ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto symbolized resistance against tyranny, injustice and despotic rule in Pakistan and beyond. These views were expressed by former prime minister and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in her message on the eve of the 76th birth anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

"On the anniversary of the 76th birthday of Pakistan's first directly elected prime minister and founder of Pakistan People's Party, I compliment the followers of PPP and those supporting the principles of democracy, principles for which Mr Bhutto gave his life," she said.

Ms Bhutto said Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a great man who towered over the politics of Pakistan for four decades. His call and his cause were such that ordinary mortals became extraordinary when they followed him, she said. Mr Bhutto was committed to building peace. The Simla Agreement, which he negotiated, with India holds peace for the longest duration in Indo-Pak history, she said.

The PPP chairperson said: "He founded the Pakistan People's Party to give power to the poor, the downtrodden, the deprived and dispossessed sections of the society. He empowered the people of Pakistan enabling them to shape their own destiny and the destiny of their country."

She said as a Muslim he was passionately committed to Muslim causes and Muslim unity while refusing to seek a certificate of his Islamic credentials from the self-styled custodians of religion and morality.

The PPP chairperson said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto brought together the heads of all Muslim countries in Lahore in 1974 at the OIC summit, which was co-hosted by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It was there that the Palestinian Authority under President Yasir Arafat was recognized as the authentic voice of the Palestinian people, she said.

Ms Bhutto said he gave Pakistan the first representative Constitution with full fundamental rights, guaranteeing women and minorities parliamentary rights. Provincial autonomy was introduced and for the first time the Northern Areas prospered.