A legacy of struggle

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary (which falls today) will be marked this year amidst another moment of political uncertainty in Pakistan.

A few days before her assassination, Shaheed BB had vowed to protect her country from terrorists wanting to target its sovereignty. Despite knowing the danger and threat to her life, Shaheed BB wanted to be among her people and be a part of the democratic process. She believed that democracy was the best revenge. Her enemies were cowards, afraid of her strength and she was targeted on December 27th, 2007 – and assassinated. She chose to give her life, leaving behind a legacy of incredible struggle for democracy. Her sacrifice left a vacuum in Pakistan’s politics and left a permanent mark in the hearts of the people of Pakistan.

General Zia imposed martial law on July 5, 1977. During that time, Shaheed BB came to Lahore with her brother Shahnawaz Bhutto and stayed with Begum Nadra Khakwani. She opposed the dictatorship with great courage and people appreciated her for that. She gave me an interview at that time, which reflects her political acumen.

The first question I asked was: “You are a great admirer of your father’s work. When you heard the government had been toppled by a military dictator, what was your immediate reaction?” Her reply was that her parents were already informed at 2am and she came to know about it slightly later. There was a feeling of regret. It was not personal regret, but it was a sense of regret at the good work of the PPP being disrupted.

About her father’s reaction, she said, “he wasn’t even worried about us, but he was worried about his country”. In response to a question about different foreign lobbies working against her father, she said that there were several reasons for the international conspiracies against him. He wanted to unite the Arab world and wanted them to be aware of their strength in unity.

He also wanted to unite the developing world against exploitation by imperial powers and they did not appreciate this. Some people did not like that someone in Pakistan was striving to fight them on all these fronts.

Politics demands sacrifice. Begum Bhutto mentioned in an interview that after becoming the First Lady, she had to give up her family life. She also said that it affected her children who had to be away from paternal love and attention.

Benazir Bhutto understood these challenges, but she believed that growing up in such an environment gave her political consciousness. It empowered her to participate in political debates and be prepared for political struggles.

She said that in politics, we have to be careful with our words so that they don’t hurt anyone or do not become a cause for complaint. It is by chance that some are born in affluent households while others are born in poor households. But poverty should not be anyone’s destiny, and we must work together to fight poverty in our country.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is now following in the footsteps of his mother, carrying forward her mission of serving the people, along with his sister Aseefa Bhutto Zardari who is currently the First Lady of Pakistan.

The writer is the former press secretary for Benazir Bhutto.