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Dictators and usurpers of people’s rights must be punished: Zardari
ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Friday called for punishing the dictators and usurpers of people rights and freedom and believed that they will meet this fate.
He expressed these views in a message on the eve of July 5 when General Ziaul Haq had toppled the government of prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977.
The former president described the voices calling for accountability of dictators as a manifestation of the democratic yearning of the people and held that “dictators and usurpers of people’s rights and freedoms must be punished.”
Zardari termed July 5 a black day in the national calendar when a dictator overthrew an elected prime minister and later executed him, decimated the constitution and destroyed state institutions.
“It is a reminder to us all to strive for the protection of democracy on the one hand and to punish the dictators on the other,” Zardari said. Paying glowing tribute to the democratic ethos of the people, he said: “The people of Pakistan have consistently refused to be suppressed by force and have always bounced back to seize their democratic rights from the jaws of dictators”. He also paid homage to the martyrs of democracy. “On this day, my thoughts also go to those martyrs of democracy who suffered and sacrificed during that black period of our national history. They suffered so that the future generations may live in peace and honor,” he added.
He called for making a resolve to strive for the preservation and promotion of democracy and the rule of law so that our people continue to march onto the road of progress and prosperity with hope and opportunity for everyone.Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk