[The party suffered a crushing defeat in the 2013 national elections, handing power to its longtime rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Today its influence in Parliament has been reduced to its longtime stronghold, Sindh province. It also faces new competition from the Pakistan
By
Shaiq Hussain and Pamela Constable
 |
Pakistani President Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto (center) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi in June 1972 in
from right) and Indian Foreign
Minister Swaran Singh (right) look on. (
|
Thousands
of exuberant supporters gathered in a field outside the capital on a chilly
evening last week, dancing to music, waving banners and cheering loudly as
leaders from the Pakistan People’s Party called for democracy and tolerance.
But
there was a hollow, haunted tone to the event, held to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of a party that once galvanized poor and working-class Pakistanis, championed
socialist causes under its charismatic founder and later fought to restore
civilian rule under his equally famous daughter.
They
are both long gone now: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the revolutionary prime minister, imprisoned
and hanged by a military dictator in 1979. Benazir Bhutto, twice premier, exiled
and then assassinated in 2007 as she tried to make a political comeback under
another army ruler.
Today,
the People’s Party is a shadow of its former tumultuous self, a once-mighty
political force that held power repeatedly during three decades but has fallen
precipitously in popularity under the leadership of Bhutto’s widower, Ali Asif
Zardari.
The
party suffered a crushing defeat in the 2013 national elections, handing power
to its longtime rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Today its influence in
Parliament has been reduced to its longtime stronghold, Sindh province. It also
faces new competition from the Pakistan
On
Tuesday night, a parade of PPP
leaders spoke from an outdoor stage, trying to recapture the party’s past glory
and energy. Zardari, who after his wife’s death served as Pakistan PPP ’s new chairman and rising political heir.
Tall,
handsome and brimming with confidence, the younger Zardari smiled and waved to
the crowd as he stood next to his father, who introduced him and said he
believed party members “will be loyal to my children the way you were to
Benazir and me.”
Bilawal
Zardari vowed that the PPP would not allow Pakistan Pakistan
Supporters
seemed star-struck.
“We
are here for Bilawal, and we believe he will recover the lost destiny of the PPP ,” said Yasmeen Bibi, 29, who was dressed in
the party’s colors — bright green, red and black. “Look at this huge crowd. Once
people were dejected and frustrated, believing the party had met its death. But
Bilawal has given us new hope, and God willing in the next elections the PPP will win.”
The
People’s Party was founded in 1967 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who ruled for most
of the 1970s before Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq ousted and executed him. The
party’s guiding principles were Islam, democracy and economic socialism, and
its idealistic slogan was “Food, shelter and clothing” for all. The party
remained popular for years.
But
Benazir Bhutto’s assassination 10 years ago, just after she had returned from
exile to join the fight against military rule and run for office again, effectively
marked the death of the old PPP .
Asif
Zardari, widely viewed as a corrupt and aloof tycoon, had neither his wife’s
charm nor her common touch. His most positive legacy was turning power over to
his rival and elected successor, Nawaz Sharif, in 2013, with no controversy or
military intervention.
Bilawal
Zardari, although struggling to resurrect a now-tarnished legacy, appears to
have a keener and perhaps more genuine knack for politics. The golden-jubilee
rally came just days after violent religious protests that shocked the country
and overwhelmed the government, leaving the army to step in and negotiate an
end to the confrontation.
In
his speech Tuesday and elsewhere last week, the young PPP leader talked about the threat of Islamist
extremism, the importance of reestablishing state authority and the need to
shore up democracy. Although his party stands little chance of winning
elections next year, he declared, “We will establish the writ of the state
after coming to power” and listed numerous reforms a PPP government would pursue.
Many
observers, though, expressed doubts about whether the young Zardari can revive
the fading party, let alone transform it into a vibrant political force again, especially
with Khan’s Justice Movement leading the charge against the Muslim League for
the 2018 elections.
Newspaper
columnist Zahid Hussain last week called the PPP “a tragic spectacle of a dying legacy ”
whose leaders have become alienated from their longtime grass-roots base. It
will take more than “dynastic appeal” and regional popularity, he wrote, to
lift the party up.
Some
old party hands, such as Safdar Ali Abbasi, said the PPP would have a hard time overcoming the
indifferent legacy of Asif Zardari and “getting back to its roots.” But others,
such as Sen. Sherry Rehman, said they believe this may be an opportune moment
for a new PPP to emerge.
The
50th anniversary, Rehman said, “gives us a chance to amplify our message to the
new generation of Pakistanis, who look towards a party with no space for hate.”
She conceded that the party had made mistakes but called it “the only political
force standing in the way of extremist ideologies. That is a challenge neither
we nor Pakistan
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