Benazir Bhutto has a special place in Pakistan’s political past. She generated hope that she could restore democracy to the country as its twice-elected prime minister and the first woman to lead any Muslim-majority state. This expectation’s unfulfillment slightly damaged her reputation. She was forced to spend ten years in self-exile after being given no chance to finish either of her two terms and being followed around from court to court for a very long time.
She was the most well-known victim of the violent extremism and terrorism that continue to pose an existential threat to the nation. By promising to combat extremism and militancy, Ms. Bhutto had aroused the hatred of the radicals. Although there is little question as to who killed Ms. Bhutto, justice was never served. Her political successors, more than anyone else, were to blame for the lack of a thorough investigation into her death.
Pakistan’s democracy has consistently been the target of both direct and indirect military operations, and it has never been permitted to grow. The graves of Benazir and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, as well as the graves of their family members, are located at Garhi Khuda Baksh, and they serve as a reminder of the price the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has had to pay for standing up to the establishment.
However, the PPP, which historically had a sizable support base in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), is not faring as well there in the most recent elections after Benazir’s passing. PPP appears to have recently been limited to Sindh. In its early years, PPP, which was founded as a far-left centrist socialist party, was able to attract support from a variety of social groups, including labourers, conservative businesspeople, and far-left progressives and far-right centrists.
Even during the reign of General Ziaul Haq, the PPP remained committed to the idea of democracy returning to the country. The issue is that the PPP no longer appeals to the general public, notwithstanding its political heritage.
The party’s transformation into a right-wing centrist party in terms of economic policy and negotiating tactics is mostly attributed to Asif Ali Zardari. The PPP under Zardari has rarely questioned the status quo, and the party’s poor administration of Sindh over the years is what ultimately brought it to an end.
Bilawal will need to make a deliberate effort to change the narrative of PPP in Punjab, which is currently mainly concerned with criticising local development initiatives and maintaining a focus on the Bhutto dynasty’s heritage. That won’t be sufficient for PPP to win over the province’s increasing number of supporters.
When Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar recently raised his voice against human rights violations, the party leadership demanded his resignation from his Senate seat. Later, he resigned not only from the senate but also from the party. Khokhar has excelled in his roles as a senator, as the spokesperson for Bilwal Buthto, and as head of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.
Bilawal must infuse some new blood into the PPP ranks and abandon the outdated ideology of his party. Today’s PPP needs to revise the vision and policies of Benazir Bhutto if they want to improve their politics and gain footing across Pakistan, not just in Sindh.
