PPP reiterates demand to officially declare ZA Bhutto martyr, hero of democracy

Party’s Sindh chapter president says public gathering will be held in Larkana on April 4

HYDERABAD:

As the 45th death anniversary of Pakistan Peoples Party's founding Chairman and former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto approaches closer, the party has called for recognising him as a martyr and a hero of democracy.

The PPP's Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro reiterated this demand at a press conference in Hyderabad on Sunday, citing the recent judgment of the Supreme Court which admitted that Bhutto was convicted after an unfair trial.

He informed that a public meeting will be organised in Larkana on April 4 to pay tribute to Bhutto on his martyrdom anniversary. The event will start after Iftari at night. He observed that the apex court took around 12 years after the filing of presidential reference by President Asif Zardari during his first stint.

He took exception to comparing Bhutto with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's leader Imran Khan, saying the former had many achievements attributed to him besides being a martyr while the latter has only faced jail.

Responding to a question, Khuhro acknowledged that the situation of law and order in four or five districts of Larkana and Sukkur divisions is getting worse. "Someone told me that even the motorway is closed in the evening and the railing fence is torn and stolen from places."

He questioned why the National Highway and Motorway Police did not patrol the Sukkur-Multan motorway and prevent such theft while ensuring that the road remained open through the day.

Evading a reply to explain why the incumbent government is not taking action against the dacoits infesting riverbed areas in Sukkur and Larkana divisions, Khuhro turned criticism to the former caretaker government.

He said unlike the elected governments, the caretaker governments are supposed to be apolitical. "If such is the case then why for eight months the interim government didn't take action against the dacoits?" he questioned.

Khuhro said the Sindh police had also led an operation against the outlaws in Karachi and that the cops emerged successful. In comparison, he added, the outlaws hiding in some rural areas should not be a big deal. "Some questions do rise against the eight-month long caretaker government."

When asked about the government's reported plans to hand over large tracts of land for corporate farming in the province, he asked from where irrigation water will be provided to those lands. "The current water situation is such that the available water is already insufficient for irrigation [in Sindh]." He mentioned that ongoing practice of water rotation also proved the existing shortage.

He said neither water is available in the system nor new dams are being built to enhance storage during rains and floods and to supply the same water for irrigation. Khuhro, however, clarified that he was not opposed to the idea of bringing more land under cultivation because the process will create employment and will contribute to economic growth. "I don't think this idea is bad from a development point of view."

Yet, he reiterated, the question still remained from where the government will provide water for those tens of thousands of acres of land. He said the people ought to be taken into confidence over the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2024.