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LARKANA: Activists of Pakistan Peoples Party wore black armbands and hoisted black flags on party offices across the province on Wednesday to observe a ‘black day’ in condemnation of Gen Ziaul Haq’s overthrow of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s elected government on July 5, 1977.
PPP Larkana chapter held a meeting at Begum Nusrat Bhutto Library where party leaders highlighted the events before and after the forcible removal of a democratically elected government and imposition of martial law.
They said that Bhutto made the country’s defence impregnable by arming it with nuclear technology, gave people political awareness and a unanimously passed Constitution but regretfully, he was later hanged by a tinpot dictator whose destructive policies begot terrorism, extremism and helped spread Kalashnikov culture.
They said that Nawaz Sharif was a product of Gen Zia’s dictatorship and lashed out at PML-N for its reaction to Maryam Nawaz’s appearance before the joint investigation committee probing Panama Papers case.
They reminded the party of the days when Benazir Bhutto had to shuttle between courts along with her children to face politically motivated cases filed by PML-N government.
PPP city president Aftab Bhutto, president of Peoples Hari Committee Sindh Punhal Luhar, former Sindh minister Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto, Larkana Mayor Aslam Shaikh and others were among the speakers.
Earlier, wearing black armbands PPP workers demonstrated outside the press club.
HYDERABAD: PPP activists held two programmes to observe black day on the day when Gen Zia overthrew Z.A. Bhutto’s elected government.
PPP’s Hyderabad district chapter organised a programme at the press club at which district president Saghir Qureshi and other leaders condemned dictatorship and said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would become prime minister after upcoming general elections.
At another programme in Qasimabad, former consultant of Sindh chief minister Abdul Jabbar Khan, PPP leaders Zahid Bhurgari, Iqbal Soomro and others said that democracy was a result of Z.A. Bhutto’s supreme sacrifice. He was eliminated because he succeeded in uniting Islamic countries and making Pakistan a nuclear state, they said.
SUKKUR: Wearing black armbands PPP workers took out a rally and held meetings in Sukkur, Jacobabad and Ghotki to observe black day.
Local PPP leaders Mushtaq Surhio, Dr Arshad Mughal, Chaudhry Azhar and others who led the rally from Mohammad Bin Qasim Park to the press club said that the country was facing implications of the July 5 action till this day.
In Jacobabad, PPP workers wore black armbands and hoisted black flags on party offices and homes and held a meeting at Peoples Secretariat to observe the black day.
In Mirpur Mathelo in Ghotki district, PPP workers took out a rally from Clock Tower to the press club to observe the black day.
KHAIRPUR: PPP Khairpur chapter organised a public meeting to observe the black day in condemnation of overthrow of Z.A. Bhutto’s government 40 years ago.
PPP leaders said at the gathering that despite having taken oath pledging to protect the Constitution, Gen Zia dissolved assemblies and held the Constitution in abeyance.
He imposed martial law and formed military courts, declaring that if anyone violated directives of the chief martial law administrator he or she would be branded a traitor, saboteur and enemy of the state.
BADIN: PPP Badin chapter hoisted black flags on party offices, took out a rally and held a demonstration outside the press club to observe the black day.
Party leaders Taj Mohammad Mallah, Abdul Sattar Memon and others who led the rally termed July 5 “the blackest day of Pakistan’s history” and said that Zia regime introduced Kalashnikov culture.
UMERKOT: PPP activists took out a rally to observe the black day to condemn imposition of martial law on July 5.
Local party leaders Poonjo Bheel, Shakeel Qaimkhani and others paid homage to Z.A. Bhutto and said he made people politically aware.
MIRPURKHAS: PPP Mirpurkhas chapter held a public meeting at the party office and hoisted party flags to express condemnation of the July 5, 1977 military coup.
The party leaders condemned imposition of martial law after overthrow of an elected democratic government and said that PPP had given great sacrifices for the restoration of democracy in the country. Gen Zia’s actions pushed the country back by 20 years, they said.
Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2017
