KARACHI / HYDERABAD / LARKANA / NAWABSHAH / BADIN: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday held rallies in almost all cities and towns of Sindh, like other parts of the country, to observe a ‘black day’ on the 49th anniversary of the 1977 coup staged by Gen Ziaul Haq, who had toppled the elected government of then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Leaders of the party’s central, taluka, district and city chapters, as well as its women, youth and labour wings, led the rallies within their respective areas.
They condemned Gen Zia’s Martial Law regime as the darkest chapter in the history of Pakistan.
They paid glowing tributes to Z.A. Bhutto’s relentless struggle for democracy in the country and giving it a consensus Constitution in 1973. They also saluted the party’s founder leader for making Pakistan a nuclear power.
The central rally in Karachi started from the Sindh Assembly building and ended at the local press club. Senior PPP leaders Waqar Mehdi and Javed Nagori led the rally, which was attended by many other leaders, activists and supporters.
Speaking to the participants, the leaders said that the people of Pakistan had always supported democracy. They said that as a nation, compatriots should learn from the mistakes of the past, and urged political parties to forge unity to defend the Constitution. They said disruption in the democratic process had never served the country’s interests.
They stressed that strengthening democratic institutions was the need of the hour, and said the rule of law guaranteed a strong and stable Pakistan. They also paid tribute to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto for her historic struggle against the dictatorship, saying the PPP had always stood for the protection of democracy.
The leaders said that democracy remained the foundation of Pakistan’s stability, development, national unity and strength, while the country’s real power lay in the continuity of democracy, supremacy of Constitution and respect for the public mandate.
In Larkana, a large number of PPP leaders, activists and supporters visited Bhuttos’ mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh and paid homage to all martyrs of the family buried there.
They laid floral wreaths on the martyrs’ graves and prayed for the strengthening of democracy in the country.
They also took part in a rally taken out to condemn the 1977 Martial Law. Most of the participants wore black armbands and many others also carried black flags to observe the ‘black day’.
Women party workers took part in the rally in a large number.
Later, a ceremony was held at Begum Nusrat Bhutto Hall which was attended by Larkana Mayor Anwar Ali Luhar, and many PPP leaders, workers and supporters.
PPP Larkana district chief Khair Mohammed Shaikh, Mayor Anwar Ali Luhar and Dr Sakina Gaad were the key speakers.
They told the audience that the July 5 1977 coup caused a severe blow to the country’s journey to democracy. They said that Z.A. Bhutto created political and democratic awareness among the masses.
They said the PPP would never forget the sacrifices of its leaders. They resolved to continue the struggle for democracy, supremacy of the Constitution and people’s right to rule.
They said that the judicial killing of Z.A. Bhutto would remain a dark chapter in history.
Marking the ‘black day’, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the murder of democracy on July 5, 1977 amounted to the murder of people’s aspirations.
He said martial laws used to be staged repeatedly in the past which turned the country into a testing field. But people of Pakistan never accepted any system other than democracy. He cautioned that the country could no more afford unconstitutional steps.
Larkana District Council Chairman Aijaz Ahmed Leghari, Vice Chairman Asadullah Bhutto and other party leaders including Mumtaz Chauhan, Zahid Jalbani, Syed Arshad Rashdi, Municipal Chairman Abdul Khaliq Bhutto, alongside a large number of party leaders and workers, took part in a rally held inside the mausoleum.
In Nawabshah, local PPP leaders and workers staged a protest demonstration outside the local press club on Sunday to observe the ‘black day’.
Speaking to them, PPP Divisional General Secretary Javed Nayab Leghari, District President Saalim Zardari and others condemned that on July 5, 1977 Z.A. Bhutto’s democratically elected government was toppled by the military regime.
They paid glowing tribute to ZAB for walking to the gallows and all those PPP leaders and workers who bravely faced public floggings and tyranny but did not bow to the illegitimate regime. They resolved to safeguard democracy and resist any attempt to undermine it.
Ali Akbar Jamali, Rashid Chandio, Syed Atif Hussain Zaidi and others also spoke.
In Badin, a rally to mark the ‘black day’ was taken out from the District Council to the local press club.
Several hundreds PPP leaders, office-bearers, workers and supporters wearing black armbands participated in the rally, which was led by PPP District General Secretary Dr Sajjad Ali Chandio.
Other party leaders, including Fida Hussain Mendhro, Haji Mir Mallah, Sajida Talpur and Saleem Yousuf Adijo also addressed the participants.
Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2026