PPP has a long history of struggle for democracy: Umar Rehman Malik

Staff Writer

Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Umar Rehman Malik said this week that the PPP had a long history of struggle for democracy.

Speaking to Covert, Malik said PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto sacrificed their lives for democracy.

He said Bhutto strengthened ties with China and Saudi Arabia and hosted the second Organization of the Islamic Conference in Lahore in 1974.

“Domestically, Bhutto’s government saw parliament unanimously approve a new constitution in 1973,” Malik said.

The PPP leader said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan’s atomic bomb programm and due to his leadership to lead this nuclear deterrence programme, Bhutto is often known as the Father of Nuclear Deterrence Programme.

He said the Bhutto government carried out a number of reforms in the industrial sector. During Bhutto’s period as prime minister, he said, a number of land reforms were also introduced.

“The important land reforms included the reduction of land ceilings and introducing the security of tenancy to tenant farmers. The land ceiling was fixed to 150 acres (0.61 km2) of irrigated land and 300 acres (1.2 km2) of non-irrigated land. Another step that Bhutto took was to democratize Pakistan’s Civil Service. In Balochistan, the pernicious practice of Shishak and Sardari System was abolished,” he added.

Malik said Bhutto was a strong advocate of empowering small farmers. “Bhutto argued that if farmers were weak and demoralized then Pakistan’s agricultural strength would be fragile, believing that farmers would not feel psychologically safe unless the country achieved self-sufficiency in food,” he elaborated.

He said Bhutto also made Pakistan a prominent member of the Non-Aligned Movement.