April 4, 1979, is an unforgettable chapter of Pakistan’s history. This day will always bring tears of blood in the eyes of every citizen of the country who believes in sovereignty of people, justice, human dignity and respect for humanity.

April 4 unfurled a tragedy of unfathomable proportions. On this day a military dictator and a usurper martyred an elected Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in the dead of the night and decimated democratic aspirations of the people of Pakistan and their future. A representative voice of the people was silenced, shattering the dreams for a popular rule and a prosperous Pakistan. This grievous incident cast a pal of gloom and despondency across the length and breadth of the country.

The people of Pakistan perforce had to take up cudgels against the military dictator to retrieve and realise the dreams about their future.

It is said that history creates leaders, but Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arguably a leader who created history. He stood tall among the great leaders of history, who emerged on the horizon of Pakistan to change the destiny of teeming millions. He gave voice to the downtrodden and espoused the cause of ascendancy of the people. Bhutto triggered a revolution in the lives of the people. Like he himself once said, “I am a revolutionary and a poet”, he was indeed a revolutionary until his last breath. In view of the indomitable courage, perseverance and steadfastness with which he faced the forces of oppression and tyranny, the eyes of the entire world were focused on a small cell in the Rawalpindi Jail where he spent last days of his life. In his last meeting with his wife and daughter he said, “At last I will be free and go back home to become part of this land and its traditions,” and today he has become an integral part of the land and its traditions.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a great thinker and a visionary, who was proud of his country and had an unshakable faith in his people. The people of Pakistan can never forget his successes in the domain of foreign policy. He established relations with super powers and Third World countries without compromising Pakistan’s dignity and non-aligned status. Setting up of a steel mill in Karachi and the initiation of oil exploration operations in the country were the showpieces of the exploits of his foreign policy. He was also the architect of a close and monumental friendship with China. The acquisition of a nuclear processing plant and transformation of Pakistan into a nuclear power to ward off the lurking dangers to the security of the country, is yet another eternal achievement of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Bhutto founded the PPP. He went to the people without caring for his life, raised voice for their rights and led a relentless struggle for their emancipation until his death. He unequivocally declared that poverty and exploitation were not the fate of the people of Pakistan. He shunned drawing room politics and brought it to the doorsteps of the masses. He united a fragmented Pakistan and turned it into a dynamic entity. One of his everlasting achievements is the unanimously adopted 1973 Constitution. Today he lives in the hearts of the people.