Bilawal describes ‘July 5’ as profound trauma inflicted on country’s democratic soul

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that July 5 will forever remain the darkest wound on Pakistan’s democratic soul—the day when the people’s mandate was stolen at gunpoint, the Constitution was trampled, democracy was put in chains and the hopes of millions were extinguished by dictatorship.

The PPP Chairman, in his message on the completion of 49 years of July 5, said that General Zia-ul-Haq’s coup was not merely the overthrow of the country’s first elected government led by Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but an assault on the people’s fundamental right to shape their destiny through the vote.

Bilawal said that although Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was imprisoned, subjected to a politically motivated trial and ultimately embraced martyrdom, he never bowed before tyranny. “The tin-pot dictator believed he could silence Bhutto,” he said, “but instead, he awakened the conscience of an entire nation. Shaheed Bhutto’s vision could not be imprisoned, his voice could not be hanged, and his dream of a democratic, progressive, and egalitarian Pakistan continues to inspire generations.”

Paying glowing tribute to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, he said that following the martyrdom of Quaid-e-Awam, she steadfastly fought to overcome the gravest challenges imposed upon the country and, throughout her life, remained an enduring symbol of hope for the people of Pakistan.

He also paid tribute to countless PPP workers who endured imprisonment, torture, persecution, and even martyrdom, yet never abandoned the cause of democracy. Their sacrifices, he said, transformed suffering into hope and resistance into an enduring democratic movement.

Reaffirming the PPP’s unwavering commitment to constitutional supremacy, parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary and provincial autonomy, Chairman Bilawal said the Party’s struggle for democracy did not end with its restoration and would continue wherever the Constitution or the people’s mandate is threatened.

Concluding his message, he said, “Forty-nine years later, July 5 remains a solemn reminder that nations rise through democracy, constitutionalism, and the sovereignty of the people—not through coercion. We honour our martyrs by carrying forward their mission with the unshakeable faith that the power of the ballot shall always prevail over the power of the bullet.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026