RIYADH — Sympathizers of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) recently gathered here to remember and pay homage to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto, the first elected prime minister of Pakistan, was deposed in a coup by army chief Zia ul Haq. He was executed in the early hours of April 4, 1979. Although Bhutto died, he continues to live in the hearts and minds of the common people of Pakistan — especially the poor. Each year Pakistanis all over the world remember him on this day to mark his martyrdom anniversary and on Jan. 5 to observe his birthday. This year also PPP President Riyadh region Fayyaz Ali Khan convened a sitting to remember and pay homage to their former leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Rana Khalid, general secretary of PPP Riyadh region, conducted the proceedings. Rana presented his theses encompassing the philosophy of Bhutto and touched base on the elements that comprise Bhuttoism. The attendees – one by one – expressed their feelings marking this solemn occasion. Qazi Ishaq Memon mentioned that Bhutto was disciplined because he refused to take dictates on Pakistan's nuclear program. “Bhutto had said that we will eat grass and build our nuclear weapon and this was the reason he was removed from power and finally hanged, “Qazi added. Riaz Rathore mentioned that Pakistan is poorer without Bhutto. “A leader like him is born in centuries and we will never get to see the likes of him again,” Rathore said. Sardar Sher Afzal remarked that the enemies of Pakistan could never stand his guts and they always wanted him removed. “They were the happiest people when Bhutto was hanged,” Sher Afzal added. Waseem Sajid remarked that ever since Bhutto was deposed and Zia occupied power Pakistan has been sliding toward the abyss. “It is sad to see how Zia has destroyed our beautiful country,“ Waseem added. Sardar Naseer, Rao Tahir, Malik Shafiq, Altaf Khalil, and Tazameen Khan also paid rich tributes to Bhutto. They touched on his leadership quality, his charisma and above all his unique connect with the common man of Pakistan especially the poor and the disadvantaged. Host of the event Younus Abu Ghalib presented his detailed theses on the life and achievement of Bhutto. “Bhutto was an emerging leader of the Islamic world and that of the Third World countries. This was a great threat for the powers-to-be and this is the reason he was eliminated,” Younus remarked. Fayyaz Ali Khan, in his speech, recalled the two occasions when he was lucky to have had a pleasant face-to-face encounter with Bhutto. “The first encounter was in my native Pabbi near Peshawar. At that time I was only 13 and I had a chance to see Bhutto when he had come on a visit to my place. The second time I saw him near Lahore High Court when Bhutto was brought to the court for his trial,” Fayyaz said. He thanked all for finding time to gather and share their feelings for and opinions about Bhutto.
