Democracy is necessary to peace and to undermining the forces of

Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Pakistan and martyr for her people, once proclaimed with courage and conviction: “Democracy is necessary to peace and to undermining the forces of terrorism.” In these words she bound together two eternal truths: that the path to harmony is paved not with tyranny or oppression, but with freedom, justice, and the voice of the people; and that the poison of terrorism grows strongest where liberty is strangled, where hope is extinguished, and where the people are denied their right to shape their destiny.

The origin of this declaration lies in Bhutto’s own life and struggle. Twice she served as Prime Minister of Pakistan, and twice she was torn from power by forces that sought to silence her. She lived in exile, endured persecution, and ultimately returned to her homeland knowing full well that death stalked her steps. Yet she spoke still of democracy as the cure to her country’s afflictions, as the shield against both dictatorship and extremism. She knew that peace could not be forced upon a people at the edge of a sword; it had to be cultivated by giving them a stake in their future.

Her words resound with historical proof. Consider Germany after the First World War: humiliation and dictatorship bred resentment, and from that soil arose the terror of Nazism, which plunged the world into devastation. By contrast, after the Second World War, when Germany and Japan were rebuilt on foundations of democracy, they transformed from aggressors into champions of peace and prosperity. Where the people’s voices were heard, the fires of extremism dwindled. Where liberty was denied, they flared into catastrophe.

Bhutto’s wisdom also applies beyond nations. Terrorism, at its core, is born of despair, of alienation, of the belief that no peaceful avenue remains for justice or dignity. When rulers close the doors of representation, when they silence the voices of dissent, they drive the desperate into the arms of violence. But when people are given a voice, when systems of justice are open to all, when governments serve the governed, then extremism loses its recruits, and the seeds of terror find no soil in which to grow.

Yet Bhutto’s words are also heroic in their tragedy. She was assassinated in 2007, struck down by those very forces of hatred and terror she sought to defeat. And yet her blood did not silence her message. If anything, her death became a testimony: the cost of standing for democracy may be high, but the cost of abandoning it is higher still. Her life became a beacon for all who understand that peace built on oppression is only an illusion, but peace built on freedom endures.

The lesson is clear: if we desire peace, we must nurture democracy. This does not mean only the casting of votes, but the daily labor of protecting rights, ensuring justice, and allowing even the smallest voices to be heard. We must understand that terrorism is not defeated by weapons alone, but by hope, by opportunity, by a society in which all believe they have a place. Democracy is not simply a form of government—it is a fortress against chaos, a medicine against despair, and a light against the darkness of extremism.

Practically, this means that each generation must defend the principles of openness, dialogue, and representation. We must resist the temptation of strongmen who promise order at the cost of freedom. We must strengthen institutions that protect the weak, educate the young, and provide dignity for all. And in our own communities, we must practice the spirit of democracy: listening, respecting, and allowing all voices to be heard. For the peace of nations begins in the peace of households and villages.

Thus Bhutto’s words endure, carved into the conscience of humanity: “Democracy is necessary to peace and to undermining the forces of terrorism.” Let them remind us that peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice; not the silence of the oppressed, but the harmony of free voices. If we would build a world without terror, we must first build a world where liberty reigns, where democracy flourishes, and where every human soul knows it has both dignity and a voice.