Bhutto’s populism and it’s traces in todays’ Pakistan

Introduction

History has given us a plethora of political leaders, both good and bad, who have
dedicated their lives to the betterment of their countries and the people living in
the country. These leaders are not just people who govern nations during peace
times but also during times of crisis and if we take a look at the history of
Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was one of the most prominent leaders of this
country who was responsible for making and implementing strategies and policies
that were meant to better serve the interests of the country and its people.

Populism is often guided by strong leaders, who, through their behavior and
speech, present themselves as the voice of the people. “The populist leader”
describes the characteristics of the charismatic strongman who appeals to and
claims to embody the will of the people in order to consolidate his own power. If
we take a look at the situation of the politics in Pakistan, the current Prime
minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, is also known as a populist leader who gained
trust and importance from most of the people due to his charismatic personality
traits and due to his dream of a developed debt free country. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,
during his political regime, gained popularity due to many reasons and those
reasons will be explained further in the document but before that we are going to
take a look at a brief history of Bhutto’s political life.

History
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, born near Larkana in India, was educated in Bombay and at
the University of California, Berkeley. He also studied law at the University of
Oxford and then practiced law and lectured in England. In December 1967 he
found the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and gained the most votes from west
Pakistan leading to a clear win of the 1970 elections. After the new constitution of
1973 Bhutto became the prime minister of Pakistan and gained most of the
powers from the presidency. Due to gaining criticism from the public he held the
elections of 1977 and again won by a huge margin, but the opposition charged
him with electoral fraud and General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haqq took over by
implementing a martial law. He was sentenced to death on March 18 th, 1978 on
the charge of having ordered the assassination of a political opponent Nawab
Mohammad Ahmad Kasuri.

Reasons for Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s populism

One of the main attributes that differentiated Bhutto from other politicians was
his strong and clear vision that revolved around the idea of socialism. He was
more of a people person compared to Ayub khan who supported the idea of
capitalism. Bhutto supported the idea of a socialist society where there would be
benefits and equality for every other person. He wanted Pakistan to strengthen
itself instead of taking aid and depending upon foreign policies that were made by
United states. This vision made him gain the trust of Pakistanis and attracted the
thought of collaborating with Russia and China which were socialist countries. His
desire to be seen as a pro-people politician helped him become the chief architect
of Sino-Pakistan relationship that continues to flourish to this day. He also made
close ties with Saudi Arabia which helped more than thirty-five thousand people
get jobs in UAE.

His union of Islamic tenets of equality and justice with social ownership of public
goods and resources, democratic rule and empowerment of the marginalised
sections of the society made him popular overnight. Bhutto established
educational and cultural institutions, invested in the school network of slums and
small villages, set up basic health facilities, distributed land to landless farmers,
implemented housing and infrastructure schemes, and mobilised foreign
investment in the local industries. One of the most important things that people
of today still respect was the invention of nuclear bomb in Pakistan during his
time. This nuclear power gives Pakistan a strong image and a part of defense in
case of emergency. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto symbolises the best elements in politics:
struggle against poverty and inequality as well as sacrifices for democracy and
civilian supremacy.

Populism in todays’ Pakistan

In todays’ world Pakistan’s current Prime minister Imran khan might be the
second most influencing leader after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as he gained trust and
popularity mainly due to his consistent vision for a better country without
corruption. Imran khan worked for more than 20 years and won the elections of
2018 while on the other hand Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto got the seat of prime minister in
a period of three years as he was the first politician of his party PPP to touch the
hearts of his people using his convincing speeches. The PPP had a popular appeal
among the poor while the PTI had more resonance in the elite and upper income
classes.
During the time of Bhutto people were more experienced and had knowledge in
terms of politics and the amount of corruption was less compared to todays world
where people who vote for their favourite parties vote for the charisma of their
leaders instead of political capabilities that they lack. Bhutto seemed to have
both, charismatic and political experience as he spent most of his life in politics.

The influence and control of army was the main factor that made Bhutto even
more popular today as he did not die a natural death. The hanging of Bhutto
made him gain a lot of sympathy and made him even more close to his followers
and that’s why the slogan “kal bhi Bhutto zinda tha aaj bhi bhutto zinda hai” is still
used by many PPP supporters to show their love and belief in his vision. Imran
khan is more inclined to strict and fixed policies while Bhutto had a flexible vision
and a strong personality which attracted more popularity and love for him.