At Garhi Khuda Bux: PPP stares down critics with own show of strength

A crowd listens to President Asif Ali Zardari outside the Bhutto mausoleum on the fourth death anniversary of former premier Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bux. PHOTO: AFP

In his first public appearance since his return to Pakistan after an illness, President Asif Ali Zardari addressed a large gathering of supporters of his ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), vowing to defend democracy and even humorously replying to some of the jibes his political opponents had thrown his way in recent days.

On the fourth anniversary of his wife Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, the president spoke of the struggles of the PPP and its first family. “Four people of the Bhutto family have sacrificed their lives and made it possible for me to stand at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh and face this mammoth crowd,” he said.

The president spoke out against what he termed to be conspiracies not just against his own government but democracy itself.

“Democracy can deliver and will deliver. How much time has been given to this nascent democracy? It will take time for it to flourish.”

“We will fight for democracy as we do not fight for seats.”

He vowed that his party would protect the federation at all costs. “We will fight any evil eye that is a threat to the federation, but our way will be that of Aung San Suu Kyi,” the president said, referring to Myanmar’s opposition leader, known the world over for her struggle for democracy.

Zardari said only real democracy could deliver and pointed that attempts were being made to introduce ‘tailor-made democracies’ and added that those who were now jumping fences do not have any significant achievements to their credit. “Is this to derail real democracy, or an attempt to bring in some dictator,” he asked.

Though he didn’t name those ‘jumping fences’, recently Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali, both former foreign ministers and senior PPP leaders, defected to join Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf which, political parties believe, has the backing of the powerful security establishment.

Unlike the last three death anniversaries, the public meeting was organised in Garhi Khuda Bux instead of the president’s camp office in Naudero. In what was clearly meant to be a show of strength and unity within the ruling party, the president made sure to have some of the biggest names in his party address the gathering, including Aitzaz Ahsan, one of the most prominent PPP politicians who had been somewhat distant from the current administration.

As Ahsan took to the stage, he took thinly veiled shots at PTI, which had a large and successful rally in Karachi.

“This rally is not happening in a big city like Lahore or Karachi. It is happening in a small town further away from the big cities, and people from far away have come to attend it,” said Ahsan to an appreciative audience.

Yet if Tuesday’s rally was meant to be a show of the PPP’s strength against the PTI, the rally had some severe shortcomings. While its size was roughly comparable to that of the PTI rally in Karachi (something of an achievement, considering the fact that Larkana is relatively small), there was a palpable enthusiasm gap between the supporters of the two parties.

The PTI rally had optimistic, hopeful and happy supporters yearning for change. The PPP had angry, embittered supporters, some of whom wanted to set themselves on fire to grab the attention of the leaders whom they say have neglected them.

About 20 PPP supporters from Jafarabad, Balochistan came with chains tied to their necks, hands and feet. They then doused themselves in petrol and were about to light themselves on fire before they were stopped by the police.

“We are long-time PPP supporters, but the current government is completely ignoring us,” said Nazar Jan Baloch and Muneer Abro, two of those who had tried to self-immolate. “Instead of listening to our needs, party leaders blamed us for trying to sabotage the rally.”

“They are selling jobs for money rather than helping the real diehard PPP supporters,” said one person who attended the rally. Visiting the mausoleum earlier in the day, Prime Minister Gilani tried to address some of those concerns by saying that the matter is being reviewed by the courts, thus making it impossible for the party leadership to discuss the matter.

The prime minister tried to dismiss the steady flow of politicians, some from the PPP itself, who are joining the PTI. “It is better that they left,” he said.

(Read: Punishing Benazir Bhutto’s killers)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2011.