When we say “Zinda Hai Bhutto Zinda Hai”, some people make fun of the carpet of their biased and narrow thought, unconscious of their own absurdity. These individuals ignore history. They do not know that in political history, there have been several great leaders who have gained popularity, which has revolutions that have changed time. History, however, discredited some of their political ideologies, making them politically out of words.
These leaders rallied popular support on the basis of extremism and provocation, but the anarchy they created ended up destroying them and their parties and their followers. They understood right and left politicians, nationalist and religious leaders, and even military opportunists.
There are political figures in the past whose ideologies continue to prosper and are very relevant today. They understood right and left politicians, nationalist and religious leaders, and even military opportunists.
There are political figures in the past whose ideologies continue to prosper and are very relevant today. We can say that they continue to exist spatially and temporally by their political thought and their approach. One of these leaders is Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He had a deep understanding of history and shaped his political vision based on historical experiences.
Shaheed Bhutto’s political vision is based on three fundamental principles. The first is that the foreign policy of a nation should always prioritize the interests of its country and the people. The second principle emphasizes the resolution of fundamental questions internally by ensuring the rights of classes, nationalities and disadvantaged and oppressed groups. This includes recognition of their right to resources, strengthening them economically and granting them all fundamental human rights, including civil freedoms.
The third fundamental principle affirms that the realization of the first two principles requires a long and patient democratic struggle – a peaceful, sustainable struggle and serves as a precursor to progressive progress and victories.
The path of democratic struggle is higher than the path of destructive adventure or chaos. The adventure and chaos serve the interests of the imperialist and anti-penoples forces, because they deprive the people of the gains affected thanks to a peaceful democratic struggle. This is why such forces always fear those who choose the path of peaceful democratic resistance and make it the target of their oppression.
The unrivaled sacrifices of the Bhutto family, as well as the leaders and workers of the PPP, are proof of this struggle. PPP’s commitment to peaceful democratic resistance and sacrifice is continuing to date. If Pakistan today has a federal parliamentary democratic constitution, a functional democracy and federal units with certain rights, this is due to Shaheed Bhutto and the Pakistani peoples’ party, which confirmed its political vision.
According to the vision of Shaheed Bhutto, the PPP remains a representative party of the people and continues its struggle. This is why Bhutto remains alive today.
In order to acquire a full appreciation of the political ideology and vision of Shaheed Bhutto, it is necessary to read his writings, his interviews and his speeches at length. On November 30, 1967, during the inaugural session of the Pakistani popular party, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto presented the “basic documents”, which were written by the party later by the party. These documents have defined the key principles of the party: Islam as a religion, democracy as a political system, socialism as an economic order and the people as a final authority.
To further develop these fundamental principles, Shaheed Bhutto wrote a complete program for Pakistan People’s Party in April 1968. In this document, he pointed out:
“Pakistan is caught in a whirlwind. When we look back over the last 20 years of our national life, we see a dangerous trend that has emerged alongside international and subcontinental challenges. It would be unreasonable to assume that this crisis is simply a question of routine from the current era or the result of a natural process. This dominant nasty trend must be reduced.”
A scholar and a political leader like Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born once in centuries. He has seen situations through an international and historical lens with a deep and perceptive approach rather than superficial. When he founded the Pakistan People’s Party, the World Communist Movement was at its peak and the socialist revolutions took place. However, Shaheed Bhutto looked beyond the current provided for the possible result of these movements.
Instead of defending a communist dictatorship, he firmly declared democracy as his political vision – a vision that the socialist states themselves would adopt later, but only after having endured great upheavals. He was located socialism not as an economic system, clarifying this difference in the party program and the founding documents.
Shaheed Bhutto had argued that capitalism in Pakistan was clearly different from that of Europe and other developed countries. In all these nations, capitalism existed with democracy and civil rights, while in Pakistan, wealth was in the control of only 22 families who used the system for their exploitation ends. These elites resisted democratic rights, promoted dictatorship and intentionally verified industrial development. They did not direct their factories to a maximum capacity, hampered future industrialization and diverted the capital of the State through loans, and avoided job creation and leads the peasants to deep poverty.
The fundamental documents of the PPP did not oppose private investment, but did not fix conditions there: “Private investment will only be authorized on the principles of capacity, efficiency and legitimate benefit, and not by the patronage of elite families or corrupt bureaucratic factions.
Shaheed Bhutto was an ardent defender of socialism but rejected the idea that he could be imposed by simple orders or dictatorships. He thought that the realization of a classless and socialist society, exempt from capitalist exploitation, required a progressive and historically guided process. This transformation, he argued, could only be carried out by democracy as part of a political program focused on the people.
Another great achievement of Shaheed Bhutto was not only Pakistan a federal parliamentary democratic system through the 1973 Constitution, but also the feeling of deprivation by granting maximum autonomy to federal units.
He also established a neutral foreign policy for Pakistan, which he developed in his book Myth of Independence. He opposed the sacrificing of Pakistan’s interests for the good of American policies and has always pleaded for stronger links with China. However, he also stressed that the national interests of Pakistan should remain the priority in his relations with China.
Shaheed Bhutto provided each crisis a historically proven solution, stressing that people indeed hold power. Shaheed believed firmly in that, in the event of a crisis, it was the only way to use it as a panacea to reference the people. It is bhuttoism – an idea that other ideologies have failed to go so far.
Unfortunately, Pakistan has moved away from Bhutto’s vision. Instead of strengthening democracy, the country has been drawn into the power struggles of the global forces, military regimes were imposed, and ethnic, linguistic, regional, religious and even political extremism was deliberately promoted to counter the PPP. Today, Pakistan is again trapped in the same destructive cycle that Shaheed Bhutto has warned in his book if I am murdered.
After the judicial assassination of Bhutto, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto continued his political philosophy, ultimately sacrificing his life to save the country from the crisis. Now, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari advances this philosophy, remaining faithful to the words of Shaheed Bhutto by obtaining links with the people and aligning with their aspirations.
Shaheed Bhutto remains alive and continues to lead because he chose to die in the hands of a dictator rather than in the hands of history. His political philosophy resisted the test of time, proving his relevance and his accuracy. Given the challenges that Pakistan is faced today, it is imperative to turn again towards the vision of Shaheed Bhutto.
The writer is the main minister of the Sindh and Minister of Information and Transport, Government of the Sindh
