The New Nation - Internet Edition

M.A. Kamran

After the demise of Father of the Nation, Quaid-I-Azam Muhammad Jinnah, newly- created country on the world map Pakistan suffered many problems. One main was the lack of political leadership to build a strong, united, integrated Pakistan as envisioned by the forefathers.

In all fairness, the country was ruled by a number of civilian and military rulers during the last more than six decades of its existence. Out of these, only two civilian rulers were blessed by Almighty Allah with international recognition and respect and love, affection and reverence by the downtrodden masses of Pakistan.

It was a mere coincidence, to say the least, that both these leaders which carried their own people along were the Bhuttos, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, illustrious father and the daughter, whose names have gone down in the annals of the history as the brave, courageous and bold leaders of the masses.

Both served the country as the duly elected Prime Minister, embraced martyredom during the regimes of military rulers General Muhammad Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf.

Father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) which had set new political trends in the country andcame to be known as the party of the poor masses for its services and contributions and making the downtrodden people conscious of their rights as well as courage to speak for themselves.

Daughter Benazir Bhutto not only became the Muslim Ummah's first woman Prime Minister but served twice as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. It makes a painful and Shameful story how her government both the times was summarily dismissed in the midst of five years tenure.

Like father, like daughter, both Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had breathed their last in Rawalpindi under mysterious circumstances. Father Bhutto was hanged to death on the charge of abetment in the murder of father of a political adversary in the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.

Daughter Bhutto was brutally assassinated in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi on the fateful evening of December 27, 2007, when she was leaving after addressing a public meeting, which turned out to be her last one.

Daughter of the East, as she was known after she had written a book of the same title. carried forward the incomplete mission of her illustrious father and bluntly and repeatedly declined to bow before the military dictators, General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf, and stood firm, determined and determined to serve the masses, to restore real democracy in the country and thus lived and died with her people, who are today, December 27, are observing her first death anniversary by paying her rich tributes all over the country as well as in many countries around the world.

Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto, who had succeeded as the Chairperson of the PPP her illustrious father Z.A. Bhutto and took over the reins from her not so well mother Begum Nusrat Bhutto, was a bold, courageous, intelligent politician and intellectual.

She had suffered a lot for the cause of democracy, poor masses and against dictatorship and ultimately laid down her life in the process.

She was jailed, kept in solitary confinement, faced a number of cases and references, harassed and victimized but nothing could force her to change her chosen path.

After living in self-exile for years in Dubai, from where she led her party through the trusted party leaders and workers in the country, there was virtually a blood bath when Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan arriving to a big welcome rally which was targeted by the terrorists and extremists. She escaped unhurt but large number of others including PPP workers and supporters became the unfortunate victims.

Undeterred by this, Benazir Bhutto continued her struggle for restoration of democracy and her public meeting at the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, which was already the venue of assassination of first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, marked the tragic end to her life full of struggle, sacrifices and sufferings.

While the PPP's fourth present Government has taken a number of steps to honour and pay rich tributes to Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto, her services and contributions for the cause of democracy, rights of the downtrodden people were duly recognized by the United Nations by conferring the UN Human Rights Award on her posthumously. The award was received by her son and young PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari few days ahead of his mother's first death anniversary at a ceremony in the world body headquarters in New York few days back.

Like her father, people are and will continue to pay rich tributes to her remembering her life long services and contributions to the cause of democracy and the poor people for years, decades and centuries to come.

But the tragedy did not end with her assassination at the Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

Her physical removal from our midst in a tragic manner has created great vacuum in the country's political leadership which is not easy to be filled n the near future at least. Herson, Bilawal, would take some years to groom into a real politician to lead the PPP whose chairmanship was bestowed on him to carry his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and mother Benazir Bhutto's mission under the fatherly guidance of President Asif Ali Zardari and several other veteran party leaders.

While paying rich tributes to Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto on her first death anniversary, it would have been quite appropriate that the people were apprised about the latest position with regard to investigation of her assassination.

No doubt, the investigation into BB's cruel and tragic demise has been entrusted to the United Nations at the instance of her hubby President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

But what further progress has been in this respect so far. The people are very much concerned about this while they remember Shaheed BB and are paying rich tributes to her on her first death anniversary.

Great leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto after the Father of the Nation Quaid-I-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah are not easy to be forgotten as their services and contributions are just enormous.Long live Pakistan. Long live the Quaid-I-Azam, theQuaid-I-Awam and the Daughter of the East.