The Senate on Wednesday passed a unanimous resolution to condole Begum Nusrat Bhutto’s demise and eulogised her services and sacrifices for democracy.
The proceedings of the house were cut short to pay homage to the former first lady but a potential skirmish between the PPP and the PML-N was defused by Chairman Senate Farooq H Naek. The house offered dua for Begum Bhutto and passed a resolution which stated she was an icon of democracy and championed the rights of the oppressed and for women’s empowerment. Her leading role in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy was greatly appreciated. When the PPP’s Sabir Baloch was given the floor, he asked PML-N senators including Raja Zafarul Haq to follow Javed Hashmi’s example and apologise for supporting dictators. However, Haq reminded the chairman that the purpose of adopting a unanimous resolution was to avoid controversial debate in the house. “Our history is full of controversies, let’s not dig them out,” he said. Consequently, chairman Senate refused to provide Baloch an opportunity for rebuttal.
Senator Haji Adeel from the Awami National Party (ANP) condemned Muammar Qaddafi’s execution and referred to UN conventions which guarantee fair trial. He was seconded by former law minister Dr Babar Awan. Senator Neelofar Bakhtiar said the house should pass another resolution to commemorate a young man who set himself on fire in front of Parliament House and a railways pensioner who died before he could collect his pension. She requested the chairman to allot her a seat on opposition benches.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2011.
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As holy Quran says it is God who gives honor or dishonor. The services of Begum Bhutto cannot be ignored by friends and foes both, hence the unanimous resolution. On the other hand the dictators and tyrants cannot be honored and appreciated in such a unanimous way. The supporters of tyrants, dictators, generals and terrorists have to learn this lesson once and for all. The sacrifices for the nation are not a waste but a love for the nation that we cannot ever forget. Bhuttos have been the only politicians who have and could win an election from any province they contested. No other politician or party can claim that let alone the tyrant dictators.