PPP
Pakistan
Peoples Party
History Of PPP
Ayub
Khan lost at the negotiation table at Tashkent the war that was won
by the Pakistan army supported by the people of Pakistan in 1965. This
humiliation enraged the people of Pakistan against the dictator. Mr.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a patriot as he has always been, was left with no
choice but to quit the Ayub Government on June 16, 1966. Bhutto was
determined to bring down the dictator who had betrayed the nation.
To
achieve this goal, he needed a political organization and a political
platform. He waited for more than a year before he found both; like so
many aggrieved politicians before him, he chose to found his own
political party.
The
PPP was launched at its founding convention held in Lahore on
November 30 - December 01, 1967. At the same meeting, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto was elected as its Chairman. Among the express goals for which
the party was formed were the establishment of an "egalitarian
democracy" and the "application of socialistic ideas to realize
economic and social justice". A more immediate task was to struggle
against the hated dictatorship of Ayub Khan,who was at the height of
his power when the PPP was formed. Basic principles of PPP enshrined:
The
Party also promised the elimination of feudalism in accordance with
the established principles of socialism to protect and advance the
interests of peasantry.
Immediately
after its formation, the PPP spread its message among the workers,
peasants and students throughout Pakistan, who greeted it
enthusiastically. While it was still in this process, a mass uprising
broke out against Ayub Khan’s dictatorship and the PPP quickly moved
to play a leading role in this movement. After Ayub resigned in March
1969, an interim military government took over and announced elections
for December 1970. The PPP contested these elections on the slogans of
"ROTI, KAPRA AUR MAKAN" (bread, clothing and shelter) and "all power
to the people."
The
masses responded heavily to it in the polls, where PPP won 81 of 138
seats allocated to West Pakistan in the National Assembly (a total of
300 seats were contested for in both wings of the country ), coming in
as the second largest party after East Pakistan - based Awami League.
At the provincial level, it won majority in Sindh and Punjab
legislatures.
There
were not enough means and time to organize and carry the message of
PPP to East Pakistan. The PPP, therefore, confined its election
activities to West Pakistan and fielded its candidates in that wing.
When
Army rulers refused to transfer power to Awami League, which had won
an absolute majority in the national legislature, a bloody civil war
broke out in East Pakistan leading to Indian Military intervention
defeating Pakistani Army. The humiliated army Generals had to step
down. Mr. Bhutto took over as Chief Martial Law Administrator and
President. Martial Law was lifted on the following April when interim
constitution was passed by the National Assembly within a short span of
four months after assuming office.
During
its Government from Dec. 20, 1971 to July 5,1977, the PPP government
made significant social and economic reforms that did much to improve
the life of Pakistan's impoverished masses. It also gave the country a
new Constitution and took many other steps to promote country's
economic and political recovery after the disastrous years of military
rule. PPP remained the only concrete hope for a better future of the
poor masses. When elections were called by Mr. Bhutto for March 1977
nine opposition parities gathered together to pool their strength and
formed Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Although this alliance had
several important centrist parties as its members, it was heavily
dominated by the right - wing religious parties such as the fanatical
Jamaat-I-Islami. This gave its election campaign a fundamentalist
coloring expressed through the slogan for " Nizam-I-Mustafa" (Islamic
system). PPP promised in its 1977 manifesto the consolidation of its
achievements made during the first term. PNA, because of its
obscurantism, failed to attract the broad masses. All independent
estimates predicated a PPP victory in March.
However,
when the election produced this victory, returning 155 PPP.
candidates to the 200 members National Assembly as opposed to only 36
PNA candidates (the 7 seats from Bluchistan were not contested by the
PNA), the PNA did not accept the results. (Indeed, in the face of all
predictions, it had said before the elections that it would accept
nothing but an outright victory for itself). Charging rigging and
fraud, it unleashed its campaign of violence and openly called for the
military to take over the government. Despite government's offers for
compromise and a settlement for fresh general elections having been
arrived at between the Government and the opposition, the PNA movement
did not let up until the military led by General Zia-ul-Haq staged a
coup d'etat and seized power on July 5,1977.
Bhutto
was symbol of Reform and Reconstruction. Bhutto master minded
Pakistan's first Steel Mill, a second Port and commissioned Pakistan's
first hydro electric dam on the mighty Indus at Tarbela. He made
Pakistan self sufficient in the filed of fertilizers, sugar, and
cement. He nationalized Banks and Life Insurance Companies, he also
initiated Pakistan’s Nuclear Programme.
1972
Land Reforms slashed the individual holding to 150 acres of irrigated
or 300 acres of un-irrigated land. In 1977 the ceiling was further
reduced to 100 acres of irrigated and 200 acres of un-irrigated land.
The
Islamic Summit was held in Lahore attended by all the heads of Muslim
states. Thus making Pakistan a center of Islamic Unity. To his credit
are the Electrical Mechanical Complex at Wah, The Aeronautic Complex
at Kamrah, The Kahuta Project for Nuclear Bomb. He made education upto
Matric free, provided books free to the students, provided allowances
to unemployed graduates and two increments to Science Graduates in
their salaries, thousands of Government employees who were not
confirmed for over 5 to 15 years were confirmed in their jobs. The
system of part time government employees was changed to whole time
government employees. First May was declared public holiday.
The
economical policies of Z.A. Bhutto were anti-imperialist based on
state socialism following the mould of other Third World leaders such
as Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmad Soekarno of Indonesia, and his
own contemporary Salvador Allende of Chile who was elected, over
thrown and assassinated during the same period. The Neo-Colonialists
made a "horrible example" of Bhutto for his anti-Imperialistic stance,
his efforts to unite Islamic World, and his demarche towards bringing
Third World on one Platform apart from the Nuclear issue.
Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto was a man of multidimensional qualities. He was a
political philosopher and at the same time implemented his political
philosophy.
He
master minded a political party and made it a mass movement. He was an
articulate mass orator and a superb diplomat. Taking the country out
of chaos he was the driving force to effectively establish an
organized government machinery. He was never vindictive. He faced
death bravely.
Immediately
following the coup, the Martial Law regime let loose a baseless
campaign against the PPP and its leaders. Mr. Bhutto was framed on a
murder-conspiracy charge and executed, rather judicially
assassinated-on April 4, 1979. While leading a procession in Lahore
the police hit Begum Bhutto on her head who had been elected the
Acting Chairperson of the Party following the arrest of Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto in September,1977. Benazir Bhutto who was elected as
Co-Chairperson of the party, following the disqualification of Begum
Nusrat Bhutto, in February,1978 suffered impairment in hearing during
incarceration.
Hundreds
of party workers were put to death. Thousands were lashed and tens of
thousand suffered long imprisonments and detention in jails and
torture cells. Even women were not spared. Not a single PPP. worker
betrayed the party despite temptations by Martial Law Authorities.
Despite
inexplicable repression, PPP. survived and indeed, gained in
strength. Its own activists reaffirmed their resolve to fight against
the criminal dictatorship. Segments of masses which had become
alienated from it, now rallied to its support. The progressive forces
outside the PPP. began to cooperate with it. The leadership of the
party was in the hands of Mrs. Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto-Bhutto's
widow and daughter respectively who gave it a renewed sense of
radicalism. The PPP. accepted the challenge of General Zia when Ms.
Benazir Bhutto commanded the party workers and supporters that party
would fight on all fronts - at the polls as well as in the field
demonstrations, public meetings and protests. So the party
participated in the non-party local bodies elections. It swept the polls
throughout the country from Karachi to Khyber, the urban as well as
rural areas, and washed away the impression that PPP. has lost its
popularity or mobilization capacity. It paved the way for the
political parties to unite.
The
proof of the party's centrality to the politics of Pakistan came when
nine political parties, including some which had helped in its
overthrow as member of the PNA, united with it in the Movement for the
Restoration of Democracy (MRD). In its first statement issued in
February, 1981, the movement demanded the holding of "free, fair, and
impartial election". When the government failed to oblige, the MRD, in
the summer of 1983, brought out its followers to confront the military
in the streets of Sindh.
Benazir
Bhutto rescued and rebuilt the party from scratch, leading an epic
movement for the restoration of Democracy, her historical welcome in
Lahore on 10th 1986 was the turn of the tide. In the meantime Zia was
digging his own grave. He dismissed his hand picked protege Muhammad
Khan Jonejo and dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan on May 29,
1988. A few days before his death, while revealing his plans for a
presidential system, he told a confidante "I will be around a long
time". Fate intervened on l7th August, 1988 when the C-130, carrying
him crashed in a ball of fire and Zia went from ashes to ashes and his
system from dust to dust.
Public
funds running over tens of crores and govt. resources were made
available to political parties and individual leaders opposing
Pakistan People's Party by the establishment to bar the way of success
of PPP. at the polls.
General
Zia-ul-Haq's death in August, 1988, changed the scene. While Zia's
supporters were in total disarray following his death. The PPP under
Benazir Bhutto's dynamic leadership quickly mobilized public support. A
number of politicians who supported Zia vied to join PPP. Despite the
factors stated above the party did well in the election of November,
1988 but it was not able to repeat the performance of 1970. It emerged
as single largest party in the National Assembly with 92 of the 207
seats contested in the elections. It was able to secure majority only in
one province: Sindh. It was only with the support of the MQM and some
small parties that it was able to form a government at the Center
with Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister, the first women in modern
history to head a government of a Muslim country. She was not allowed
to work independently and her government was dismissed by President
Ghulam Ishaque on August 6, 1990. She had to work under the constant
shadow of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
In the
general elections held on 24 October, 1990, the Pakistan People's
Party suffered defeat due to massive rigging. The party had formed an
electoral alliance with the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal and Tehrik-e-Nafaz Fiqh
Jafria (TNFJ), under the name of Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDA)
The PPP won 46 of 107 national assembly seats contested by it. Islamic
Jamhoori Itehad (IJI) led by Mian Muhainmad Nawaz Sharif won with
majority.
PPP
allegations were confirmed by Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, the caretaker
Prime Minister in 1990 that the elections were stolen and had been
rigged. In Sindh a reign of terror was let loose. So much so that Asif
Ali Zardari was involved in 12 criminal cases including a case of
murder of 5 persons. Despite Jam Sadiq and Muzaffar's personal
supervision he was acquitted in all the cases,. Jam Sadiq said had I
been instructed by the President I would have managed to defeat
Benazir.
After
the dismissal of Nawaz Sharif’s Government in 1973, Benazir Bhutto
returned to office, following long March on Nov. 18, 1992 when Benazir
Bhutto was baton charged and arrested. Many PPP. leaders and workers
were beaten and arrested by Sharif Government. Benazir Bhutto once
again returned to the office of Prime Minister.Benazir Bhutto had
redefined the Party programme at the Silver Jubilee of the Party at
Lahore in November, 1992. The New Social contract envisaged a social
market economy, Privatization of the means of production, downsizing
of the government, devolution of power and decentralization to the
level of Local Government. So Benazir Bhutto's government was
dismissed for the second time on November 5,1996 by her hand picked
President Farooq Leghari, who betrayed her as General Zia-ul-Haq had
betrayed her father. In the aftermath of the 1997, engineered
elections, Pakistan fell into the grip of a civilian dictatorship and
the Muslim League into the clutches of Sharif family. Sharif's, a
protege of Zia, amended the constitution. Taking advantage of the
nuclear tests of May 28, the government proclaimed an Emergency which
enabled the Federal government to impose a unitary form of Government
by arrogating powers of provincial governments to itself. In the
province of Sindh, the country's second largest Province, where the
Muslim League was a Minority party with less than a fifth of the seats
in the Provincial Assembly maneuvered to form government. A similar
threat loomed large on the North West Frontier Province where the Muslim
League minority Government had parted ways with the traditionally
strong Awami National Party. The government of the Baluchistan
National Party led by Akhtar Mengal was over thrown. In a bid to
concentrate powers in their family, the Sharif brothers maneuvered the
passage of the Shariat Bill i.e. the l5th Amendment (AC 15) in the
National Assembly which was however stalled in the Senate.
Benazir
Bhutto is in forced exile these days and her husband Asif Ali Zardari
is in jail since November, 1996 facing bravely a number of cases
engineered by Sharif Govt. as process of victimization, spurred by
political vendetta.General Pervaiz Musharraf took over on Oct. 12,
1999 by removing corrupt and inept Government of Nawaz Sharif. In
reply to a petition by Nawaz Sharif in the Supreme Court of Pakistan
challenging Army's action of Oct. 12, 1999, the present regime stated
that 1997 election were manipulated by Muslim League, thus vindicating
the specific allegation by PPP. Today almost all political parties and
leaders including some Nawaz Sharif Muslim Leaguers are anxiously
awaiting a move by Ms. Benazir Bhutto and PPP. for the restoration of
democracy. It is Benazir Bhutto and PPP who can put the economy and
social and organizational structure of Pakistan on rail again and
ensure masses food, shelter, education and health care and open
avenues for job opportunities to the young men of Pakistan. She will
choose her own timing for forcing the Military Junta to retreat and hand
over power back to the people of Pakistan.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhuto
Benazir Bhuto
Hina Rabbani Khar
PPP
Pakistan
Peoples Party
