Party will be in place, we will implement a five-point programme. Our five-point programme promises jobs. How many of you know that there are around two million educated youth who have no jobs. When a leader criticizes this state of affairs, the answer in reply is that the economy is shaping well; why you say it is in bad shape; the exchequer is robust. But I say their personal exchequer is going from strength to strength ad not that of the people and their country. They privatized industries but the exchequer is still in lean health; and they left two million people jobless.
“Comrades, if we say that there is acute unemployment, people can not live within the means of their salaries and pensioners can not lead a respectable life; they say the economy is good and improving. They are not prepared to listen to anyone. Governments are under an obligation to pay heed to all grievances and solve the problems of the people. The People’s Party has devised a comprehensive manifesto to salvage the country and its people out of crisis and removing unemployment is on the top of our agenda.
“We will also spread the light of education to every nook and corner of Pakistan. Your sister will give you a university at this Potohar region so that your children can get better and quality higher education and secure good jobs. Our third point is energy; neither an industry nor a tube well is run without energy or illuminate any household. Our fourth point is better environment and improved health facilities for 160 million people. I say that when the age of your parents reaches an advanced stage, can they go to a hospital and get quality health facilities; Our hospitals need good machines, abundant medicines and dedicated doctors to give best possible treatment to the sick. This is the duty of a genuinely Islamic and democratic society; it must take care of the weaker classes; this is what humanity exactly demands. Humanity means that all classes should be enabled to live a life they want and society as a whole should benefit from its fruits. This also includes the will of the people to establish a government according to their aspirations. We will solve the problems of teachers and we will solve the problems of doctors. The People’s Party government employed one lakh teachers and also trained them how to impart learning; this shows our resolve of making education popular and within the reach of all. We also recruited lady health visitors with the objective f reaching our mothers to apprise themselves of the heath of their children.
“Our fifth point is equality; and jobs, education, environment, energy and equality complete our five-point programme. We understand that with this programme in practice, we will be able to fulfill the promise of the Quaid-i-Awam and the People’s Party”. Benazir Shaheed then raised the slogan — roti, kapra and makan, mang raha haid har insaan (bread, clothing and home for all) and the people responded with the full throat slogans, “Zinda Hai Bhutto Zinda Hai, Kal Bhi Bhutto Zinda Tha Aaj Bhi Bhutto Zinda Hai, Nara-i-Bhutto, Jiye Bhutto, Jiye Bhutto”.
“My sisters, brethren, elders, we will raise the level of education and give the teacher respect and a quality life. We will set up industries in the public and private sectors so that the people get employment. Pakistan is an agricultural country and we will promote agriculture on the modern lines. We will review the oppressive IRO (Industrial Relations Ordinance) of 2002; will provide the mill hand with the opportunity of organizing trade unions. Never in any of the People’s Party governments downsizing took place and we will not do so in the future either. The Pakistan People’s Party has always stood by the people; the history of the People’s Party is replete with democratic struggle for (the rights of) the people.
“The Quaid-i-Awam was put to gallows, my two brothers were assassinated, my mother had her head injured with stave attack, your brother Asif Ali Zardari was put in jail, he was kept in Pindi and Attock prisons and I too was placed in prison and incarcerated several times. Yet we did not parted ways with the people and the people also remained steadfast and kept on supporting us; they are still with us and together we will realize the cherished goal of justice and a welfare society. Non-one of us left each other because ours is the way of truth, ours is the way of justice, ours is the way of legitimacy; non-one can separate us from pursuing this path.
“My brethren, this is a year of high importance; several incidents took place this year; the Chief Justice of Pakistan was sacked twice; our judges were arrested; Islamabad witnessed the incident of the Lal Masjid during which more than one hundred people were killed and everybody was became suspicious after these troublesome events if the elections will be held. When I returned home to fulfill my promise to you and bring about a change in the country, to restore democracy and dispense with dictatorship, elements inimical to this change and democracy convulsed the city of Karachi with a massive bomb explosion. The attempt was aimed at removing the entire People’s Party leadership from the scene; disrupt the process of elections and pave the way for undemocratic elements to prolong and perpetuate in power unlawfully. But the saviour is bigger than the killer and this conspiracy failed. I pay my tribute to the martyrs who offered their lives to save the people’s party leadership.
“When political orphans saw that elections are approaching and their era is ending, they once again conspired to get emergency imposed. They beseeched Gen Musharraf to remain the Chief of Army Staff for another five years. These political orphans wanted the use the shoulders of our armed forces to resort to political firing; these political orphans wanted to flee from elections. Recent surveys indicate that the people have rejected these political orphans and the victory of the People’s Party and the N League was imminent and no-one will be able to thwart this victory nor will they be able to rig these elections because no patriot can accept slavery and damage the country. They, however, continued their efforts to get the state of emergency enforced and secure another five years for Musharraf. I pay you tributes for responding to the call of the People’s Party to agitate and the people of Rawalpindi demonstrated that they succeeded in holding protest. Your sister was stopped from coming to Rawalpindi; but you faced tear gassing and baton charge for several hours in the streets of this city. You have proved that you are a nation, a vibrant nation, and you are the heroes, heroes and political orphans are zero, zero.
“Comrades, your protest ignited political agitation throughout the country; long march was also held; this is because of the popular pressure that the conspiracy of political orphans has failed. These political orphans used to mislead and confuse the people by false claims that Mohtarma will not return; Mian Nawaz Sharif will not return. I want to ask these political orphans why did they tell a lie; Mohtarma returned home and Mian Sahib also came back and your falsehood stood exposed. These political orphans also tried their best to get emergency enforced. But my compliments to you brethren that you made them to flee and emergency rule came to an end. These political orphans also claimed that elections will not be held for two years; my compliments to you brethren that you have made them run away and now elections are being held on 8th of January.
“These political orphans also claimed that Gen Musharraf will remain as the Chief of Army Staff for another five years. But they again failed Gen Musharraf stepped down and appointed a new Chief of the Army Staff. This is strong indicator for political orphans who should now realize that their end round the corner. All their false claims have stood exposed one by one; their claim of emergency, postponing of elections, uniform, and rigging of elections, all have proved to hollow claims; their period is ending; the people of Pakistan have given their verdict. The voice of the people from Karachi to Khyber is resounding, welcome, welcome Benazir. Voice of people from Karachi to Khyber is resounding, farewell, farewell political orphans.
“My sisters and brethren, you have given a great honour to your sister. Twice you elected me as the prime minister; it is no longer important if I become the prime minister for the third time; what is important is that I have risked my life while coming back; but I had to return because my country is in danger. I feel that the people feel concerned about the country’s circumstances. That is why I have returned home; I have come to you to say that your sister needs those who are brave; who are courageous and who are faithful to the national flag; the flag of our motherland and the flag of the Pakistan People’s Party. I need your support in the work for the security and integrity of Pakistan; let us join hands to steer the country out of the crisis and rid the country from those who have endangered its security”.
Benazir Bhutto Shaheed then named the party candidates for elections and they included Dr Israr Shah, Nayyar Bokhari, Ghulam Murtaza Satti, Raja Shafqat Abbasi, Col Shabbir Awan, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Raja Tariq Kiyani, Brig Mohammad Hasan Awan, Khurram Pervez Raja, Dr Zafar Iqbal, Syed Jafar Shah, Sardar Shoaib Ahmad, Hasan Syed, Syed Zamurrud Khan, Chaudhry Waris, Chaudhry Safdar, Aamer Fida Pasha, Khalid Nawaz Bobby, Zulfiquar Malik, Sardar Shaukat, Ishtiaq Mirza, Rashed Naseem, Azmat Bokhari and Dr Naseem Awan. She also announced the party candidates from Rawalpindi division. Later, she asked from candidates on behalf of the people if they reach parliament, they will serve the masses. She then got a promise from candidates that they would not forget their brethren and sisters in the party and among the people. “Raise your hands and make a pledge”; and they did so raising their hands and held out their commitment to the people. Benazir Bhutto Shaheed then said that she had earlier given a Rs6 billion package for Rawalpindi; she then directed candidates to build a flyover and make Rawalpindi the most beautiful city of the world. She then asked them if they will give employments from a quota on merit to the people not care for your relatives. All of them made a solemn pledge that they will only serve the people and have no other consideration.
Benazir Bhutto Shaheed then turned to the people in the public rally saying: “You have seen they (candidates) have made a commitment; they are your servants, not masters; they are not lotas (political turncoats). Go and spread my message that I have returned to serve masses and the country. The People’s Party candidates will serve the people. Now my brethren you also raise your hands and hold out a promise with me that you vote for your sister, the symbol of arrow, defeat political orphans”. The entire gathering raised their voice “Yes, yes, yes”. “What is Pindi’s symbol; what is workers symbol; what is labourer’s symbol; what is masses symbol; it is only and only arrow. Thank you very much. Victory will soon bow before you.
Jiye Bhutto, Pakistan Zindabad”.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s Address to Diplomats at PPP Foreign Liaison Committee Reception Senate Hall – Islamabad – 10 November 2007
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s Address to Diplomats at PPP Foreign Liaison Committee Reception
Senate Hall – Islamabad – 10 November 2007
Ladies and gentlemen
I appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation with you, especially at this most critical time in the history of my nation.
Obviously Pakistan is at a turning point, and the direction we follow will not only impact the future of my nation, but I strongly believe will have a direct and immediate impact on the stability of the region and the stability of the world.
I take this opportunity to thank the International community for their support to the people of Pakistan in calling upon General Musharaf to lift the curbs of the media, release political prisoners, retire as Army Chief on schedule, and hold elections on schedule.
Democracy is morally right, and even more important to this forum, democracy is the only viable way to contain the growth of extremism, militancy and fanaticism that now threatens the world.
My Party, Nation and I have spent our lives fighting for democracy and for democratic governance. We are fighting now for democracy to safeguard people’s rights and also to safeguard the unity of Pakistan. Our goal is to ensure that through empowerment, employment and education, regions of my country cease being the Petri dish for international and national terrorist plots that threaten us all.
Pakistan under dictatorship is a pressure cooker. Without a place to vent, the passion of our people for liberty threatens to explode. The current military dictatorship that rules my country with an iron fist is opposing the inevitable forces of history. There is not enough barbed wire, or bullets, or bayonets to defeat my people’s unquestionable desire for democracy, for control over their own lives, for human rights, gender equality, labour and minority rights and for a chance to build a better life for their children. These are indeed the dreams of the Pakistani people and of all people. These are universal values.
It is eleven years since the destabilization of the democratic government I led but it has failed to crush the will and support of the people for a representative government that addresses the bread and butter issues of our people, 74% of whom live in poverty. Poverty has increased as has joblessness since the PPP government, with a 6% growth rate, without 10 billions of aid, was overthrown.
Yesterday my home was surrounded and I was unofficially put under house arrest because this military regime did not want the world to see that the people of Pakistan want change, want freedom, and want liberty. The garrison town of Pindi was cut off and surrounded. With blockades, barbed wire and the motorway closed. For 8 hours people were gassed and beaten. The brutal images of police beating innocent women were on every television screen on Earth. Tomorrow people of Sindh will hold protest meetings in every district to show solidarity with the people of Rawalpindi.
In Pakistan we say that there are two tests for the success of a public meeting. When the government does not use coercive methods to stop a meeting, the success is judged by the number of people present.
On October 18 the people of Pakistan held the most historic rally in the history of Pakistan when three million turned out in Karachi, stretching all the way back on the National Highway to receive me to express their hope that my return would be a catalyst of a change from dictatorship to democracy.
The second test of a popular public meeting is the amount of police force and measures used to block the peoples participation. The amount of force and restrictive measures is proportionate to the number of people expected to turn out and attend a public meeting.
Force was used to bring closure of Northern Pakistan on November 9, 2007. There was tear-gassing, baton charging, arrest of 5000 activists, including women parliamentarians from Peshwar to Rawalpindi, Karachi to Pindi, Lahore to Pindi and Islamabad to Pindi. The amount of force used was, according to our calculation,to stop a gathering of a million people. By both tests, coercive and non-coercive, the people rose to the occasion.
Now the ball is in the regime’s court. We have called for a Long March from Lahore from November 13, 2007. This is the March for Freedom, freedom from dictatorship, from militancy from poverty and unemployment.
The current regime has convinced some Nations that General Musharaf alone stands in the way of a nuclear armed, fundamentalist Pakistan. This is a misperception. The religious parties in Pakistan have never received more than 11% of the vote in any election and they would receive less today. It is dictatorship that fuels extremism. The dictatorship of 80’s created the Afghan Mujahideen which morphed into Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The political partners of that dictatorship hold key positions in the political, administrative and security institutions of this dictatorship. They cannot, and have not contained extremism nor reduced poverty. They have exacerbated the situation to an extent where nuclear armed Pakistan is threatened with implosion.
Only a popularly elected democratic government with the mandate of the people has the political base to undermine the militants and bring peace to the people of Pakistan.
Dictatorship does not contain fanaticism. Dictatorship causes fanaticism.
Ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan plays a central role in the direction of one billion Muslims on this planet. A Pakistan which is moderate, enlightened, modern can be a model to the people in the Muslim world who have to choose between the forces of the past and the forces of the future. Pakistan can be critical to democratic development and the containment of extremism all over Asia and Africa, and can spare our global community further senseless attacks from the forces of hatred.
The enemies of reconciliation amongst our peoples and our nations are trying desperately to provoke a clash of civilizations. These fanatics thrive on chaos. They thrive on the desperation that comes from dictatorship. Democracy suffocates them by giving people choices and giving people hope.
The PPP and I negotiated with General Musharaf’s regime for a peaceful transition to democracy. We worked on a road map for fair elections and transition to democracy.
Tragically, suddenly General Musharaf suspended the constitution and imposed Martial Law. This Martial law has been called an Emergency for International consumption.
The PPP has called upon General Musharaf to:
- Revive the Constitution and with it the judges.
- Retire as Chief of Army Staff on November 15 as scheduled.
- Hold general elections called on November 15 on schedule for January 15, 2008.
- Re-constitute the Election Commission and implement election reforms including an interim government of national consensus to oversee the elections, suspension of the Mayors for the elections period, appointment of impartial officials to important government positions, a fair voter account, no improvised polling stations and other such measures.
- End of political victimization
- Lifting of curbs on the media.
Pakistan is in a crisis. Our country, armed forces, police, women, judges, lawyers, minorities, labour, peasants, students, intellectuals and youth are under assault, some by the militants, others by the military regime.
The choice must not be between the military or the militants the choice must be for the will of the people, for democracy.
If for no other reason than your own national self-interest, stand with us in our demand for free and fair elections with robust international monitoring.
The Taliban are coming nearer and nearer. I do not want to be melodramatic. But it is the harsh reality that they came from the mountains of Tora Bora to the tribal areas. First one agency fell, then another as the government struck ceasefires and peace treaties with them. Bajaur fell, Khyber fell, Waziristan fell. Now towns in Swat are falling. Madyan fell, Kalam fell. Today they knock on the doors of Shangla Hills.
The Freedom March, the caravan of democracy is not about Benazir Bhutto. This is not a about the Pakistan Peoples Party. This is about saving Pakistan from disintegration at the hands of militants who have grown in strength under a military dictatorship. They threaten us all. The people of Pakistan cannot be allowed to fall from one dictatorship to another, from military dictatorship to religious dictatorship. I have returned to help my people. My supporters, often from working families, often young, are risking their lives to save Pakistan by saving democracy. My Father gave his life for the democratic rights of the people.
We don’t accept tyranny. Our cause is just, our path is right for it is the path of truth, the path of the people. We appeal to all the people of our country to walk with us on our common destination towards freedom. We ask the international community to give us moral support.
We believe that victory and defeat are in the hands of God, as is life and death, but we must do what is right, what is just. We must raise our voices and begin the journey in the great walk from tyranny to freedom.
Thank you.
Democratization in Pakistan The Middle East Institute Washington, DC – September 25, 2007
Debunks Regime’s Claims of Moderation: Address to Pakistanis in New York
New York – January 15, 2006
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to have this opportunity of addressing members of the Pakistani Community here in New York, the financial center of the world.
I thank you for the warmness of your welcome, for your hospitality and your commitment to Quaid-e-Azam and Quaid-e-Awam’s great democratic principles.
To all of you, Salaam Aleichem, May Peace Be With You.
We gather together at a difficult time in the South Asian region and in this world.
The international situation in which the world finds itself is not what we would have expected in those glorious days of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.
The peace dividend — when the world hoped that the resources of the Cold War could be diverted to international economic and social development — never materialized.
The stability that we hoped would be achieved in a unipolar world has degenerated into a potentially even more dangerous instability and unpredictability.
Ethnic and religious tensions, long suppressed, have erupted to the surface.
This is not the way we thought it would be just 15 years ago when it appeared that the forces of democracy, human rights and the free market had triumphed and that these positive values would sweep — unimpeded — across the planet.
Some things may be out of our control. But most that has happened has been caused — directly or indirectly — by choices that have been made by leaders, by governments, by nations.
Governing is about making choices.
Governing is about setting priorities.
Governing is about deciding what is most important, what cannot wait, and what must be addressed now.
Governing is deciding, in the words of the sociologist Harold Lasswell, who gets what, when and how.
This is why it is so very important to have a government that is elected, representative, accountable and responsive to the needs of the people.
Governing can be deciding whether the social sector or the military sector is fully funded.
It can be deciding who is educated, and who is not.
It can be deciding who is fed, and who is not.
It is deciding where roads are built, and where they are not.
It is, most painfully of all, sometimes deciding between life and death.
It is also about building consensus within nations and between nations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Political miscalculations are compounded by the power of Nature.
We mourn the devastating earthquake in the Northwest Frontier and in Kashmir that has killed 100,000 of our fellow countrymen and left millions of poor and defenseless Pakistanis to fend for themselves, with little support from their own government, through a cold and dangerous winter.
And even as we try to come to terms with an earthquake that shattered so many of our towns and villages, new tensions arise.
In Baluchistan, separatist sentiment is running high. A military operation has been launched. Every day we hear of guerrilla attacks on Pakistani installations.
· Return of Baloach leaders in 1988 by PPP.
The proposal to build Kalabagh Dam threatens to alienate Frontier and Sindh.
Meanwhile General Musharraf went back on yet another promise, the promise he made following the London bombing in July last summer to ensure all foreign students left Pakistani Madrassas by December 2005.
Moreover while political parties have to submit sources of funding to the Election Commission. Schools run by religious leaders do not have to declare sources of funding.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The internal tensions in Pakistan take place at a time when our country is in the grip of a military dictatorship.
Despite the promise to take off his uniform, General Musharaf did not do so following the elections of 2002. He said everything he has introduced in Pakistan’s interest would have been derailed if he had relinquished his military uniform. One day he will have to take off the uniform. This is why plans based on force do not last, whether they are good or bad. Plans based on political participation last because they give legitimacy.
After coming to power, General Musharraf held a referendum like Zia’s. The 2002 election were “pre-rigged” to bring a parliamentary majority he wanted. The mainstream parties were also “broken” to create a majority of one in the National Assembly.
While negotiating the 17th Amendment with the MMA, President Musharraf promised that he would step down in 2004. When the year passed and he still retained the uniform, there was a protest against this breach of promise, which damaged his still somewhat positive image. What he has said now will improve it even less. In December 2004, he had given us a different excuse. He had said the MMA had promised something regarding the National Security Council outside of the text of the 17th Amendment, which it had not fulfilled. He asked the MMA to go to the Supreme Court on the issue, while some experts opined that the text of the 17th Amendment had been so manipulated that he could actually stay on wearing two caps. True to his pledge of plain speaking, he has now admitted that he had actually reneged on a pledge given in earnest to the opposition.
The pledges he had made about cleaning up the textbooks, reforming the religious seminaries and bringing the jihadi militias to heel, have not been honoured, damaging his international credibility.
The dictatorship exploits the war against terrorism to stay in power.
The war against terrorism begun after the post-September 11th environment has seen the true nature of Islam distorted by those who would politicize it.
Islam denounces inequality as the greatest form of injustice. Yet Pakistan, the second largest Muslim country of the world, can not provide justice to its people irrespective of whether they are politicians or not.
It enjoins its followers to combat oppression and tyranny.
Yet the shadow of one man rule clouds the future of our country.
Islam enshrines piety as the sole criteria for judging humankind.
But we see that it is political affiliation, gender or minority views that are the criteria for judging humans in our society.
We live in a dictatorship whilst our religion is not only committed to tolerance and equality, but it is committed to the principles of democracy. The Holy Quran teaches that Islamic society is contingent on “mutual advice through mutual discussions on an equal footing.”
Beating, torturing and humiliating women is inconsistent with the principles of Islam. But the clothes of a United Nations Rapporteur are torn as a collective warning to women of the humiliation that awaits them if they exercise their constitutional right to protest.
Islam is an open, pluralistic and tolerant religion that positively shapes the lives of one billion people across this planet, including millions upon millions in the growing Islamic populations of Europe and the United States. Yet Muslims and Muslim societies are judged not by the values of Islam but the values of unelected dictators that rule through force.
When the human spirit was immersed in the darkness of the Middle Ages in Europe, Islam proclaimed equality between men and women. But I do not see this culture of equality in the crimes committed against women through honour killings.
The PPP and I believe that it is through freedom, through democracy, through human rights and the rule of law that we can salvage our country and our society from the specter of brutality and barbarism brought about by one man rule.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Information leads to change. Change is something that many fear and will not tolerate. But it was change that the PPP and I devoted myself to in our two terms in government.
We introduced freedom by bringing in the information age. We put an end to the ban on fax machines, digital papers, fiber optic communications, cellular telephones, satellite dishes, computers, Internet, e-mail and introduced private television in Pakistan.
Under our government, Pakistan was the first country in the Muslim world to break the shackles of tradition by electing a woman Prime Minister. We were the first country to break the bondage of centerlisation by deregulating , privatizing and opening financial markets. South Asia and the Middle East are now following the road we introduced in 1988 and 1993.
Under the PPP government Pakistan integrated into the global economy became one of the top ten emerging capital markets of the world, attracting over 20 billion dollars in foreign investments, particularly in power generation.
We eradicated polio in our country.
We dramatically reduced infant mortality.
The World Bank held up our economic program as a model to the entire developing world.
Despite institutional and social constraints, when I became prime Minister of Pakistan, the PPP government reversed centuries of discrimination against women.
We increased literacy by one-third, even more dramatically among girls.
We built over 48,000 primary and secondary schools, targeting rural Pakistan.
We brought down the population growth rate by establishing women’s health clinics in thousands of communities across our Nation.
We outlawed domestic violence and established special women’s police forces to protect and defend the women of Pakistan.
We appointed women judges to our nation’s benches for the first time in our history.
We instituted a new program of hiring women police officers to investigate crimes of domestic violence against the women of Pakistan.
We encouraged women’s and girl’s participation in sports, both nationally and internationally by lifting the ban imposed on their participation.
Sharing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s view that the best way to guarantee literate children is to educate literate mothers, the PPP government targeted adult women for remedial education programs.
We refused attempts by reactionary forces within Pakistan to turn into a theocracy. We stopped two such constitutional attempts twice through the Senate.
The PPP governments made extraordinary progress on the international front as well.
We facilitated the formation of an interim government of national consensus in Afghanistan where the moderates and hard liners agreed to co-exist.
We blocked the Taliban’s solo show in Afghanistan. Within days of the PPP dismissal, the Taliban invited in Osama Bin Laden and permitted the establishment of Al – Qaida training camps. That critical and strategic mistake paved the way for the attack on the Twin Towers and the repercussions that flowed from it culminating in the Afghan and Iraq wars.
On the India front, we had extraordinary progress with the fist nuclear confidence building treaty, the agreement not to attack each other’s respective nuclear facilities.
We reopened our borders to travel and tourism, and adopted a south Asian preferential tariff agreement that established a free-trade zone between Pakistan, India and the other nations of the region.
I called upon all the nations of the region to declare the sub-continent a nuclear free zone.
The PPP government was making dramatic progress in relations with India and with containing terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
But moderation and progress is not what supporters of military dictatorship tolerate.
A democratic and stable Pakistan, gaining strength economically and moving forward socially under a popular government was their threat. The PPP government was eliminated and every attempt made to eliminate the party and its leadership.
But ideas and dreams cannot be replaced as easily as a coup against leaders.
The record the PPP accomplished is one in which I have great pride. Despite the reversals in our country, both to the political institutions of democracy and the role of women in society — the progress that the PPP made raised the bar of expectations and cannot long be ignored.
I view the PPP’s commitment to women’s rights as consistent with our commitment to human’s rights and to the inevitability of democracy. In our commitment to political liberty and to democracy, we have never wavered.
Unfortunately, that has not always been the case in the conduct by many great nations of international affairs over the last generation.
Today a military dictatorship in Pakistan is supported by the international community for short term strategic reasons. I believe that is a mistake.
Afghanistan is a tragic case in point of how retreating from the principles of human rights and democracy can have the most tragic unanticipated consequences. Not planning for a post-war Afghanistan built on democratic and Islamic principles of coalition, consensus and cooperation was a very bad choice.
The goal of the international community’s foreign policy agenda must also be to simultaneously promote stability and to strengthen democratic values — not selectively but universally, not just because it is convenient but also because it is right.
Might doesn’t always or necessarily make right. Indeed it was the great American President Abraham Lincoln who said just the opposite, that it is “right that makes might.”
This mixture of realism and idealism was best manifest when The United States, under President Bill Clinton, militarily intervened to stop the genocide of Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. Was the US strategically threatened? No. Was it morally threatened by genocide on this planet? Yes.
The universalization of human rights may be the underpinning of internal stability within nation states, and peaceful relations among nation states.
I address this issue from a unique double focus.
I wear the scars — on my body and my soul — of the abuse of basic human rights, and thus I view oppression through the eyes of the victim.
In the rhetoric of the West, democracy, women’s rights, human rights, and press freedom are important, but apparently only sometimes.
Violations of these principles lead to international sanctions — but only sometimes.
The world is not yet a fair or just place, and will not be so until each and every country on our planet is treated equally.
If democracy is good for Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, then democracy, and not dictatorship, should be supported in Pakistan.
Democracy is the first step toward humanity’s liberation. But it is not an end in itself.
Liberty and freedom depend on social and economic justice.
Voting does not guarantee justice. An independent judiciary with members who impartially uphold the law does.
Equal rights depend on more than electoral choices. They depend on cultural change and education.
Democracy is not just about elections. It is equally about governing in a manner that is representative, respectful of constitutional provisions, provincial autonomy and the balance of power.
Nations make choices. And choices lead to consequences — political consequences, economic consequences, social consequences.
Today 58% of the people of Pakistan live on less than $2/= a day.
But we spend our money building a second General Headquarters next to the one we already have.
The girl who is illiterate has no future. But we spend $ 1 billion dollars on SAAB aircraft even as we make peace with Indian and make overtures to Israel and therefore face no imminent threat.
Economic development and political development are surely linked, but both depend on respect to human rights and the right economic policies.
We cannot claim to believe in moderate enlightenment if we do not fight for it in our own homes, and in our own homelands.
We can not imprison a speaker of the National Assembly, a Cabinet Minister, the spouse of a Parliamentarian, because we disagree with their choice of political leader and political party.
Here I will take the opportunity to call for the release of Yousaf Raza Gilani, Bismillah Kakar and Pir Mukkram, who have been imprisoned for their political beliefs by the Musharaf dictatorship. I also call for the return of the exiles and a restoration of democracy through impartial elections held by an interim government through an independent Election Commission and an immediate vote count and announcement. While Yousaf Reza Gillani, Bisimullah Kakar and Pir Mukkaram remain behind bars on political grounds. We cannot say Islamabad respects human rights. While elected Prime Ministers are forced into exile, we cannot say Pakistan has human rights. While NAB finds corruption only in the opposition and not in the ruling party, we cannot say Pakistan has Justice.
It is through the empowerment of the people of our nation that we can reclaim the heritage of Quaid-e-Azam and Quaid-e-Awam, that we can confront and defeat social evils in the form terrorism, extremism, militancy, honour killings nor give our youth an opportunity to live a life free of poverty, backwardness, disease and unemployment.
Social inequality leads to political instability, not just in the Middle East, Asia, but also all through the developed world including America and Europe.
This is evident in the large, radicalizing Muslim communities in France and across much of Europe.
The challenge is to make alienated Muslim immigrants and their children feel like fully integrated members of the nation, and to convince them to accept the full obligations of democratic citizenship.
The way to accomplish this certainly is not religious or cultural ridicule.
The way clearly is equality of opportunity, education and respect for cultural and religious pluralism. These are choices that the world community must make.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is our job to make choices.
It is our job to find answers.
It is our job to marginalize the extremes.
It is our job to act, not just talk.
Realizing that in the time it took me to deliver this speech, over one thousand children have starved to death on this planet.
I want you to know that choices have consequences.
I ask you to make the choices that can help us together build a better Pakistan, a brighter Pakistan, a proud Pakistan, where its people live in peace, progress and prosperity.
I ask you to support the Pakistan Peoples Party and its allies in reclaiming our constitutional and democratic heritage so we can bequeath to our children a better world than we saw.
Battle for Democracy Not Easy Signing Ceremony of Autobiography Dubai – May 03, 2007
Ladies and gentlemen
I appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation with you, especially at this most critical time in the history of my nation.
Obviously Pakistan is at a turning point, and the direction we follow will not only impact the future of my nation, but I strongly believe will have a direct and immediate impact on the stability of the region and the stability of the world.
I take this opportunity to thank the International community for their support to the people of Pakistan in calling upon General Musharaf to lift the curbs of the media, release political prisoners, retire as Army Chief on schedule, and hold elections on schedule.
Democracy is morally right, and even more important to this forum, democracy is the only viable way to contain the growth of extremism, militancy and fanaticism that now threatens the world.
My Party, Nation and I have spent our lives fighting for democracy and for democratic governance. We are fighting now for democracy to safeguard people’s rights and also to safeguard the unity of Pakistan. Our goal is to ensure that through empowerment, employment and education, regions of my country cease being the Petri dish for international and national terrorist plots that threaten us all.
Pakistan under dictatorship is a pressure cooker. Without a place to vent, the passion of our people for liberty threatens to explode. The current military dictatorship that rules my country with an iron fist is opposing the inevitable forces of history. There is not enough barbed wire, or bullets, or bayonets to defeat my people’s unquestionable desire for democracy, for control over their own lives, for human rights, gender equality, labour and minority rights and for a chance to build a better life for their children. These are indeed the dreams of the Pakistani people and of all people. These are universal values.
It is eleven years since the destabilization of the democratic government I led but it has failed to crush the will and support of the people for a representative government that addresses the bread and butter issues of our people, 74% of whom live in poverty. Poverty has increased as has joblessness since the PPP government, with a 6% growth rate, without 10 billions of aid, was overthrown.
Yesterday my home was surrounded and I was unofficially put under house arrest because this military regime did not want the world to see that the people of Pakistan want change, want freedom, and want liberty. The garrison town of Pindi was cut off and surrounded. With blockades, barbed wire and the motorway closed. For 8 hours people were gassed and beaten. The brutal images of police beating innocent women were on every television screen on Earth. Tomorrow people of Sindh will hold protest meetings in every district to show solidarity with the people of Rawalpindi.
In Pakistan we say that there are two tests for the success of a public meeting. When the government does not use coercive methods to stop a meeting, the success is judged by the number of people present.
On October 18 the people of Pakistan held the most historic rally in the history of Pakistan when three million turned out in Karachi, stretching all the way back on the National Highway to receive me to express their hope that my return would be a catalyst of a change from dictatorship to democracy.
The second test of a popular public meeting is the amount of police force and measures used to block the peoples participation. The amount of force and restrictive measures is proportionate to the number of people expected to turn out and attend a public meeting.
Force was used to bring closure of Northern Pakistan on November 9, 2007. There was tear-gassing, baton charging, arrest of 5000 activists, including women parliamentarians from Peshwar to Rawalpindi, Karachi to Pindi, Lahore to Pindi and Islamabad to Pindi. The amount of force used was, according to our calculation,to stop a gathering of a million people. By both tests, coercive and non-coercive, the people rose to the occasion.
Now the ball is in the regime’s court. We have called for a Long March from Lahore from November 13, 2007. This is the March for Freedom, freedom from dictatorship, from militancy from poverty and unemployment.
The current regime has convinced some Nations that General Musharaf alone stands in the way of a nuclear armed, fundamentalist Pakistan. This is a misperception. The religious parties in Pakistan have never received more than 11% of the vote in any election and they would receive less today. It is dictatorship that fuels extremism. The dictatorship of 80’s created the Afghan Mujahideen which morphed into Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The political partners of that dictatorship hold key positions in the political, administrative and security institutions of this dictatorship. They cannot, and have not contained extremism nor reduced poverty. They have exacerbated the situation to an extent where nuclear armed Pakistan is threatened with implosion.
Only a popularly elected democratic government with the mandate of the people has the political base to undermine the militants and bring peace to the people of Pakistan.
Dictatorship does not contain fanaticism. Dictatorship causes fanaticism.
Ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan plays a central role in the direction of one billion Muslims on this planet. A Pakistan which is moderate, enlightened, modern can be a model to the people in the Muslim world who have to choose between the forces of the past and the forces of the future. Pakistan can be critical to democratic development and the containment of extremism all over Asia and Africa, and can spare our global community further senseless attacks from the forces of hatred.
The enemies of reconciliation amongst our peoples and our nations are trying desperately to provoke a clash of civilizations. These fanatics thrive on chaos. They thrive on the desperation that comes from dictatorship. Democracy suffocates them by giving people choices and giving people hope.
The PPP and I negotiated with General Musharaf’s regime for a peaceful transition to democracy. We worked on a road map for fair elections and transition to democracy.
Tragically, suddenly General Musharaf suspended the constitution and imposed Martial Law. This Martial law has been called an Emergency for International consumption.
The PPP has called upon General Musharaf to:
- Revive the Constitution and with it the judges.
- Retire as Chief of Army Staff on November 15 as scheduled.
- Hold general elections called on November 15 on schedule for January 15, 2008.
- Re-constitute the Election Commission and implement election reforms including an interim government of national consensus to oversee the elections, suspension of the Mayors for the elections period, appointment of impartial officials to important government positions, a fair voter account, no improvised polling stations and other such measures.
- End of political victimization
- Lifting of curbs on the media.
Pakistan is in a crisis. Our country, armed forces, police, women, judges, lawyers, minorities, labour, peasants, students, intellectuals and youth are under assault, some by the militants, others by the military regime.
The choice must not be between the military or the militants the choice must be for the will of the people, for democracy.
If for no other reason than your own national self-interest, stand with us in our demand for free and fair elections with robust international monitoring.
The Taliban are coming nearer and nearer. I do not want to be melodramatic. But it is the harsh reality that they came from the mountains of Tora Bora to the tribal areas. First one agency fell, then another as the government struck ceasefires and peace treaties with them. Bajaur fell, Khyber fell, Waziristan fell. Now towns in Swat are falling. Madyan fell, Kalam fell. Today they knock on the doors of Shangla Hills.
The Freedom March, the caravan of democracy is not about Benazir Bhutto. This is not a about the Pakistan Peoples Party. This is about saving Pakistan from disintegration at the hands of militants who have grown in strength under a military dictatorship. They threaten us all. The people of Pakistan cannot be allowed to fall from one dictatorship to another, from military dictatorship to religious dictatorship. I have returned to help my people. My supporters, often from working families, often young, are risking their lives to save Pakistan by saving democracy. My Father gave his life for the democratic rights of the people.
We don’t accept tyranny. Our cause is just, our path is right for it is the path of truth, the path of the people. We appeal to all the people of our country to walk with us on our common destination towards freedom. We ask the international community to give us moral support.
We believe that victory and defeat are in the hands of God, as is life and death, but we must do what is right, what is just. We must raise our voices and begin the journey in the great walk from tyranny to freedom.
Thank you.
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Speech on Islam Kiev, Ukraine, April 26, 2007
Assalam Alaikum. May peace be with you.
I stand before you not only as the first female Prime Minister of my nation and the leader of the opposition, but also as a woman, a wife and a mother.
I stand before you as a woman proud of my cultural and religious heritage.
I want to use this opportunity, speaking to many of you here today who are not Muslims, to tell you about the Islam I was taught.
Islam taught me that men and women are equal in the eyes of God. It is this message of Islam that has empowered me, has strengthened me, and has emboldened me.
The Prophet’s wife, Bibi Khadija, was a rich and successful businesswoman. Throughout the Holy Koran, there is example after example of women as leaders, women being respected, women as equals.
It is this tradition of Islam that has allowed me to battle for political and human rights, and strengthens me today.
Islam denounces inequality as the greatest form of injustice.
It enjoins its followers to combat oppression and tyranny.
It enshrines piety as the sole criteria for judging humankind.
It shuns race, color and gender as the basics of distinction in society.
Islam is not only committed to tolerance and equality, but it is committed to the principles of democracy.
The Muslim Holy Book says that Islamic society is contingent on — “mutual advise through mutual discussions on an equal footing.”
“Consultation” under the Koran, demands that public decisions be made by representative personalities, by men and women who enjoy the confidence of the people and the integrity of their own character.
“Consensus” provides a basis for majority rule.
And in the third element of Islamic democracy — “independent judgment” Islam permits each generation to create a dynamic response to their period in time.
There are many similarities between Islam and the Judeo-Christian traditions. These three great religions were born in the cradle of the Middle East. The word “Muslim” actually means those who follow the Prophets Moses, Jesus and Mohammad.
The Koran has a chapter on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, whose Arabic name is Maryam. As in Christianity, the Koran speaks of the miraculous birth of Jesus and of his healing powers. It quotes the infant Jesus saying in his cradle, “God commanded me to pray and to give alms so long as I live, and to cherish my Mother”.
Muslims believe that paradise lies at the feet of the Mother.
Like other great religions, Islam is a moral compass for its followers that gives faith and hope and offers a path for the redemption of the soul on the day of Judgement.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The fanatics who exploit the name of Islam do not speak for the Muslim people.
In this the twenty first century, the Muslim people search for freedoms that exist in other parts of the world. They search for a society that is representative and accountable and which they determine for themselves.
And as part of that search, I prepare to return to Pakistan, to support my country’s movement for the restoration of democracy through the holding of fair, free and impartial elections.
The people of Pakistan closely followed Ukraine’s movement for democracy. We gain inspiration from the Orange Revolution that took place.
And if elections in my country are rigged, we hope to emulate your orange revolution through public demonstrations and peoples power.
It is through democracy, diversity and pluralism that we can together build a world of interfaith understanding and tolerance, a world free from terrorism.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and in the words of the Prophet of Islam,
“Spread peace between yourselves”
Ideas Live On Pakistan Community Function Denmark – April 22, 2007
Ideas Live On
Pakistan Community Function
Denmark – April 22, 2007
I recall that President John F. Kennedy once said “Men die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on”. The idea of democracy has survived tyranny over centuries since it was first practiced in ancient Greece.
When the 21st century dawned, the seeds of a new future had been planted. Power began to shift from the might of armies to the strength of the intellect. While military strength continued to be important, it was no longer critical in defining the greatness of a nation. Instead as Mr. Winston Churchill foretold “The empires of the future, will be the empires of the mind”.
In our times an individual’s education, intelligence and wisdom creates cumulatively the wealth of a nation. Therefore the investment in an individual, through education and health, will determine the quality of our society and the future of our people.
The Information Revolution has created, “the death of distance”. Communication costs are down helping to create a global community that transcends territory, culture and multiple languages.
We are witnessing a new divide between the advantaged global citizen and the disadvantaged local citizen. The challenge is to ride the crest of the new order By learning global values while retaining our cultural roots and languages.
Scientists today are discovering the secrets of the human gene which contains the story of our life. Stem cells promise to have as much impact as the discovery of Penicillin once did in affecting the age we can live up to.
As life span increases, so do the demands on our social services and civic structure. Can we cope if we continue to stress the values of the past in seeking greatness while ignoring the demands of a new century very different in its direction?
We need to ask what we can do to shape our future in terms of the new challenges. While global economies offer more opportunity for individuals trained to take advantage of them we also face problems. These problems include the threat from terrorism, climate change and diseases like Aids and Alzheimers as well as the poverty that affects one in six people born in the world today.
In one of the greatest ironies of our times, the rich die from eating too much food and the poor die from malnutrition.
Against the backdrop of this canvas, a new generation seems increasingly interested in non-stop entertainment. This entertainment is available through ipods, the internet, television and readily available dvds. Discussions are often made on the spur of the moment through the press of a send button or a text message. The reflection and thought of the past is giving way to the speed of the future.
What kind of future we the people of Pakistan build depends on the nature of our political system, the strength of our judiciary and the use of our economic resources.
Can, we, a nation addicted to military rule and military assistance, reform our society by investing in the future of our children?
Our journey in answering this question reaches a critical point before the end of this year as we head towards parliamentary, and possibly presidential elections.
For too long our Federation has remained under the shadow of military rule. Between 1977-2007, a passage of 30 years, we have been under direct or indirect military rule for 25 years. Thus the problems of terrorism, sectarianism, militancy, extremism, intolerance and increase in poverty are directly related to the prolonged period of military domination of our society.
As the crisis over the suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court demonstrates, justice in our country is elusive.
Despite Islam’s emphasis on Adal wa Insaf, justice has systematically been undermined by the military rule. In 1977 the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Chief Justice Yaqub, was removed by a martial law order. In 2007 another Chief Justice was removed. In between the dictators relied on the likes of controversial judges whose judgments were ridiculed the world over.
Islamabad’s dictatorship takes strength from strategic developments. These include resistance against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the global war against terror. These strategic developments have provided Western support for military rulers.
For decades our economic approach has been to rent out our army’s services for fighting various causes like Communism or Terrorism. Since a crisis or a threat brings with it political power for the Generals, large amounts of covert funds plus military and economic assistance, there is little incentive to build peace in place of conflict, restore security in place of crisis or allow the empowerment of the people in place of subjugating them through militias or abuse of state power.
Military domination of the political system is not in the national interest. It led to the breakup of the country in 1971. At the time Al Badar and Al Shams groups played havoc. Now it is a series of groups like the Lashkar e Tayyaba or Jaish Mohammad which control small armies. In fact even Imams, like the Imam of Lal Masjid, can call upon madrassas to provide militants for paralysing the government.
The danger of fueling the fire of religious militancy is that it could become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
According to published reports a former Pakistan Air Force Chief stated that Pakistan’s ruling classes were “addicted to aid”. An American Congressman recently observed, “There doesn’t seem to be any problem in Pakistan that can’t be cured with a little more U.S. assistance”.
In the last six years, Islamabad received nearly $ 5 Billion in aid. An extra $ 100 Million are given monthly in coalition support funds. The amount for covert transfers of funds must be at least this high if not higher. Huge amounts of funds have come into the country but it has not trickled down to the people. It has not improved the lives of our people even though additionally our loans have been rescheduled for our support in the war on terror. We have a right to ask why this money has not translated into poverty eradication or increase in the salaries of our doctors and teachers or greater job opportunities for our people.
Significant flow of Western aid to Pakistan has been to military rulers. USAID figures indicate that between 1954 and 2002, Washington provided $ 12.6 Billion in economic and military aid to Pakistan. Of this, 75% ($ 9.19 Billion) went to military rulers over 25 years and 25% ($3.4 Billion) to civilian governments over 19 years.
Pakistan faces enormous problems including those of poverty, terrorism, militancy and extremism. It is obvious that these cannot be solved through the model of a rentier military class. The path to progress and civilization does not lie in threat perceptions. The path to a bright future lies in creating the noble quality of peace, the message that is enjoined upon all Muslims and is common to all religions.
It lies in creating harmony in society through consensus as well as ensuring that the light of justice spreads throughout the dark corners of the country.
It is restoration of democracy that can lead to regional peace as well as internal stability. Let us not forget that an army operation in Baluchistan threatens the unity and integrity of our country. It is by disbanding militias that we can save our people from sectarianism and religious persecution.
A fractured, bleeding society is calling to all its sons and daughters to hear its call, to revive the spirit of Quaid e Azam and Quaid e Awam’s struggle to save our people and our land from the dark shadow of military rule which has blotted out the sun of the people’s dreams, hopes and aspirations.
It is with unity of thought, spirit and action revive the democratic system. It is through the dignity, respect and service of our people that we as a Federation can once again regain the high ground to accept the challenge of the twenty first century, to accept and win in the age of the global community and global citizen while still remaining proud of our history and our heritage.
Can Indo Pak Relations be Reinvented India Today Conclave – New Delhi March 24, 2007
Can Indo Pak Relations be Reinvented
India Today Conclave – New Delhi
March 24, 2007
It is a privilege for me to join you this evening at India Today’s Conclave in New Delhi, to discuss the Challenges for the Brave New World.
I first came to India as a teenager visiting Simla with my Father in 1971.
I still remember the warmth and affection with which the people of India greeted me although we were supposed to be the enemy.
Following the Simla Agreement signed between Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972, I came away with the strong feeling that peace between India and Pakistan must endure.
It gives me great satisfaction that since the signing of the Simla Agreement thirty five year ago, India and Pakistan, although engaged in conflict, did not go to full war against each other.
The enormity of this is better understood when we appreciate that between 1947 and 1971, a period of twenty five years, India and Pakistan fought three wars.
As Prime Minister of Pakistan, I worked with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to build on the spirit of Simla. Our governments signed the first major agreements since Simla, the agreements not to attack each others nuclear installations in 1988 amongst others.
In 1988, at the SAARC leaders’ summit at Islamabad, I proposed that we transform SAARC from a cultural organization into an economic one. The South Asian Preferential Tariff Agreement was born as a consequence.
In 1999 at the Indo Pak Parliamentarians Conference in Islamabad I proposed that India, Pakistan and all the countries of South Asia put aside their differences to create a common market to eliminate poverty, hunger, unemployment and backwardness. Through soft borders.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that Indo Pak relations can be creatively re-invented.
Time stands still for no one. The moving finger of history writes and having written, moves on.
We have a choice. The choice is ours to write a success story of free markets, liberty, human rights, gender equality, common values of tolerance and understanding.
The Pakistan Peoples Party and I, even in Opposition, have tried to write a success story co-authored with all the intellectuals, political parties and leaders of both our countries who truly believe that the future welfare of humanity in our part of the world lies in cooperation.
I see the world in terms of competing economic blocs that can best function in an environment of peace and security. I see the world as one where the have nots can conquer poverty if we come together in an economy of scale as Europe has done.
For these ideas, and for seeking peaceful relations with India, I was once called, a “security risk” by my critics.
But ideas cannot be killed by character assassination or by repression. In time, my political opponents as well as the military establishment of my country realized the importance of peace as a quality that makes or breaks a nation.
I am proud that today India and Pakistan are discussing ways and means to have open borders, trade and travel. We still have a long way to go, but the journey has begun.Of course the danger is there of the derailment of the peace process. Both our countries nearly came to war in 1999 in the icy glaciers of Siachen.
Both our armies stood eye ball to eye ball in a deadly year long confrontation following a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. The recent attack on the Samjhota Express this year once again demonstrated the fragility of a peace process which can be disrupted by a deadly act of violence.
We know now that there is a consensus amongst the political parties of India and Pakistan, a consensus between our military and security establishments that peace must be established. We also agree that the one serious danger to the peace process comes from militants and terrorists. Therefore the challenge for us is to dismantle the militant cells so that they cannot hold the foreign policy of two independent nations hostage to their acts of terrorism.
In this connection, I welcome the decision by both India and Pakistan to work together on anti-terrorism efforts and to share information in this regard. This is a positive step forward.
I commend Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Government of India for refusing to rise to the terrorist bait in blaming Islamabad when a militant strikes its target. The militants are the enemies of peaceful relations, peaceful relations that both our countries want and desire.
Both the governments of India and Pakistan are declaring their deep desire to resolve the Kashmir Dispute, to build peaceful relations and to work for greater economic cooperation.
I welcome this effort to re-invent our relations.
Many well wishers advised me to oppose the present peace process between India and Pakistan for two reasons. First, they saw it lacking legitimacy as Pakistan is presently governed by a military regime which holds onto power by virtue of its army constituency.
Secondly, since Indo Pak relations and the Kashmir Dispute excite passions easily, it was felt that opposing the peace process as a, “sell out” would help mobilize public opinion against the military dictatorship and facilitate the restoration of democracy.
The restoration of democracy is a cause dear to my heart.
It is a cause for which my Father and brothers laid down their lives as did hundreds of our party workers and others belonging to the democratic opposition.
It is a cause for which my husband cumulatively spent eleven years in prison without a conviction and for which my brothers, mother and I spent long years in exile. However, my Party and I did not seek the easy route to create mass frenzy. We believe that the future happiness of the people of South Asia, a happiness flowing from a peaceful environment providing opportunities for our youth was too important to be lost in an internal political battle in Pakistan.
I do agree that there are issues of legitimacy involved when a non representative government negotiates as the people are not co-opted. The tribal situation in Pakistan, where the Taliban have regrouped is an example. Despite 80,000 troops being sent into the area to clear the militants, a peace treaty was signed with them.
This proves the point that without political participation, it is very difficult to make lasting advances.
Today it is a matter of satisfaction for those of us who envisaged open borders, trade and travel between India and Pakistan, before it became fashionable to do so to witness the Pakistani military dictatorship sign on to the peace process and commit itself to resolving issues with India in a peaceful manner without prejudice to our differing views on Kashmir.
There are voices that claim that the present peace process with India is an eye wash meant to cover the regime in election year to neutralize the Indian lobby.
They argue that after stage managing the elections schedule in Pakistan later this year, all it will take is one more militant attack to recreate the tensions that have marred Indo Pak relations in the past.However, once again I do not believe that we should base our political policies on fear.
I believe the challenge for the future is to re-invent our policies so that we build them on hope.
For that hope to be formalized we will have to deal with the issue of both militancy and terrorism.
Militancy and terrorism are the roots of violence, senseless destruction and loss of lives.
We have to protect innocent people of our countries by each one of us working for the dismantlement of militant groups, the elimination of terrorism and the promotion of interfaith tolerance and harmony. These objectives are all the more important in this the 60th anniversary of the independence of both of our countries.
I wonder how many in this audience were present when the British set midnight of August 14th 1947 as the hour for the clock to strike freedom.
It was an exciting moment in history when the people of India gained their separate Nations. Yet it was also one of pain.
Innocent people were killed because they were either Muslims fleeing to Pakistan or Hindus fleeing to India.
And more blood was shed of our citizens who died in the many wars and acts of terror experienced since we both got our freedom from the British.
In this the 60th year of our independence, I propose that the leadership of India and Pakistan put an end to this destructive chapter in the lives of our countries. I propose that on the 60th anniversary of our Nations this August they meet to declare their commitment to bring us the permanent tranquility and progress and prosperity that two neighboring countries must have.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have made trade, not conflict with India, a top priority of my forthcoming electoral campaign in Pakistan. At 60 years we must pledge an end to war, terrorism and death.
Sixty years of freedom gives us the maturity to change our direction dramatically.
I am committed to bringing peace between our two countries. My commitment to peace began when I was a young child. I lived through the bombings of the 1965 war between our countries.
I heard the stories of the dead and of the homes destroyed, of the terrible destruction of infrastructure putting both our developing countries further back in their quest to modernise.
I saw my Mother rushing to help the soldiers and their families, help the wounded and the injured.
As a student at Harvard University in America, I joined up with fellow students to protest the Vietnam War, a war that they felt was unjust and did not want to fight.Since then I have seen many more conflicts on television in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, between Iran and Iraq and in Iraq. The more I see of the devastation of war, of how the vultures descend to feed on the bodies of dead children, the more I am convinced that we must keep our region secure and peaceful. We cannot fail our children.
India and China both have a dispute but they do not go to war against each other.
We must learn from this model to develop our own relations. As an undergraduate at Harvard University, I met your late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. I witnessed the first peace agreement signed by our two countries. In the words of the famous American Secretary of State Dean Acheson, I was “Present at the Creation” of the peace movement between our two countries.
I am proud of the fact that during my two tenures in office, neither of our peoples or armies had to face a Kargil like situation.
I am proud of the fact that during both of my two tenures in office, there were no terrorist attacks on Indian targets such as the Bombay Blasts or the Indian Parliament Blast. It is not easy to keep the peace but my government did so and reined in the militants too.
On a separate note, we brought peace to Karachi taking on the militants there and we brought peace to our tribal areas taking on the militias of the narco barons in those mountains. My Government had the capacity to build nuclear weapons but we chose to remain a nuclear capable state instead of turning ourselves into a nuclear weaponised state. We had the confidence in our people and in our ability to defend ourselves without involving ourselves in adventures which could only turn the clock back on the pursuit of progress for all the people of South Asia who are shackled with backwardness and poverty.
One of the ways that I tried to re-invent the relationship between Pakistan and India was to involve military and intelligence personnel in the process. In this connection, we established intelligence to intelligence contact with a view to help formal diplomacy. Additionally we proposed the induction of retired military officials in the track two discussions.
With terrorism now a global issue, cooperation between India and Pakistan to work on eliminating terrorism from the region offers an important opportunity to reinvent the relationship. Therefore it is a welcome development that following the summit meeting in Cuba last year in September both Islamabad and Delhi have agreed on an exchange of terror-related intelligence through quarterly meetings. I know that the hotline established by Rajiv Prime Minister Gandhi and myself between the military headquarters of our two countries has played no small part in preventing escalation of tensions in the relations between the two countries. Ladies and Gentlemen, we live in societies where there are islands of opulence amongst oceans of misery.
It is wrong, morally wrong that the gap between the rich and the poor should be so huge that some people do not have food to eat or a job to give them dignity. I find it so difficult to understand how in the third millennium so many should die because they do not have drinking water or the water they have is contaminated.
We should band together to fight hunger and disease. We should band together to fight discrimination and bigotry against minorities. We should band together in a political and economic condominium that could be a model to the entire world of the what the future hold. These are the real issues that confront our masses.
There is much that the countries of South Asia can learn from each other.
All the countries of South Asia, except Burma and Pakistan, have civilian control over the military and therefore over the conduct of their nations in foreign policy. As the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 proved in America, civilian control of the military is essential to the safety and development of a country. Bringing peace between our two countries will help make that happen.
The Cuban Missile Crisis showed that if the American military had had its way, the Americans would have made war against the Soviets. American President John F. Kennedy prevented a war that could have killed 100 million Americans.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and I have signed a Charter of Democracy committed to a framework of peace and justice for the people of Pakistan. The Charter of Democracy commits both our parties to friendship and peace with India.
Last year American President George W. Bush said in his annual State of the Union address.
“Dictatorships shelter terrorists and feed resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction. Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror.”
I agree with President Bush on the nature of dictatorships. I have dedicated my life working for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan.
In the last election of October 2002, I was not allowed to fight that contest. Yet despite international observers calling the elections “flawed”, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which I head, was still the largest vote getter at nearly 26 % of the vote almost similar to that of the Congress Party in the elections of 2004. Unfortunately the Parliamentary session was indefinitely postponed to fracture my support. If not I would have formed a government like Mrs Sonia Gandhi did after the 2004 election.
I am fully on the side of the people. My late and beloved father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, named our party – the Pakistan People’s Party. We have a long history of fighting for the people of Pakistan.
I have fought dictators and oligarchs before. I will fight them again in the election campaign of 2007, and I intend to win.
Some have asked why I am returning to Pakistan.
The answer is very simple Pakistan is my home. And I have long ago accepted my responsibilities of leadership. I didn’t choose this life. It chose me.
I have been honored by the people of Pakistan to be twice elected their Prime Minister. During the time of my service in that role, the religious parties never had more that 3% representation in our National Assembly.
A democratic Pakistan standing next to a democratic India and a democratic Afghanistan can start to turn around our part of the world.
On the issue of Kashmir, we must make a viable peace. This is a solvable problem that must not take further lives.
Pending a final settlement, I agree with the statement of your Prime Minister supporting an autonomous Kashmir running much of its own affairs. A Commission can be established between the two countries and the leaders of Kashmir themselves to work out what should be done in foreign and defense affairs.
While working out the solution to Kashmir we should not allow slow progress on it to be an obstacle to work in other cooperative matters.
There are several ways to reinvent our relations. These include through economic integration and trade, business cooperation, media exchanges, transportation links between our two countries, the energy requirements of our economies, sports and entertainment events, cooperation in the Information Technologies, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, in medicine, education and agriculture.
Let us remember:
- Economic integration and trade brought Europe the peace and prosperity it has enjoyed since World War Two concluded. The Europeans started the European Coal and Steel Community. Jean Monnet, a French economist and Robert Shuman, the French Foreign Minister, saw this vital industry as critical to those wishing to wage war.They brought the major European countries together to control steel and coal thereby stopping the war making capacity of the individual European nations, especially of France and Germany.
It was the first step that the Europeans took to blunt the instruments of war making within their continent.
There is no reason we in this sub-continent cannot do the same.
A dear friend who helped bring China and the United States together told me that the total two way trade between the US and China before 1972 was just $25 million INDIRECT trade mostly through Hong Kong.
Now in 2007 US-China direct trade is over $200 billion. That trade and other factors have made China the huge economic engine it has now become.
That is the kind of future that awaits our people if we can reinvent our relations.
2. Regarding transportation links: a start has been made with the bus journey between Srinagar and Muzzafarabad and the train between New Delhi and Lahore. We must increase those links, eliminate visa restrictions and remember that when we can travel between France and Germany – two old enemies – the train or bus does not stop any more for police and customs checks.
Energy resources are vital to our economies. The closest readily accessible energy source of hydrocarbons is in Central Asia. My government implemented my Father’s proposal to build Gwadar Port in Balauchistan, Pakistan’s largest province, to bring Central Asian gas and oil to world markets through Pakistan. My government agreed to building pipelines for oil and gas to be pumped across Pakistan to India.
I intend to make these plans a top priority of my country -to bring these gas and oil pipelines from Central Asia to the people of Balauchistan in Pakistan and to export them to India. It is vital to our economies and our industry.
The political instability of Afghanistan hampers trade with Central Asia. Therefore controlling terrorism in the tribal areas of Pakistan is a priority for my people and for the government we hope they will elect us to make. A peaceful and democratic India, Pakistan and Afghanistan can bring enormous benefits in this program of bringing new energy resources to all of our economies.
In addition, Pakistan has one of the richest shale deposits in the world. A new low-cost technology now is available to get useable energy from the shale and the residue in water.
We will share both the technology and the product with you.
4. We have all seen the excitement of our peoples when one sport team visits each others countries. These exchanges must happen frequently without governmental interference. Let the fans from Lahore come and cheer their teams playing in Bombay or Calcutta or visa versa.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan controlled Kashmir Sardar Attique has welcomed investment from all regions and religions of the world, including from Indian controlled Kashmir. He has offered gas and electricity across the Line of Control. Discussing such proposals can help bring us closer.
The devastating earthquake in 2005 demostrated that disaster recognizes no geographical borders. People on both sides of the Line of Control in Kashmir were killed, injured and lost their homes and loved ones. It was a terrible tragedy and awoke in our minds the need for us to work together even on issues such as disaster control.
The entertainment industry is huge in India and growing in Pakistan. There must be no boundaries between our countries in this area too.
5. Both of our countries exploded nuclear devices in May 1998. We have now proved to each other and the world that we are firmly in the group of elite countries that have nuclear weapons. We do not have to prove our military prowess anymore.
We do need to continue investing in an area that brings little economic return to our peoples and countries.
Let us turn our investment and co-operation towards the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The people of France get 80 per cent of their power generation of electricity from nuclear methods.
I have just mentioned a very few of the areas in which we can co-operate. Many more exist.
Across from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City there is a small peace park with an inscription that says:
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: a nation shall not lift up sword against another nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Or, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.”
Let us serve the people we all love by bringing peace to these lands we all love!
Thank you for the honour of speaking before you.
Democracy in Muslim World and Pakistan essential to avert dangers John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies February 6, 2007
Democracy in Muslim World and Pakistan essential to avert dangers
John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
February 6, 2007
Islamabad February 7, 2007: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has said that democracy in Pakistan and the Muslim world at large was crucial at this point of time to avert the dangers posed to its future by terrorism and sectarianism.
She was addressing the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in the US Tuesday afternoon on “Pakistan: Politically at the Cross roads”.
The democratization of Pakistan is important to the war against terror, to the interpretation of Islam as a message of freedom and enlightenment as well as to the empowerment of the people of Pakistan, she said.
She said there was an opportunity this year for the restoration of democracy because of the general elections. Free and fair elections were critical for the restoration of democracy and that is why the PPP had prepared a paper which she said must be adopted by the rulers if they were really committed to holding free and fair polls as claimed by it. She said that the Party was still waiting to hear from the Chief Election commissioner to whom a copy of the paper had already been sent.
The best exit route for the Musharraf’s military regime was to adopt the ARD demand that a national government be formed to hold fair and free elections with election reforms as suggested by the Opposition.
It has become vital to save the federation from disintegration, terrorism and poverty and this could be done through holding a free, fair and transparent elections under an impartial and independent Election Commission. She asked the Chief Election Commission to take notice of pre-rigging efforts of the government party including the
campaign by General Musharraf in favour of the King’s Party. She said that the nation needed and deserved free and transparent elections.
She said that the Opposition believes that the elections cannot be free and fair under an army Chief occupying the office of the President. She said that the assemblies elected for five years terms couldn’t elect a President twice giving him ten years as President. She said that the government should read the writing on the wall as international analysts are of the view that holding free and fair elections may result in the victory for the Pakistan Peoples Party.
She said that by acquiescing to the Musharaf dictatorship, the west has empowered him to defy the world and cooperate with the forces of terror.
Unfortunately, we do not always view the world — its peoples, its cultures and its religions — with a single moral standard, she said adding that the West chooses to apply human rights standards when politically expedient, not as a central and universal principle of policy.
By supporting military dictatorship the west was inadvertently supporting militancy and terrorism, she said.
Regarding her achievement during the two tenures in the government she said that revolution in information technology, integration into the global economy, attracting over 20 billion dollars in foreign investments, particularly in power generation, eradication of polio and dramatic reduction in infant mortality were some of the achievements. Outlawing domestic violence, establishing special women’s police forces to protect and defend the women and appointment of women judges to our nation’s benches for the first time in its history were the achievements of PPP governments under her leadership.
Debunking the claim of moderation she said, “We cannot claim to believe in moderate enlightenment if we do not fight for it in our own homelands. We cannot say Islamabad respects human rights. While elected Prime Ministers are forced into exile, we cannot say Pakistan has human rights. While NAB finds corruption only in the opposition and not in the ruling party, we cannot say Pakistan has Justice”.
She said that international support for the military dictatorship in Pakistan for short-term strategic reasons was a mistake. Afghanistan was a tragic case in point of how retreating from the principles of human rights and democracy can have the most tragic unanticipated consequences.
The goal of the international community’s foreign policy agenda must also be to simultaneously promote stability and to strengthen democratic values — not selectively but universally, not just because it is convenient but also because it is right, she said.
About the political situation in Pakistan she said that military dictatorship has resulted in the domination of the country’s political, financial and social class by the military. Twenty five years of military rule since 1977 had led to the rise of extremist religious
parties, militancy, poverty, hunger, unemployment, conflict and sectarianism she said, adding, “only by the restoration of civilian control and supremacy the tide could be reversed”.
On relations with India she said that the PPP supported peaceful and negotiated settlement of all disputes between India and Pakistan.
It was during the PPP government that extraordinary progress was made with the fist nuclear confidence building treaty not to attack each other’s nuclear facilities. Borders were reopened to travel and tourism, and a South Asian preferential tariff agreement that established a free-trade zone between Pakistan, India and the other nations of the
region was adopted. She said that the PPP government also called upon all the nations of the region to declare the sub-continent a nuclear free zone.
The PPP government she said was making dramatic progress in relations with India and with containing terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan but moderation and progress is not what supporters of military dictatorship tolerate.
A democratic and stable Pakistan, gaining strength economically and moving forward socially under a popular government was their threat. The PPP government was eliminated and every attempt made to eliminate the Party and its leadership, she said.
She said that restoration of democracy in Pakistan was lined with stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In this context she said that the peace treaty with elements in the Waziristan had failed because act of terrorism both in Pakistan and Afghanistan not only continued to take place but were even stepped up in intensity. She said that the poor and the middle classes could prosper only in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity in which the people were not held hostage to militancy.
The former Prime Minister also called upon the moderate forces in both the Muslim and the Non Muslim world to cooperate to promote equality and religious tolerance. “We can do this only if we adhere to the values of democracy, equality and development on a non discriminatory and non-selective basis”.
She said that the Charter of Democracy signed by the majority of the Opposition is a document, which strengthens the federation, guarantees justice for all and peace and development for the people of Pakistan.
The lesson of the history is that democracy and development go together. Democracy gives the country honour and pride whereas dictatorship leads to neglect of peoples problems, undermining of the armed forces and culmination of conflicts of several types.
She said that through freedom and the rule of law Pakistan can return to the path of progress and development.
It is time to get our priorities right and putting country’s resources into education, health and providing the necessities of life to the people, she said.