Pakistan People's Party

The Pakistan People's Party is a Pakistani political party with a centre-left political position and a democratic socialist ideology. It is one of the three major mainstream political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. It currently holds the most seats in the Senate, and second-most in the National Assembly; alongside leading a majoritarian government in Sindh and a coalition government in Balochistan.
Founded in 1967 in Lahore, when a number of prominent left-wing politicians in the country joined hands against the presidency of Ayub Khan, under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It is a member of the Socialist International. The PPP's platform is social democratic, liberal-progressive, and its stated priorities continue to include transforming Pakistan into a social-democratic state, promoting social liberal values, establishing social justice, and maintaining a strong military.
Since its foundation in 1967, it has been a major centre-left populist in the country and the party's leadership has been dominated by the members of the Bhutto-Zardari family with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari its chairman and Asif Ali Zardari as the president. Although, its power of center lies in Sindh and Balochistan, the party has been elected into leading the executive on five separate occasions, while on four occasions it emerged as the largest opposition party.
In the 20th century, the party dominated the nation's politics and the two-party system in rival with the conservative Pakistan Muslim League and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf while opposing the status quo policies in the country. In 2013, the party struggled to appeal its political narrative in the country, and, for the first time in its history, the party failed to secure its position to become majoritarian or in opposition in 2018 and in 2024. In foreign policy, the party supports liberal internationalism while advocating for stronger ties with the United Kingdom, China, and Russia.

History

Foundation

On 30 November 1967, Meraj Muhammad, a devoted communist, was able to gather left-wing leaders in the residency of Dr. Mubashir Hassan in Lahore, Punjab, that included, J. A. Rahim, Ghulam Mustafa, A. H. Pirzada, Hayat Sherpao, and S. M. Rashid who became the founding members of the party, and announced it's establishment on 1^st of December 1967. The convention elected Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as its first chairman when the latter was unable to challenge the leadership of the National Awami Party from Wali Khan in 1966.
Its manifesto, titled Islam is our Religion; Democracy is our Politics; Socialism is our Economy; Power Lies with the People was written by Bengali communist J. A. Rahim, and was published on 9 December 1967. The document, which was viewed as "Marxist", declared that "Only socialism, which creates equal opportunities for all, protects from exploitation, removes the barriers of class distinction, and is capable of establishing economic and social justice. Socialism is the highest expression of democracy and its logical fulfillment".

Left-wing activism and populism

Despite controversially winning the presidential elections held in 1965, President Ayub Khan was widely disapproved for his economic policies that many saw as the distribution of wealth to the capitalist elite at the expense of ordinary people, evidenced by the drastic increase in income inequality and poverty. The economy suffered when Ayub Khan's administration entered in the war with India in 1965 which ended up in a compromise facilitated by the former Soviet Union. In public circles, the ceasefire was widely disapproved with foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto going on to accuse Ayub Khan of "losing the war on the negotiating table", which led to his dismissal by Ayub Khan while he fiercely defended the peace agreement and called it in the best interest of the people.
Massive protests and strikes ensued against Ayub Khan, who responded by outlawing the political gatherings in the country. On 5 February 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced his program of regional autonomy for East Bengal at a news conference.
According to Philip E. Jones, the Peoples Party had three main ideological camps: Marxists, Islamic socialists and the landed elite. In 1968, Ayub Khan celebrated his government's "Decade of Development" which was widely disapproved of when the demonstrations erupted all over the country. In the same year, spontaneous students' movements erupted throughout the country, largely due to unemployment and economic hardship which saw the beginning of the student movements in the country. AT the same time, ideological differences emerged within the NAP, which led to a major split between the pro-Russian and pro-Chinese factions. The pro-Russian faction, led by Wali Khan in West, proposed a parliamentary route to power, whereas the pro-Chinese faction led by Moulana Bhashani in East advocated for a peasant revolution to overthrow Khan's administration. The vacuum on the left generated by the disunity of the National Awami Party was effectively filled by the Pakistan Peoples Party as a united front of opposition to Ayub Khan.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, being shrewder in sensing the mood of the mass movement, had embarked upon the 'need for socialism' and other radical slogans. This PPP programme connected with the masses' moods, aspirations and sentiments; the PPP became the largest party of the masses in the history of Pakistan, almost overnight. The first activists and cadres who gave the PPP a foothold and standing were from the different Maoist groups and other scattered left activists. These groups were disillusioned and frustrated by the traditional Stalinist leadership of the left.

In 1968, Pakistan Peoples Party then launched and driven the massive public-relations and membership program, beginning in the Punjab province. The program directly targeted the country's poverty-stricken masses in rural areas with the left-wing oriented slogans "Land to the Landless" proved to be popular amongst the peasants and workforce, as the party promised not only to abolish the feudalism, but also to redistribute land. The working-classes quickly flocked to the new party, believing it to be a party dedicated to the destruction of capitalism in the country. The university students and professors who often bore the brunt of Ayub Khan's presidency during his decade-long rule were promised a better future with better educational and career opportunities. Many other members of society who had felt stifled and repressed by the press-control and heavy censorship practised by the authoritarian Ayub Khan administration also joined the new party, whose manifesto also attracted the country's numerous minorities.
The massive demonstration and public protests eventually led Ayub Khan to resign from the presidency on 25 March 1969 by inviting his army commander General Yahya Khan to take-over the government. President Yahya Khan imposed the martial law in the country with a promised to hold general elections within two years.

1970 general election and 1971 war

On 31 March 1970, the Yahya administration enacted the legal framework, which was seen as the path for future constitution but also restored the provincial autonomy in the country, ideology, and aimed for establishing a unicameral legislature as the framework also called for general elections in 1970. In response, the Peoples Party decided to hold its national conference that was held in Hala, Sindh between 1–3 July 1970. At this conference, there were two different opinions on participating in the upcoming general election with some hardliners arguing for boycotting the elections but rather adopt methods of revolutionary insurrection to take power, whereas others emphasized the importance of partaking in parliamentary democracy. In the end, the decision to participate in the elections was taken.
On 4 January 1970, Bhutto officially launched his electoral campaign by addressing a public meeting at Nishtar Park in Karachi and then leading a campaign in Liaquat Garden in Rawalpindi and public speaking in parts of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The party published its ideology in newspapers such as Nusrat, Fatah, and Mussawat. The results of the general elections in 1970 showed that the Peoples Party won most of the seats in the four provinces shared together with the pro-Russian National Awami Party and the conservative Pakistan Muslim League. The Peoples Party, in east, struggled to appeal its political narrative due to strong ethnic sentiments and against the identity politics led by the Awami League, which also failed to make any breakthrough or win any seats in western four provinces. Data published by the Election Commission of Pakistan which showed that the Awami League had a clear mandate when it secured 160 seats out of the total 300 seats in the National Assembly, whereas the Peoples Party came second with 81 seats.
The Pakistan Peoples Party questioned the results and contested Awami League's mandate to form the central government as Awami League had failed to win won a single seat. To break the impasse, Bhutto proposed the continuation of the One Unit program, with two separate prime ministers for governing the wings. This proposal was rejected by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who emphasized the implementation of Six Points for a more federal Pakistan; this proposal was rejected by Bhutto. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders, along with President General Yahya Khan, met in Dacca to try and resolve the constitutional crisis which ended up in bitter arguments on both sides. With Mujib calling for the nationwide strike, Bhutto, who feared a civil war, proposed to form a coalition with Rehman as Prime Minister and Bhutto as President, which was agreed upon by both sides.
This proposal was never made public when President Yaya Khan authorized the wide-range military operations in East and placing both Bhutto and Rehman on arrest orders in Central Jail Adiala. The news of arrest of Rehman eventually led to the liberation war and followed by the Indian intervention in East Bengal, cementing the defeat of the Pakistan Armed Forces in East and ceasefire in western front, and the independence of Bangladesh.