Ever-living Bhutto

Today, after 32 years, the name of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, is still beating in the hearts of the people of Pakistan. His philosophy is living. His politics is still ruling the country. There are many reasons for the popularity of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The main one being the peoples politics and his love for the poor.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto brought an end to the traditional politics of Pakistan. The third important class was the bureaucracy which sometimes did politics in the background or directly appeared in garb of the military uniform. The slogan of all power goes to the "people and the people are the bastions of power" raised by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto threatened the powerful. Maulvis, through their 'Fatwas' declared Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto a (Kafir). But the people continued to gather around him. Even Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto himself started meeting the people. He went to their houses and their localities walking barefoot in muddy streets to enquire about their problems and talk about their issues.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto opened new doors of employment to the unemployed, poor people and all countries were approached to provide maximum jobs to Pakistanis. Many big projects were launched in the country which included Pakistan Steel, Port Qasim Authority, Atomic Plant, Karachi's first flyover the Shaheed-e-Millat flyover and many other important works.
It was he who laid the foundations for making the country an atomic power. The armed forces were provided modern equipment and made Pakistan's importance known to the world. But some quarters were obviously not happy with the politics of sharing power with the poor and masses because their interests and monopoly were endangered. To defeat Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's philosophy, opponents through heavy spending and a group of nine political parties was created in the name of the PNA (Pakistan National Alliance) which raised the slogan of the introduction of the Nizam-e-Mustafa in the country.
At the end of this campaign, when all the political parties had already reached an agreement, abruptly, General Zia-ul-Haq, took over power in the darkness of the night and declared to the public that he would hold elections in 90 days. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his companions were in jail. His wife Begum Nusrat Bhutto, however, started the election campaign.
The public gathering at Nishtar Park, held only a few days after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's removal from power, was so big that the entire park was filled. As a result, elections were postponed and a long dictatorship rule started. Today, again some quarters, after the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, are contemplating to topple the Pakistan People's Party, but people are striving to make the party alive and strong.
The writer is MINISTER FOR KATCHI ABADIS AND SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT SINDH