ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: Politicians and parliamentarians belonging to the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) here on Saturday paid tributes to the services and struggle of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for the cause of democracy and rule of law in the country.

The speakers threw light on various aspects of Mr Bhutto's life at a seminar on "Political role of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the history of Pakistan," organized by PPP women's wing Islamabad President Nargis Faiz Malik.

The most impressive speeches were made by JI Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed and central leader of the PML-N Syed Zafar Ali Shah despite being rivals to the PPP.

Prof Ghafoor said the most important achievements of Mr Bhutto were the 1973 Constitution and launching of the country's nuclear programme.

Prof Ghafoor, who was a member of the opposition in the Bhutto's assembly, said Mr Bhutto involved the opposition parties in the making of the Constitution despite the fact he did not need the support of the opposition. He said Mr Bhutto could ignore the small opposition group very easily but he showed political sagacity and succeeded in getting passed the Constitution with national consensus.

Similarly, he said, Bhutto launched the country's nuclear programme foreseeing the India's plans. "The whole nation is grateful and indebted to Bhutto for making this country a nuclear power," he remarked.

He also lauded Bhutto's ability to get the disputes resolved through dialogue. He said when there was a crisis during Khatam-i-Nabuwat Tehrik and hundreds of people were behind the bars, Bhutto used his wisdom and took the matter to parliament. He said it was only due to his able leadership that the matter was resolved amicably.

The JI senator said during Bhutto's time, they used to enjoy the parliamentary proceedings as they knew that their recommendations and speeches would be given serious considerations. Today, he regretted, despite the fact the opposition had 44 per cent representation in parliament, everything was being bulldozed by the government.

Prof Ghafoor demanded that the 1973 Constitution should be restored to its original form, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif be allowed to return to the country and Asif Ali Zardari and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi be released immediately.

Zafar Ali Shah remembered the days when he was the general secretary of the PPP, Rawalpindi division. He claimed that he raised the slogan of "Pride of Asia" for Bhutto for the first time at Rawalpindi airport.

Referring to some of his meetings with Bhutto at the historical Flashman's Hotel in Rawalpindi, the PML-N leader said the late prime minister had a charismatic personality. He said Prof Ghafoor had demanded that the 1973 Constitution should be restored to its original form which was an admission from him that the 17th Amendment was illegal and unconstitutional.

He said people were demanding that Gen Musharraf should leave one office but the PML-N said he should quit both the offices as he was not an elected president. He said the country needed a new president and a new army chief.

He advised the democratic forces to adopt Bhutto's doctrine or philosophy for the restoration of real democracy in the country. He said Bhutto taught them that how should they struggle against the dictators.

He said it was regrettable that the real heirs of Bhutto were sitting in parliament with the name of Parliamentarians and "fake politicians" were using the name of the PPP.

Parliamentary leader of the PPP in Senate Raza Rabbani said it would be unjustified to compare Bhutto with any of the leaders of the present time. He said Bhutto refused to leave the country despite several offers and preferred to be buried in Larkana.

He said the PPP got largest number of votes despite massive rigging in the last general elections. He demanded withdrawal of all "false" cases against Benazir Bhutto. He also criticized the cabinet members for asking Gen Musharraf not to take off his uniform.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said Bhutto was a name of a movement and he would always be remembered.

Jahangir Badar said Bhutto followed the definition of democracy which stated that democracy was the name of resolving disputes. He said he had the honour to spend some days with Bhutto in a jail. He also referred to a letter written by Bhutto to Benazir on June 21, 1978, in which he had advised her to respect the people's verdict.

Former minister Raja Shahid Zafar, Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi and Nargis Faiz Malik also spoke.