KARACHI: Sindh Minister Information, Shazia Marri, has paid rich tributes to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
In a statement on the eve of his 33rd death anniversary, she said that to attempt a tribute to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a few hundred words is akin to showing a lamp to the sun.
Shazia said that at the age of 29, as the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took the world by storm. At 30 he became the youngest Cabinet Minister in Pakistan and at 34 he was given the coveted portfolio of Foreign Affairs.
Among his achievements during this time, were the concluding of the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement and he convinced the then President of the wisdom of establishing closer economic and diplomatic links with Turkey and Iran - initiatives that have paid off unbelievable dividends for Pakistan.
At 39, his unwavering principles compelled him to resign, and he founded what became the largest and most popular political party in the country.
Over the next decade he was imprisoned, released, and elected as prime minister.
"Indeed, he was the leader of the people - Our true Quaid-e-Awam," remarked Shazia Marri.
She said that Prime Minister Bhutto gave Pakistan a unanimous, democratic and Islamic constitution with provincial autonomy and human rights. He pushed Pakistan into the atomic age as he introduced nuclear medicine and nuclear power plants into the country. His progressive socio-economic and democratic ideas gave him the strength and popular support to consolidate the state on an egalitarian agenda to attain roti, kapra and makaan.
By signing the Simla Accord of 1972, he negotiated the longest peace between India and Pakistan.
He built the Karakorum Highway in the northern tip of Pakistan down to Port Qasim in the Arabian Sea, and countless things in between.
"Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed was determined. Determined to serve the people of his country; determined to see Pakistan emerge as a force to be reckoned with; determined to establish a Federal system of social equality. His tenure saw industrial reforms, labour reforms, land reforms, administrative reforms, and educational advancement."
It was his single-minded determination that saw Pakistan emerge as a strong Islamic republic and showed to the world, the unity among Muslim nations. His vision and farsight led to the initiation of Pakistan's nuclear programme, making us the first Muslim nation to become a nuclear power.
Shaheed Bhutto left behind an unmatched legacy, a legacy which included a unanimously passed Constitution of Pakistan. Indeed this vision, this farsight, and this legacy continue to live on, Shazia Marri said.
She said that as Shaheed was unjustly removed, tried and martyred, so he lived. Not once during his unjust incarceration or following sentence, did he appeal for clemency.
Steadfast in his ideals, secure in the knowledge that no matter what the tyrants said or did, his conscience was clear, and his people were with him, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto chose death over dishonour and at the age of 51, gave the ultimate sacrifice, and in doing so, chose to live forever. Indeed, this honour, this honesty, and this courage continue to live on.
Shazia Marri said that on the 33rd martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Quaid-e-Awam, the Government reaffirms that indeed Bhutto lived on in the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan. In the promises he made and fulfilled, and in the passion with which his Government is carrying forth his mission today, she added.