If-I-am-assassinated-by-Shaheed-Bhutto

leader, not having this system and not subscribing to this system ofparliamentary elections based on adult franchise. I would say, so what? Thosewho think that a coup d’etat is the best thing that happened to Pakistan would, byconviction, like coup-gemony to spread to other countries, especially theneighbouring countries. There is no other logical explanation for the Arabictranslation on how to rig a coup d’etat and to justify it.Lessons to be learntA few miscellaneous points need to be covered before dealing withprejudice. The White Paper abounds in passages indicating that I started toprepare for the election campaign much before the scheduled date. One referencewill serve the purpose. On page 54, under the caption, “Early Planning,” theWhite Paper states: “Documentary evidence exists to justify the inferences citedabove. The threads lead back to 1974, a tribute in fact to the political sagacity andinsight of the leadership of the People’s Party. Certainly they took their politicsseriously and worked hard and in advance to achieve their political goalsthrough legitimate, and more often by illegitimate, means. The first shot in thestrategic manoeuvres to get the right type of constituencies demarcated, wasfired by Syed Qaim Ali Shah, President, People’s Party. On June 12 th 1974, hewrote a letter (Annexure 25) to the Prime Minister/Chairman, PPP, pointing outthat a Bill with regard to the delimitation of constituencies had just been passed.”Firstly, if a “Bill with regard to the delimitation of constituencies had justbeen passed,” the follow-up action was mandatory and not a sign of earlyplanning. Secondly, and this is far more important, a fixed time for elections isthe antithesis of the parliamentary system. Only in a presidential system can aprescribed time limit be given for elections and the tenure of office. In markedcontrast, in a parliamentary system, the most that a Constitution stipulates is thatan election must not be postponed beyond a prescribed time. Any number ofelections can be held within the time ceiling. The advantage or disadvantage of aparliamentary system is that an election can be held at any time. The governmentcan take the Opposition by surprise by prematurely dissolving parliament andhaving snap elections. This prerogative is a part and parcel of the parliamentarysystem. In contrast, the advantage or disadvantage of a presidential system isthat there is a fixed term of office guaranteed by the Constitution. In aparliamentary system, there have been as many as three to four elections beforethe expiry of the final date.The elections of March 1977 were held a year in advance. Actually, I wasseriously contemplating general elections after the Islamic Summit Conference. Iwas keen to dissolve all the assemblies after the Islamic Summit and hold theelections. In this manner, I was also thinking of forward steps in the politicalIf I am Assassinated; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 203