Inclusive federation

Sixty-one years ago a country was created which has several languages and identities. All these identities decided to forge unity and form a federation. The country called Pakistan, from its early days found itself engulfed in conspiracies of different sorts. These designs created tension among the federating units. The first military dictator, General Ayub Khan tried to smudge these identities by creating one unit. The people from all the four provinces, which are now a part of the Pakistani federation, have struggled hard and long to get their basic identities back. They succeeded after the demise of General Ayub Khan and thus first time elections were held in all the four provinces of Pakistan for the national as well as the provincial assemblies. Analysts have observed that during dictatorship the federating units are distanced from each other. This situation always suits the dictators. In this way the dictatorship can prolong his rule, especially by pitching them against each other. This situation makes the federation, an exclusive federation, where the provinces instead of voluntarily becoming part of federation are brought together by force. This situation causes tension not only within the federating units but also between them. This game of dictators is being played for the last sixty-one years. The popular democratic forces have always been opposed to this dividing strategy of the dictators and this is one of the factors the dictators despise these forces. During dictatorships Pakistan had to go through three catastrophes. The first was the dismemberment of the country in 1971. The second was the martyrdom of the first directly elected Prime Minister, Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979 by the dictator who introduced extremism and intolerance in Pakistani society. The nation cannot and will not forgive him for his crimes. Finally, the third great loss, the country and the nation had to bear during dictatorship is the martyrdom of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007. All these disasters have brought the Pakistani nation at a very difficult and demanding juncture. This juncture needs vision for the future of the federation. Federation is represented by the head of the state and its political system. Thank God, we now have a democratically elected government in the centre as well as in all the four provinces. In the February 2008 elections, Pakistan Peoples Party emerged as the largest political and democratic force and won seats in all four provinces. This fact alone makes the PPP, the only federal party in the country. The Party could have won greater number of seats if the hidden forces had stayed away from the electoral process. Even then the party not only accepted the results but also created a history by inviting different democratic forces to form the government. The PPP led by Senator Asif Ali Zardari formed a coalition government not only in the centre but also in the provinces. This was the manifestation of inclusiveness for which the federation was crying for the last sixty-one years. The transition from dictatorship to democracy is a very difficult and intricate process because transition is not a revolution but one that achieves revolutionary success if the transition is carried out with care and vision. This requires courage and this mettle is in abundance with the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Senator Asif Ali Zardari. The dream of the founder of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Quaid-e-Jamhooriat Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, of creating an inclusive federation where everyone is equal before the law is about to materialise by their followers led by Senator Asif Ali Zardari. The inclusive federation needs inclusive politics and an inclusive president and there is no better person than Senator Zardari for this coveted and responsible office.

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