Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that ending terrorism from the country was the mission of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that ending terrorism from the country was the mission of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and that the party’s struggle will continue until Pakistan’s soil is cleansed of terrorists. He said that whenever PPP governments imposed emergency rule in any province, they did so in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
According to the press release issued by Media Cell Bilawal House, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, visited the Karsaz Memorial, laid flowers and offered prayers for the departed souls and the elevation of the martyrs’ ranks.
Later, speaking to the media, the PPP Chairman said the attack on Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on October 18, 2007 was the largest terrorist attack in the country’s history, affecting more people than any other. He said that after the first blast, party workers did not flee the scene but formed a human shield around Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s vehicle to protect her, and were martyred when the second blast struck.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said PPP workers consider it their duty to struggle against terrorism. He recalled that in her last public rally, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had said there were forces that did not want to see Pakistan’s flag in Swat, but that she promised the nation Pakistan’s flag would fly in Swat. “In 2008, when the Pakistan Peoples Party formed the government, we launched an operation against the terrorists in Swat and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and fulfilled Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s promise.”
The PPP Chairman said that after great sacrifices, Pakistan had defeated the terrorists, and that “we had done what armies from across the world could not do in Afghanistan.” He said that following the withdrawal of foreign forces and the arrival of the new regime in Kabul, the government of the time invited terrorists based in Afghanistan to settle in Swat and the former tribal areas, while imprisoned terrorists were also released from jails. “Pakistan is suffering the consequences of those wrong decisions today, and we have once again arrived at a point where certain forces want to pull down Pakistan’s flag in Swat. Once again we are fighting terrorists across the country; incidents of terrorism are taking place from Khyber to Khuzdar.”
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid tribute to Pakistan’s brave armed forces and police for standing firm against terrorism, saying that both security personnel and the public are being targeted. He said that the chief minister of the province that was experiencing the most terrorist incidents went before the public and pledged, even swore an oath, that he would not fight the terrorists. “The CM of Pakhtunkhwa was a coward. If the CM of Pakhtunkhwa was not ready to defend his own land, if he was not ready to confront these terrorists, then the Pakistan Peoples Party is ready to confront them, and that is why we supported the government in this decision.” He said categorically that governor’s rule is in force in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and that “we will confront these terrorists together with everyone, and will not allow anyone to rebel against Pakistan.”
Speaking about Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan in 2007, the Chairman recalled that a popular slogan of that era was “Benazir will come, she will bring jobs.” He said people trusted Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to provide employment, resolve basic problems and ease economic hardship. After her martyrdom, he said, a greater responsibility has fallen on the PPP to focus on issues such as employment, economic hardship and terrorism. He said that from 2008 to 2013, the PPP government focused on exactly these issues and delivered. “There is room for improvement in many places in Pakistan’s present situation, especially economic, but also on terrorism and our democratic practices.”
The PPP Chairman said Pakistan is going through a historic economic crisis, and that conditions appear set not to improve but to worsen. He said everyone should make efforts to address the economic crisis, fight terrorism and improve the electoral system. He said the PPP, on one hand, is working on drafting a new National Action Plan and building a new consensus to fight terrorism. He said the federal government has agreed to form a committee on electoral reforms, and he once again invited the opposition to play its part in it. He said that if they want emergency rule and governor’s rule in Pakhtunkhwa to end, they should engage with the federal government.
Responding to a question, he said the party is striving to turn Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s dream into reality, and trying to build that Pakistan together. He said compromise and politics go hand in hand, and that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto thought not of herself but of the country, the nation and the workers, which is why she too sometimes had to compromise.
Responding to another question, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Faisal Karim Kundi had been nominated by the PPP for the office of governor, but constitutionally he is now a representative of the federal government. He said Kundi reports to the federal government, but “I will keep talking to him and keep advising him; in principle, though, he is now working together with the federal government.”
Answering media questions, he said Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi clearly knows what the PPP’s and President Asif Ali Zardari’s policy on the provinces is, and that this cannot be done without the President’s signature. He said the PPP’s position is clear: the Constitution provides a procedure whereby, if a provincial assembly agrees, new provinces can be created. “The Pakistan Peoples Party believes that where consensus exists, if this is not a political gimmick, if there is no other motive behind it, then why are provinces not being created where consensus exists? For example, in Gilgit-Baltistan there is no confusion and no difference of opinion. There, not only is there mutual consent, there is consensus.”
The PPP Chairman said that, as an opposition politician, it is Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s right to criticize the government’s policies, and that there should certainly be room for difference of opinion in the country. On the matter of imposing emergency rule, he said the PPP has always done so through constitutional and legal means; in fact, during the 2008–2013 government, when emergency rule was imposed in Balochistan, it was also because of the terrorism situation, and governor’s rule was imposed there against the PPP’s own government. “If the Pakistan Peoples Party thought only of itself, how would it have removed its own government?” He said the PPP has always treated fighting terrorism as a top priority, which is why its leaders and workers alike have accepted martyrdom in this fight. He said Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s party has also been affected by terrorist attacks, and its people too have been martyred, so he hoped Maulana Fazlur Rehman would criticize the PPP politically as much as he wished, but also condemn the terrorists. He said emergency rule had to be imposed because of the refusal of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister. He appealed to all political parties not to politicize the issue of terrorism and not to make measures to fight terrorism controversial. He said that if Maulana Fazlur Rehman makes an effort, harmony between the government and the opposition can be achieved.
The event was also attended by PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial ministers, members of the assembly, local government representatives, party officials and a large number of workers.
