Islamabad: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a party of the masses and has always "confronted dictators" to uphold the rule of law in the country, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
Gilani said the PPP was instrumental in giving the country a constitution in 1973, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
The party always had a history of confronting dictators, but always respected national institutions, he said.
"Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave the country its constitution, which teaches respect of institutions, be it judiciary, parliament, media, army or civil society," Gilani said.
Bhutto, the PPP founder, faced dictatorships of Gen. Ayub Khan and Gen. Zia-ul Haq, while his daughter Benazir challenged Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
"PPP is the party of masses, the poor, downtrodden, women and children and cannot support dictators," Gilani said.
The prime minister said that despite the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the party won the general elections of 2008 and formed the coalition government at the centre.
"I want to tell those imprudent people that PPP is a vision, a philosophy and a thinking. You can assassinate someone, but you cannot eliminate the thinking. Benazir Bhutto is no more alive, but her philosophy and vision is there," he said.
The prime minister said the party would continue to strive for a peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 14:02