Vice President of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Senator Sherry Rehman has paid rich tribute to Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) on his 98th birth anniversary, acknowledging his historic services, vision and sacrifices for the country and the people.
In her message, Sherry Rehman said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a wise, farsighted, intelligent and people-centric political leader who carried the pain of the masses in his heart. She said Bhutto’s exceptional leadership, political insight and wisdom helped steer Pakistan out of severe internal and external crises and raised the country’s stature on the global stage.
Sherry Rehman highlighted that the 1973 Constitution stands as a landmark achievement of Bhutto’s political foresight and commitment to safeguarding the fundamental rights of the people.
Under his leadership, Pakistan launched its nuclear programme, strengthened key industries and introduced people-friendly development initiatives, she added.
Sherry Rehman said that Bhutto carried out historic agrarian reforms, introduced affordable public transport, expanded basic health units, ensured free treatment facilities and allocated 43 per cent of the national budget to education.
She said he empowered citizens by involving them in decision-making processes and providing them with a formal identity through the national identity card system.
Recalling his execution, she said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was subjected to a “judicial murder” on April 4, 1979, an injustice that was later acknowledged at judicial and historical levels.
She said that his execution plunged the country into prolonged political instability and deep public disillusionment.
Sherry Rehman said that Bhutto united Muslim countries on a single platform and raised the Kashmir issue effectively at the international level.
She said the people-oriented political philosophy of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto remains a guiding destination for the party’s national struggle.
She expressed confidence that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will continue to carry forward the mission of the party by keeping alive the power of the people and the philosophy of Quaid-e-Awam.