THIS IS MY STORY—87
MY JOURNEY THROUGH THE ERA OF AYUB KHAN TO THE TIMES OF IMRAN KHAN.
GHULAM AKBAR…………
The PPP Launched
This is not Bhutto’s biography. These are my memoirs. And this man Bhutto has figured almost centrally in the shaping of my mindset. I understand him better now, than I did when he was my hero, or when he was the target of my blind rage.
Sherbaz Mazari’s book gave me some key clues to understand Bhutto. They had been youth-time friends, and Sherbaz’s understanding of his friend couldn’t be easily dismissed.
In the late 1967, Bhutto was in the final stages of forming a party that was to play a key role in the country’s politics for years to come. On November 30, 1967, the Pakistan Peoples Party was born with an interesting manifesto.
“Islam will be our Faith, Democracy will be our politics. And socialism our Economy.”
There was green in the flag to honour Islam, Black to honour Democracy and Red to honour Socialism.
The key figures that emerged early were JA Rahim, Dr Mubbashar Hasan, Mairaj Mohammad Khan, Mukhtar Rana, Hanif Ramay, Mustafa Khar, Malik Mairaj Khalid and Sheikh Rashid Sr. The general emphasis was on the slogans of the left. The intention was to ignite the hopes of the working classes, the labourers, the farmers, the wage-earners and all those who lived in a state of deprivation.
Bhutto had found the right formula—a manifesto with the right mix —to launch his Political Party.
My personal romance however was not with the man who founded the PPP but the man who on September 1, 1965 had spoken inspiredly of the spirit of Salahuddin Ayubi.
