The Bhuttos: A legacy of struggle for democracy
In her Book Benazir Bhutto Daughter of the East updated 2007 edition the former slain prime minister looked very determined and focussed towards return to Pakistan and striving towards the cause of return of democracy in Pakistan. The excerpts from her autobiography are as follows:
In the preface to the new edition she wrote:
“Looking at the conditions in my country from the outside, I realise that the stakes in Pakistan are now higher than ever before. I am convinced that if the West continues to coddle military rulers in Pakistan who suppress liberty, a successor generation of terrorists will come after the Taliban and al-Qaeda, exploiting the name of Islam through violent confrontation with the West. It's not just Pakistanis who should care about the restoration of liberal, democratic government to Pakistan. That should be the goal of all in the world who seek to avoid a' clash of civilisations'.
As I write this in London, I must confess that my life is as difficult as it is interesting. I live from suitcase to suitcase, travelling the world lecturing on Islam, democracy and women's rights before universities, business associations, women's organisations and foreign policy think-tanks. I continue to pound the halls of the House of Commons and Congress. I remain the Chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party. I visit my husband under medical treatment in New York. I prepare my children for their exams in Dubai. And I lead the combined democratic opposition of the secular political parties of Pakistan in fighting Dr free and fair elections, as mandated by the constitution of Pakistan, in 2007. It may seem much too full a plate. But that is the nature of my life, and I accept it What follows is an account of how I got to this point, with the final chapter,'Prime Minister and Beyond', covering events since this autobiography was first published.
I am honoured and I am blessed. God willing, I will return to my homeland and once again lead the forces of democracy in electoral battle against the entrenched power of dictators, generals and extremists. This is my destiny. And as John F. Kennedy once said, 'I do not shrink from that responsibility, I welcome it'
BENAZIR BHUITO
London
April, 2007”
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In the “Daughter of the East” the former Prime Minister primarily focuses on the strategy that she wished to adopt for a better, prosperous and democratic Pakistan. Some excerpts from the chapter titled, ‘Prime Minister and Beyond’ are as follows:
“It is with great sadness that I watch the replay of America's Zia miscalculation with the new military dictator, Pervez Musharraf. Two decades after the Zia coup against democracy in Pakistan, another Army Chief of
Staff has conducted another coup against a civilian government.
And following the lead of the earlier dictatorship, the new Pakistani dictator has flirted with the West, dispensing occasional and calculated. but ultimately disingenuous support in the global war on terror. This keeps America and Britain off his political back while the Taliban regroup in the tribal areas of Pakistan and kill NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The militant cells, meantime, are intact. At times, the militant leaders are arrested and then released as soon as international attention is diverted. The military dictatorship continues, in my view, to pressure opposition leaders, decimate political parties, contain the press and set back the causes of human rights in Pakistan by a full generation.
The military regime's goal is to ensure that there is no alternative to the intelligence apparatus in forming governments, which is why it opposes the PPP. The supporters of the military regime might recall the words of President John F. Kennedy in his Inaugural Address in 1961: 'He who rides the back of the tiger usually winds up inside.'
I first encountered General Musharraf when he acted as a Turkish interpreter during visits by the Turkish military. I declined to make him my military secretary. We initially refused his promotion because of his suspected though unproven links to the ethnic, often violent, party known as the Muhajir Qamumi Movement (MQM). The final time I recall meeting with him was the most important, when in 1996 he presented to me a war scenario for Kashmir.
Musharraf’s determination and obsession to stop the PPP and block me from re-election has resulted in weakened political institutions in the country, and a destruction of the infrastructure of democracy both in political parties and civic institutions. Furthermore, his budget priorities have diverted funds from the social sector to the military, further adding to the tens of millions of Pakistanis that live well below the poverty line.
We are well aware that several assassination attempts have been made on General Musharraf. While one hopes there will not be any further attacks, the threat remains. The inability to build a sustainable democracy in Pakistan can have far-reaching consequences.
Musharraf’s regime has relinquished responsibility in sections of the Pakistani frontier, claiming they were ungovernable. It is not surprising that Bin Laden has not been intercepted. The notion that these large areas of Pakistan are ungovernable is nonsense. During both of my tenures as Prime Minister my government sent troops to these areas to maintain law and order. Now Musharraf's regime has allowed terrorists to rule these areas. His regime cohabits with extremists who plot against innocent women, children and men on planes, trains and buses all across Europe, America and Pakistan. If a woman Prime Minister cut such a deal, she would be accused of being weak and impotent. But this general does so with impunity. Despite the great strides women have made, the double standards in viewing the conduct of male and female leaders obviously remains.
Musharraf doles out ostensible support in the war on terror, one spoonful as needed, to keep him in the good graces of Washington and London, but his policies also empower the enemies of the West. And the dangerous political Madrassas, preaching intolerance at home and war against the West abroad, which I spent years as Prime Minister controlling and sometimes dismantling, now flourish and grow under the current Pakistani military dictatorship.
In my view, it is the Zias and Musharrafs of this world who have fuelled the xenophobia and sense of victimisation of Pakistanis and Pakistani emigres in the West. It is often said that elections have consequences. Well, I would amend that to/coups have consequences'. Suppression of democratic forms of expression, compounded by the fuelling and exploitation of the most extremist and unsupportable interpretations of Islam, have certainly had an impact, not just on Pakistan, but on the entire world. So I am not really surprised that all terrorist trails always seem to link back to Pakistan. Why should we be surprised? Extremism has been nurtured, empowered and exploited by military rulers for generations.
So as I prepare to return to an uncertain future in Pakistan in 2007, I fully understand the stakes not only for myself, and my country, but the entire world. I realise I can be arrested. I realise that like the assassination of Benigno Aquino in Manila in August 1983, I can be gunned down on the airport tarmac when I land. After all, al-Qaeda has tried to kill me several times, why would we think they wouldn't try again as I return from exile to fight for the democratic elections they so detest? But I do what I have to do, and am determined to return to fulfil my pledge to the people of Pakistan to stand by them in their democratic aspirations.
I take the risk for all the children of Pakistan.
It is not about personal power. It is about simple decency and respect for the right of men and women to live in security and dignity and in liberty. And now in this new age of danger, extremism and terror, it is about something more. Democracy in Pakistan is not just important for Pakistanis, it is important for the entire world. In this age of the exploitation and radical interpretation of my beloved religion, we must always remember that democratic governments do not empower, protect and harbour terrorists. A democratic Pakistan, free from the yolk of military dictatorship, would cease to be the petri dish of the pandemic of international terrorism.
So I plan my return from exile to lead yet another campaign. I pray that the democratic world will demand that General Musharraf provides the standards of fair and free elections; allow all political personalities and par ties to freely contest them; allow international observers to monitor the balloting and counting; and above all, abide by the outcome. I know it sounds idealistic, and to some unrealistic, but after all these years, I still maintain my faith that time, justice and the forces of history are on the side of democracy.
Some people might not understand what drives me forward into this uncharted and potentially dangerous crossroads of my life. Too many people have sacrificed too much, too many have died, and too many people see me as their remaining hope for liberty, for me to stop fighting now. I recall the words of Dr Martin Luther King: 'Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent on things that matter. 'With my faith in God, I put my fate in the hands of my people.”
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Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
In the addendum he wrote: “At the stroke of midnight on 14th August 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned into India that is Bharat and Pakistan. To guarantee her unity and the permanence of her Federation, India framed here supreme law, the Constitution of India in 1951. In Pakistan, five years later, the Constitution of 1956 replaced the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the amended Government of India Act of 1935 to become the fundamental law of Pakistan, the guardian of unity.
The abrogation of the Constitution of 1956 by the imposition of Martial Law shook the foundations of the unity of Pakistan. The abrogation of the Constitution of 1962 by yet another Martial Law in 1969 wrenched Pakistan asunder within two years. Neither the Constitution of 1956 nor that of 1962 was a genuine grand norm, and neither was framed by a truly sovereign and representative assembly. As such, the abrogation of those two quasi-Constitutions, although disastrous, did not carry the virus of total self-annihilation.
Only the Constitution of 1973 had the unique distinction of being the genuine grand norm, framed unanimously by a sovereign and representative assembly. For this self-evident reason, whereas the two previous Martial Laws abrogated the two previous Constitutions, this Martial Law was compelled merely to suspend and not abrogate the Constitution of 1973. It is quite another matter to maintain that the imposition of a meta-legal Martial law automatically wipes out the Constitution, as the two cannot cohabitate. The myth or sophistry of an illusory co-existence has been vitiated by the repeated violations of the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court in Begum Nusrat Bhutto's case. The nagging doubts, if any, were put to rest with the announcement of 14th September 1978, made exactly one month and thirty-one years after the creation of Pakistan, that me Chief of the Army Staff would assume the mantle of the President of Pakistan on 16th September 1978. He was determined to demonstrate that Constitution or no Constitution, the Chair of the Chief of the Army Staff is the most powerful chair in Pakistan. Splendid, but who will now have the temerity to contend that the Constitution of 1973 still has some breath left in it?
Pakistan has been turned into an "Animal Farm" and its wretched and God-forsaken people into dirty animals. But a tonic comes when even dirty animals know where they stand. The great game in Afghanistan was over on 28th April 1978. It is too soon to give a serious historical judgment whether this game was great or petty, but it came to an end on 16th September 1978. It was a day for the bugles to blow to the strains of "the last Post." In retrospect it will he seen that the coup d'etat of 1977 was a great offence, but the downright burial of the Constitution of 1973 will he registered in the F.I.R. of history as a greater offence. The 16th day of September 1978 will be no less significant a day than the 10th of May 1857, or the 14th of August 1947. Indubitably, the offender will stand before the bar of history. "There is something in human history like retribution; and it is the rule of historical retributions that its instrument be forged not by the offended, but by the offender himself'.”
Rigged or Fair?
In my speech in the National Assembly on 28th March 1977, I did say and I quote the White Paper at pages 9 and 10 to confirm: I would say again that if I were asked what has been the most important achievement of the Pakistan People's Party, I would say that in my opinion it has been the massive transformation in the thinking of people, a qualitative change in their outlook. This, let me repeat, has been the most rewarding aspect of the People's Party's struggle.
Here in this chamber today sit many who represent their constituencies. Among them is a gentleman from my district who was the biggest Jagirdar not only in Pakistan but also in the Subcontinent of India and Pakistan. He was a big feudal chief. Being his neighbour, I have seen his former jagir. When I was young I saw how he met his tenants and I know how his illustrious forefathers and ancestors met theirs.
Last year, I went there during the floods and saw such a transformation in those very-people that for a moment I forgot about the floods. This was in Ghaibi Dero. As a young boy I had seen the people there crawl humbly and remain on bended knees till their feudal master would signal with this little finger for them to get up. And today they would sit with the Prime Minister of their country and with their former feudal chief, whom they still regard as their spiritual leader, and talk to them as equals. I feel so much elated to see this happen. It is this phenomenon that some people fail to realise. One has to see it oneself to appreciate the kind of transformation that has occurred.
Death Knell
I am not a master of Urdu oratory. Men like Attaullah Shah Bukhari were the masters. Stirred and emotionally excited by the speeches of Bukhari, the people still did not vote for him or for orators like him. But they heard my poor and broken Urdu and because they are poor and broken, they reposed blind confidence in me. I have never (betrayed and will not betray that confidence in me. I have never betrayed and will not betray that confidence even now, as I sit in the shadow of the valley of death. The time-honoured verdict of ascertaining the validity of this assertion is available if there is a scintilla of doubt. Let the people voice the verdict through the vote. Let the people indicate through the mark on the ballot paper if I have betrayed them or taken them to the hitherto unknown heights of self-respect and recognition.
The purpose of holding an election is vitiated if the result is to be guaranteed beforehand. No political party can guarantee "positive results". Positive results of the Junta's taste means positive rigging to their taste. Every illegal stratagem has been employed for the past fourteen months to eliminate the Pakistan People's Party in order to pave the road for "positive results." Now, with great pomp and ceremony, a Civilian Cabinet has been set up like a puppet show and a year for elections has been announced. They are to be held in October 1979. I am not fooled. The People are not fooled. These changes are no changes at all. The Chief Martial Law Administrator still runs the show. It is still a military regime. It is still Martial Law.
The Constitution has been violated. It has been torn to shreds. The date of October 1979 is too vague. It comes too late. There is no assurance to the people and no guarantee that their rights and liberties will be restored. In actual fact, the Chief Martial Law Administrator has merely shielded himself behind a garbage of more hollow promises. The doctrine of necessity has already gone overboard.
Coup-gemony
The events of the last twenty years have made me arrive at the unambiguous conclusion that, at present, the greatest threat to the unity and progress of the Third World is from coup-gemony. The era of colonialism is all but dead. Only a few places remain where colonialism has still to be buried. In those places also, the burial is at hand. The Third World has to guard against hegemony, but the best way to guard against hegemony is to prevent coup-gemony.
The biggest link of external colonialism is internal colonialism, which means that hegemony cannot thrive in our lands without the collaboration of coup-gemony. Military coup de'etats is the worst enemies of national unity. Coup d'etats divides and debases a free people. If there was any doubt on the subject, the events in Pakistan have shown that the people of the Third World have to primarily guard against the internal enemy, if foreign domination or hegemony is to be resisted. Coup-gemony is the bridge over which hegemony walks to stalk our lands.
