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PESHAWAR, Dec 27 (APP):Pakistan People Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President, Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha here on Saturday said that the martdyom of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed has united the nation against terrorism and extremism.
Talking to APP, he said BB Shaheed laid down life for right of people and democracy and her sacrifices has weaken dictatorship in the country.
He said without Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the democratic history of Pakistan is incomplete.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s political role was not limited to holding power. She was a symbol of democratic continuity, popular politics and ideological commitment, he said and added that Bibi Shaheed worked to take politics out of the centers of power in Pakistan and placed it in the hands of the people.
She sought to present Pakistan to the international community as a state committed to democratic values, moderation and respect for international obligations. For this reason, she was recognized globally not only as a political leader but as a serious, thoughtful and intellectual stateswoman, he expressed.
Bacha said Pakistan’s survival is linked to the Constitution, public participation and international respect, not to unelected centers of power.
He said Benazir Bhutto was not confined to Pakistani politics alone. She was a global democratic voice whose thinking, education and political insight earned her credibility on the international stage. In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Muslim world. This marked a turning point not only in political history but also in social history, he remarked.
Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha said that it was a major milestone, adding her rise to power sent a clear message about women’s political participation that leadership was based on ability and vision, not gender.
During her first term, he said, she focused on the release of political prisoners, freedom of the press, the revival of student unions and the development of social sectors. At the same time, she faced intense political pressure, institutional resistance and instability, he added.
During her second term in 1993, he said Benazir Bhutto took several initiatives in social security, health and women’s welfare. Programs such as the Lady Health Worker Program and financial facilities for women were part of this vision.
Bacha said the central focus of Bibi Shaheed’s politics was always the common person. She believed the true responsibility of the state was to empower the weak.
The PPP leader said Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan in 2007 after a long exile breathed new life into national politics. Her reception in Karachi made it clear that the people still saw her as their hope.
Despite a terrorist attack on the same day, she did not withdraw from the political arena. Bibi Shaheed fully understood the risks of returning, but believed that the restoration of democracy was more important than personal security.
He said Shaheed Bibi’s famous saying, “democracy is the best revenge,” continues to resonate as a moral principle in Pakistani politics.
He said today, the discourse on democratic continuity, the supremacy of Parliament and the sanctity of the vote in Pakistan is rooted in the struggle and sacrifice of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
He said her sacrifice proved that ideologies can be suppressed through force, not eliminated. Bibi Shaheed’s politics is a standard for future generations that power is temporary, but principles are permanent.
The life of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto remains a luminous yet painful chapter in Pakistan’s political history. She was a leader who taught the nation how to live and die for democracy. Even today, her name is remembered as a symbol of democratic struggle and popular politics, he added.