Pakistan Peoples Party

This article is about the party headed by Bilawal Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. For other uses, see Pakistan Peoples Party (disambiguation).

Pakistan Peoples Party پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی
Chairperson	Bilawal Zardari Bhutto
President	Ameen Faheem
Secretary-General	Jahangir Badar
Founder	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Chairman of the Central Committee	Asif Ali Zardari
Slogan	"Islam is our religion; democracy is our politics; socialism is our economy; power lies with the people"
Founded	December 9, 1967 (1967-12-09)
Headquarters	Islamabad People's Headquarters 70th Clifton, Karachi Bilawal House I
Newspaper	Daily Musawaat
Student wing	Peoples Students Federation
Youth wing	Pakistan Peoples Party Youth Wing (PPP Youth)
Trotskyist Wing	The Struggle
Ideology	Social democracy, Democratic socialism, Islamic socialism
Political position	Centre-left
International affiliation	Socialist International
Official colors	red
National Assembly	121 / 342
Senate	27 / 100
Website
http://www.ppp.org.pk/
Party flag
Politics of Pakistan Political parties Elections

The Pakistan Peoples Party (Urdu: پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی), is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan. Till death of Benazir, its leader has always been a member of the Bhutto family but now the Zardari family.

Although its center lies in the southern province of Sindh, it also has considerable support in the more densely populated province of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. The party has been elected to power four times since its formation.^[1]

Founding

The party was launched at its founding convention on 30 November 1967 in Lahore.^[2][3] Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was elected its first chairman by participants.^[2][3]

Benazir Bhutto, former chairperson

The party manifesto, first issued on 9 December 1967 is: "Islam is our religion; democracy is our politics; socialism is our economy; power lies with the people."^[2]

Notable leaders

Basit Jehangir Sheikh (left) With President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the founder and first chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party. His wife, Nusrat Bhutto, succeeded him as chairperson and held the position^[4] into the 1980s. In 1982, Nusrat Bhutto, ill with cancer, was given permission to leave Pakistan for medical treatment and remained abroad for several years. At that point her daughter, Benazir Bhutto, became acting head of the party while Nusrat technically remained its chairman^[5] and was referred to as such as late as September 1983.^[6] By January 1984, Benazir was being referred to as the party's chairman.^[7] She had been elected chairperson for life,^[8] and as such was chair until her assassination on 27 December 2007. Her nineteen-year old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father Asif Ali Zardari were appointed party co-chairmen after assassination of Benazir Bhutto on 30 December 2007. ^[9]

Chairs

1. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1967–1979)
2. Nusrat Bhutto (1979–1984)
3. Benazir Bhutto (1984–2007)
4. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (2007–Present)
5. Asif Ali Zardari (2007–Present) Co-Chairman, and Chairman of the Central Executive Committee

Major Office Bearers (Current)

• Ameen Faheem, Senior Vice Chairman and President (Parliamentarians Wing)
• Yousaf Raza Gillani, Vice Chairman
• Moula Bakhsh Chandio, Senator
• Senator Jahangir Badar, Secretary General
• Senator Raza Rabbani, Deputy Secretary General
• Sardar Mir Baz M Khan Khetran, Senior Vice President (Parliamentarians Wing)
• Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Secretary General (Parliamentarians Wing)
• Qamar Zaman Kaira, Information Secretary
• Haider Zaman Qureshi, Deputy Information Secretary
• Senator Babar Awan, Secretary Finance Committee
• Mr. Imtiaz Safdar Waraich, President PPP Punjab
• Zahir Ali Shah, President PPP Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
• Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, Acting President PPP Balochistan
• Qaim Ali Shah, President PPP Sindh
• Ch. Abdul Majeed, President PPP AJK
• Sardar_Fraz_Wahlah, President PPP Punjab for Youth
• Syed Mehdi Shah, President PPP Gilgit Baltistan
• Faryal Talpur, Chairperson Women's Wing
• Khalid Ahmed Kharral, Secretary General Federal Council

Other Leaders

• Nawabzada Mir Nadir Ali Khan Magsi
• Shah Mahmood Qureshi
• Sherry Rehman
• Taj Haider
• Basit Jehangir Sheikh, Founder Member of Pakistan Peoples Party^[10], Ex-MPA (District Kasur)
• Syed Naveed Qamar
• Amir Fida Paracha
• Jamshed Dasti
• Malik Mukhtar Awan
• Rehman Malik
• Faisal Raza Abidi
• Chaudhary Ahmad Mukhtar
• Taj Muhammad Balouch
• Azra Pechuho
• Hakim Ali Zardari
• Chadhary Manzoor
• Mumtaz Alam Gillani
• Syed Abdul-Qadir Gillani
• Pir Mazhar Ul Haq
• Nisar Khoro
• Syeda Shehla Raza
• Irfana Jalal
• Zulfiqar Mirza
• Fehmida Mirza
• Shahid Hussain Bhutto
• Nawab Yusuf Talpur
• Ayaz Soomro
• Qamar Zaman Kaira
• Tanveer Ashraf Kaira
• Qazi Sultan Mahmood
• Hamid Saeed Kazmi
• Faisal Karim Kundi
• Junaid Masood
• Iqbal M Qureshi
• Lal Muhammad Khan
• Kashif Tasleem EX Vice President PSF Punjab
• Abdul Qadir Patel
• Rais Abdul Majeed Magsi, Bahram
• Ghulam Mustafa Khan Magsi, Bahram
• Haji Ahmad Khan Magsi, Bahram
• Shaukat Abbasi
• Syed Amaduddin Naqvi
• Sardar Saleem Haider
• Tasneem Qureshi
• Imtiaz Safdar Warraich
• Samina Khalid Ghurki
• Riaz Lalji
• Saleem Khan Chitrali
• Basit Ali Pasha
• Rana Shaukat Mehmood
• Nawazish Ali Pasha
• Raja Qamar Masood
• Hina Rabbani Khar
• Haji Mohammad Ramzan Surahio NA 207
• Syeda Sughra Imam
• Mian Ghulam Muhammad Maneka ex federal minister
• Gohar farid maneka ex MPA pakpattan

Party structure

The Party is structured from municipal unit levels up to the federal level. The Central Executive Committee of the Party is the supreme body that sets out the strategy for the party. The CEC is headed by the Chairman / Co-Chairman and includes all the major office bearers of the party.

General Elections 2008

After the assassination of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto on 27 December 2007, the 2008 General Elections which were scheduled to be held in January were postponed until 18 February. The PPP won the most seats, gaining a total of 84 seats in the National Parliament. Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said that "Pakistan was on its way of ridding dictatorships forever", and appealed to the Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to form a coalition controlling over half the seats in Pakistan's 342 seat parliament.

On 9 March 2008 in a press conference held in Muree, Punjab, PML-N Leader Nawaz Sharif and PPP Co-Leader Asif Ali Zardari officially signed an agreement to form a coalition government. Titled the PPP-PML summit declaration, the joint declaration both parties agreed on the reinstatement of judges deposed during the emergency rule imposed on 3 November 2007 by Pervez Musharraf within 30 days after the new federal government was formed. The nominee for the PM would be fully supported by the coalition parties but the PM nominee should carry forward both party agendas. Sharif stated in the press conference that the Charter of Democracy had been formulated by Benazir Bhutto and Sharif. Speaking at the press conference for the first time Zardari stated that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto's dream of PPP-PML-N uniting was her dream and that today her dream came true. This agreement was to become known as the Bhurban Accord. Zardari also offered the PM slot to Sharif, who happily rejected the offer. The first session of the new government opened up on 17 March 2008 where the PPP announced they would confirm who had been chosen as the candidate of Prime Minister, within the next few days, although Nawaz Sharif confirmed with the BBC that the slot for PM had been chosen by the PPP but did not say. Zardari is ineligible to be PM, but will take a seat in the parliament after all his corruption charges were dropped last week. On 23 March 2008 it was announced that the new prime minister of the country would be Yousaf Raza Gilani, a former parliament speaker and a fully committed PPP member. It has been confirmed that Gilani would fulfill a full five-year term.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party on 27 June 2008, won three and two of five by-election seats, respectively, to the national parliament.^[11] The two parties also won 19 of 23 provincial assembly seats where by-elections were held. The results will not affect the 18 February general election results in which Benazir Bhutto's PPP won 123 seats in the 342-seat National Assembly and Sharif's party came second with 91, while Pervez Musharraf's party came third with 54 seats. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) won eight provincial assembly seats, while the PPP won seven provincial seats.^[12][13]

Presidential election 2008

PPP candidate Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, won Pakistan’s presidential elections on September 5, 2008.^[14]

See also

Government of Pakistan portal

• Politics of Pakistan
• Constitution of Pakistan
• The PPP's Marxist wing
• Peoples' Aman Committee

References

1. ^ "Pakistan Peoples Party". Ppp.org.pk. http://www.ppp.org.pk/history.html. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} PPP USA. Retrieved 03 August 2010.
3. ^ ^{a b} People's Party of Pakistan. Retrieved 03 August 2010.
4. ^ Reuters, "Pakistan rally halted before march begins", The Globe and Mail, 29 August 1983
5. ^ Hall, Carla, "The April of Her Freedom Five Years Later, Benazir Bhutto's Plea for Pakistan", The Washington Post, 4 April 1984
6. ^ "Mrs. Bhutto Asks Army To Overthrow Zia", The New York Times, 27 September 1983
7. ^ "Miss Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of the former Prime Minister, Zulfikar Bhutto, and chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party has been released from detention and has gone to Paris to be with her cancer-stricken mother", Financial Times, 11 January 1984
8. ^ Rohde, David (2007-12-28). "Musharraf’s Political Future Appears Troubled". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/world/asia/28assess.html. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
9. ^ "Bhutto's son, husband to be co-leaders of party". Reuters. 30 December 2007. http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-31174520071230. Retrieved 2007-12-30. 
10. ^ http://www.pap.gov.pk/html/1193897152_e.shtml#1972-todate
11. ^ "Ruling parties win Pakistan polls". BBC News. 2008-06-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7476892.stm. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
12. ^ "Sharif's party does well in Pakistani by-elections". Reuters. 27 June 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSISL159890. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
13. ^ "Pakistan ruling coalition sweeps by-elections". Xinhua. 2008-06-27. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/27/content_8449844.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
14. ^ Farhan Bokhari (February 6, 2008). "Zardari wins Pakistan’s presidency". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e5eadf66-7bf7-11dd-a25c-000077b07658.html. 

External links

• Pakistan Peoples Party Pakistan Based Website
• Pakistan Peoples Party USA Officail Site
• A Detailed Web Site On The Life Of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
• President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari's Official Website
• Critical PPP / Let Us Build Pakistan (LUBP), a website of critical supporters of Pakistan Peoples Party
• 2008 Election Dossier, Radio France Internationale (in English)
• The Pakistan People's Party, Radio France Internationale (in English)
• International People's Lawyers' Forum