Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was
9th Prime Minister of PakistanThe Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that,
4th President of PakistanThe President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the
Pakistan Peoples PartyThe Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
(PPP)— the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his execution in 1979. His elder daughter,
Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, would also serve as Prime minister, while his son
Murtaza BhuttoDr. Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and the Member of the Parliament of Pakistan, representing Pakistan People's Party from the Larkana constituency...
, served as member of Parliament of Pakistan.
Educated at the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in the United States and the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his progressive
economic initiativesThe economy of Pakistan is the 47th largest in the world in nominal terms and 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity . Pakistan has a semi-industrialized economy, which mainly encompasses textiles, chemicals, food processing, agriculture and other industries...
, industrialization,
educationEducation in Pakistan is overseen by the government Ministry of Education and the provincial governments, whereas the federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and some financing of research....
, energy and foreign policy, and his intellectualism. In addition to national security issues, Bhutto promoted his policies on the
nationalizationNationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
, health care, and social reforms. Under his premiership, Pakistan's Parliament gave approval and passed unanimously the
1973 ConstitutionThe Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
of Pakistan, a supreme law that provides a
parliamentary systemA parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
to Pakistan, strengthened the Sino-Pak and Saudi-Pak relations,
recognitionDiplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
of
East-PakistanEast Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
as
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, and hosted the second Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1974 where he delegated and invited leaders from the
Muslim worldThe term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
to
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
,
Punjab ProvincePunjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan. In July 1972, Bhutto successfully proceeded the Shimla treaty, signed with
Indira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
of India, brought 93,000 Prisoners of War back to Pakistan, and secured 5000 sq mi (12,949.9 km²) held by India. In January 20 of 1972, weeks after the
Indo-Pakistani 1971 winter warThe Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
, Bhutto orchestrated, authorized, and administrated the scientific research on nuclear weapons; for this, he is colloquially known in the world as "
Father of the Pakistan's nuclear deterrent programme".
A serious secessionist and rebellious conflict occurred in Balochistan province in 1973. In response, Bhutto ordered Pakistan Armed Forces an armed action, which was quelled by the Pakistan Armed Forces successfully in 1978 and speeded up economic and political reform in the region. Bhutto and his party won the
parliamentary electionsGeneral elections were held in Pakistan on 7 March 1977. The result was a victory for the Pakistan People's Party, which won 155 of the 200 elected seats, including 19 that were uncontested as the Pakistan National Alliance boycotted the Balochistan elections due to ongoing military...
held in 1977. However, in a successful
coup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
led by General Zia-ul-Haq under codename
Operation Fair PlayOperation Fairplay was the code-name for the coup d'etat conducted at midnight on July 4, 1977 by the Pakistan Army's 111th Infantry Brigade led by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq against the elected civilian government of then-Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.-1977 election:The coup was...
; Bhutto was removed from the office and was held in
Central Jail RawalpindiCentral Jail Rawalpindi is a prominent jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.-History:...
(CJR) as General Zia-ul-Haq proclaimed himself as
Chief Martial Law AdministratorThe office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior government post created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforce martial law in the country. This office has been used mostly by...
of Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979 after the
Supreme Court of PakistanThe Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
controversially sentenced him to
deathHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
for authorizing the murder of a political opponent, in a move that many believe was done under the directives of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
Early life
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born in a prominent Sindhi
arainThe Arain , are a Muslim agricultural caste settled mainly in the Punjab, with significant numbers also in Sindh. They are chiefly associated with farming, traditionally being landlords or zamindars.- Origin :...
family. to Khursheed Begum née Lakhi Bai and Sir
Shah Nawaz BhuttoSir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, CIE, OBE, OBI was a politician hailing from Larkana in Sindh province of British India, which is now part of Pakistan.-Early life:Bhutto, the son of Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto, was born into Arain family of Sindh...
. His mother converted from
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
to
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
before her marriage. Bhutto's father was a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. Bhutto was born in his parent's residence near
LarkanaLarkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
in what later became the province of
SindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. He was their third child — their first one, Sikandar Ali, died from
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at age seven in 1914 and the second child, Imdad Ali, died of
cirrhosisCirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
at the age of 39 in 1953. His father was the prime minister of Junagadh State, and enjoyed an influential relationship with the officials of the
British RajBritish Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. As a young boy, Bhutto moved to Worli Seaface in Bombay (now
MumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
) to study at the
Cathedral and John Connon SchoolThe Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational, private school located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, established in 1860.According to the Education World-C fore Survey of Schools 2010, the school has been ranked first in the all India ranking of the best schools in India.It was ranked...
. During this period, he also became a student activist in the social movement and nationalist league, the
Pakistan MovementThe Pakistan Movement or Tehrik-e-Pakistan refers to the historical movement to have an independent Muslim state named Pakistan created from the separation of the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent, partitioned within or outside the British Indian Empire. It had its origins in the...
. In 1943, his marriage was arranged with Shireen Amir Begum (died 19 January 2003 in Karachi). He later left her, however, in order to remarry. In 1947, Bhutto was admitted to the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
to study political science.
In 1949, as college sophomore, Bhutto transferred to the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he earned an
B.A.A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(honours) degree in
Political sciencePolitical Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1950. Here, Bhutto would become interested in the
theories of socialismA Theory of Socialism and Capitalism is a treatise by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, an anarcho-capitalist economist and a student of Jürgen Habermas, which uses the ethics of argumentation, a Habermasian principle, as the foundation for self-ownership and private property as ethical principles.Published in...
, delivering a series of lectures on the feasibility of socialism in Islamic countries. During this time, Bhutto's father, Sir Shahnawaz, played a controversial role in the affairs of the state of
JunagadhJunagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
(now in
Gujarat). Coming to power in a palace coup as the
dewanThe originally Persian title of dewan has, at various points in Islamic history, designated various differing though similar functions.-Etymology:...
, he secured the accession of the state to Pakistan, which was ultimately negated by Indian intervention in December 1947. In June 1950, Bhutto traveled to the United Kingdom to study law at
Christ ChurchChrist Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
— a
constituent collegeThe University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
of the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
— and received a
LLBThe Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
, followed by another advanced
LLMThe Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
degree in Law and
M.Sc.A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
(honours) degree in Political science. Upon finishing his studies, he was called to the bar at
Lincoln's InnThe Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in the year 1953 (the same school at which
Muhammad Ali JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
studied law).
Bhutto married his second wife, the Iranian-Kurdish Begum
Nusrat IspahaniBegum Nusrat Bhutto was an Iranian-Pakistani who was the wife of the 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as the First Lady of Pakistan during his premiership from 1971 until Bhutto's removal in 1977. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples...
who was a Shi'a Muslim, in
KarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
on 8 September 1951. Their first child, his daughter
BenazirBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, was born in 1953. She was followed by
MurtazaDr. Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and the Member of the Parliament of Pakistan, representing Pakistan People's Party from the Larkana constituency...
in 1954, a second daughter,
SanamSanam Bhutto Sindhi: صنم ڀٽو in Karachi city is the younger sister of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. She is the only surviving child of the late former Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto and the only one whom Nusrat did not outlive...
, in 1957, and the youngest child,
Shahnawaz BhuttoShahnawaz Bhutto Sindhi: شاھنواز ڀٽو was the son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto. Shahnawaz Bhutto was the youngest of Bhutto’s four children...
, in 1958. He accepted the post of
lecturerLecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
at the Sindh Muslim College, from where he was also awarded an
honorary doctorateAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
, —honoris causa— in law by the then college President, Hassanally Rahmann before establishing himself in a legal practice in Karachi. He also took over the management of his family's estate and business interests after his father's death.
Political career
In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest member of
Pakistan's delegation to the United NationsPakistan officially came to join the United Nations on September 30, 1947 just over a month after its independence. Today, it is a charter member and participates in all of the UN's specialised agencies....
. He would address the
United Nations Sixth Committee on AggressionThe United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee is one of the main committees of the United Nations General Assembly. The Sixth Committee is the primary forum for the consideration of legal questions in the General Assembly.-Mandate:...
on 25 October 1957 and lead Pakistan's deputation to the first United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1958. In the same year, Bhutto became the youngest
Pakistan cabinetThe Cabinet of Pakistan is headed by Prime Minister and plays an important role in the Government of Pakistan, in accordance with the Westminster System....
minister when he was given charge of the
Energy ministryThe Ministry of Water and Power is a federal government agency in Pakistan. The ministry is headed by the Minister for Water and Power. Syed Naveed Qamar is the current Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan....
by President Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who had seized power, through a successful
coup d'étatThe 1958 Pakistani coup d'état refers to the events between October 7, when the President of Pakistan Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan and declared martial law, and October 27, when Mirza himself was deposed by Gen. Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani Army...
, and declared martial law in the country. In 1960, he was subsequently promoted to minister of the
Commerce MinistryThe Ministry of Commerce is headed by the Commerce Minister of Pakistan, who must be a member of Parliament of Pakistan.- State Life Insurance Corporation :State Life Insurance Corporation - See also :* Economy of Pakistan* Ministry of Finance...
, and Ministry of
InformationMinistry of Communications functions as a central policy making and administrative authority on Communications and Transport Sector in Pakistan. Ministry of Communications consists of one division Communications Division-Introduction:...
and
Industry MinistryThe Ministry of Industry is headed by the Industry Minister of Pakistan, who must be a member of Parliament of Pakistan.- See also :* Economy of Pakistan* Ministry of Finance * Ministry of Commerce -External links:*...
. Throughout this time, Bhutto became a close and trusted political advisor to Field Marshal Ayub Khan, rising in influence and power despite his youth and relative inexperience in politics. Bhutto aided Ayub Khan in negotiating the Indus Water Treaty in India in 1960.In 1961, Bhutto negotiated an
oil exploration agreementThe Pakistan Oilfields Limited , is a subsidiary of the Attock Group of Companies, was incorporated on November 25, 1950. In 1978, Pakistan Oilfields took over the exploration and production business of Attock Oil Company. Since then, Pakistan Oilfields has been investing independently...
with the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which also agreed to provide economic and technical aid to Pakistan.
Foreign Minister
Bhutto was a
nationalistPakistani nationalism refers to the political, cultural, linguistic, historical and religious expression of patriotism by people of Pakistan, of pride in the history, culture, identity and heritage of Pakistan, and visions for its future....
-socialist, with a views of democracy needed in Pakistan. The socialist views influenced Bhutto — as he was became Foreign Minister in 1963 — to build close relationships with neighboring
ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Bhutto developed the
One-China policyThe One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....
and established a bridge to China. During this time, rest of the world had accepted
TaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
as the legitimate single government, despite the
existence of two governments that claim to be "China"The term Two Chinas refers to the two states with "China" in their official names: People's Republic of China , commonly known as "China", established in 1949, controlling mainland China and two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau...
.
In 1964, the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and its satellite states had
broken offIn political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
the relations with
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
over ideological differences, and only
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and Pakistan supported People's Republic of China, as Bhutto staunchly supported Beijing in the
UNThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, and in the UNSC, while Bhutto continued to keep building bridges to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bhutto's was a strong advocate of developing ties with China ,this policy came under severe criticism from the United States ,President
JohnsonJohnson is an English, Scottish, and Irish name of Norman origin. The name itself is a patronym of the given name John, literally meaning "son of John." The name John derives from Latin Johannes, which is derived through Greek Ἰωάννης Iōannēs, from Hebrew יוחנן Yohanan meaning "Yahweh has favoured"...
wrote a letter to President Khan calling on him to fire Mr Bhutto and to only maintain ties with the "free world". As vibrant he was, Bhutto addresses the speeches in a demagogic style and headed
Ministry of Foreign AffairsThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also known as Foreign Ministry, is a Government of Pakistan's federal and executive Ministry which is responsible for international and Foreign Affairs. The ministry was created in 1947, and was one of the first ministries to be established...
with an aggressive leadership. His style of leading the Foreign ministry swift to rise to power also brought him national prominence and popularity. Bhutto visited Beijing and, Bhutto and his staff was received by Chinese with warm welcome and Bhutto greeted Mao Zedong with great respect. There, Bhutto helped Ayub negotiate trade and military agreements with the Chinese regime, which agreed to help Pakistan in a large number of military and industrial projects. Bhutto also signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement on 2 March 1963 that transferred 750 square kilometres of territory from
Pakistan-administered KashmirAzad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north west, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China to the north and the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, to the east.A...
to Chinese control. Bhutto asserted his belief in
non-alignmentThe Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
, making Pakistan an influential member in non-aligned organizations. Believing in
Pan-Islamic unityUmmah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
, Bhutto developed closer relations with nations such as
IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
,
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and other Arab states. Bhutto significantly transformed Pakistan's hitherto
pro-Western foreign policyPakistan–European Union relations are the international relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union.-Agreements and trade:...
. While maintaining a prominent role for Pakistan within the
Southeast Asia Treaty OrganizationThe Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February...
and the
Central Treaty OrganizationThe Central Treaty Organization was formed in 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. It was dissolved in 1979.U.S...
, Bhutto began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent of
U.S. influencePakistan – United States relations refers to the bilateral relationship between the Pakistan and the United States. The United States first established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on 20 October 1947. The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to...
. Meanwhile, Bhutto visited both East and West-Germany and established a strong link between two countries. Bhutto proceeded economical, technological, industrial and military agreements with Germany. Bhutto strengthened Pakistan's strategic alliance with Germany. Bhutto addressed a farewell speech at the University of Munich where he sighted the importance of Pakistan and German relations. Bhutto then also visited
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and established diplomatic relationship with Poland in 1962. Bhutto used
Pakistan Air ForceThe Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
's Brigadier-General Władysław Józef Marian Turowicz to established the military and economical link between Pakistan and Poland. Bhutto sought and reached to the
Polish-Pakistan communityDuring World War II, some 30,000 Polish refugees from Poland migrated to Karachi, at the time a part of the British Raj. Many of these migrants later settled. About 58 Polish graves exist in the Christian Gora Qabaristan graveyard of Karachi. In memory of the 58 Polish citizens who died in Karachi...
in Pakistan and made a tremendous effort for a fresh avenues for mutual cooperation.
In 1962, a territorial differences increased between India and People's Republic of China, the Beijing was planning to stage
an invasionThe Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
in northern territories of India.
Zhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
,
Chinese PremierThe Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
and
Mao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
invited Pakistan to join the raid and extricate the rest of Indian-held Kashmir from Indian control. Bhutto advocated for the plan, but President Ayub Khan oppose to plan he was feared of retreat by Indian troops. Instead Ayub Khan proposed a "joint defence union" with India ,Bhutto was shocked by such statement and felt Ayub Khan was unlettered in international affairs . Bhutto was conscious that despite pakistan's membership of anti-communist western alliances, China had refrained from criticising Pakistan. In 1962, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
assured Pakistan that Kashmir will be resolved according to the wishes of Pakistanis and the Kashmiris. Therefore, Ayub Khan prevented Pakistan not took participate in Chinese plans. Bhutto criticized the U.S. for providing military aid to India during and after the
Sino-Indian WarThe Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
of 1962, which was seen as an abrogation of Pakistan's alliance with the United States
Meanwhile,
Indian Prime ministerThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
reneged on his policies. When Ayub Khan recognized his mistake, Khan commenced the
GibraltarOperation Gibraltar was the codename given to the strategy of Pakistan to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of India, and start a rebellion against Indian rule...
, a failed airborne operation. The operation brutally failed and
Indian Armed ForcesThe Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. They consist of the Army, Navy and Air Force, supported by three paramilitary forces and various inter-service institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command.The President of India is...
attackedThe Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
West-PakistanWest Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
with a full-scale war.
This war was an aftermath of brief skirmishes that took place between March and August 1965 on the international boundaries in the
Rann of KutchThe Great Rann of Kutch, also called Greater Rann of Kutch or just Rann of Kutch , is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India and the Sindh province of Pakistan....
,
KashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and
PunjabPunjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
. Bhutto joined Ayub in
TashkentTashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
to negotiate a peace treaty with the Indian Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur ShastriLal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...
. Ayub and Shastri agreed to exchange prisoners of war and withdraw respective forces to pre-war boundaries. This agreement was deeply unpopular in Pakistan, causing major political unrest against Ayub's regime. Bhutto's criticism of the final agreement caused a major rift between him and Ayub Khan. Initially denying the rumors, Bhutto resigned in June 1966 and expressed strong opposition to Ayub's regime. During his term, Bhutto was known to be formulating aggressive geostrategic and foreign policies towards India. In 1965, Bhutto's friend
Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
had notified the status of
Indian nuclear programmeIndia possesses nuclear weapons and maintains short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable aircraft, surface ships, and submarines under development as possible delivery systems and platforms...
and an ambitious intention to build a nuclear weapon, which it did in 1974 (see
Operation Smiling Buddha), Bhutto, in 1965, reportedly saying, unofficially:
In his book,
The Myth of Independence, published in 1969. One of the notable thesis in the book was the necessity for Pakistan to acquire the fission weapon, and start a deterrence programme to be able to stand against the industrialized states, and against a nuclear armed India. Bhutto obtained a manifesto and made a future policy on how the programme would be developed and which individual scientists would be carry upon the starting of the programme, Bhutto selected Munir Ahmad Khan and
Abdus SalamMohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
as the first and main basis of the programme.
Pakistan Peoples Party
Following his resignation, large crowds gathered to listen to Bhutto's speech upon his arrival in Lahore on 21 June 1967. Tapping a wave of anger and opposition against Ayub, Bhutto began travelling across the country to deliver political speeches. In a speech in October 1966 Bhutto declared the PPP's beliefs, "
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is our faith, democracy is our policy, socialism is our economy. All power to the people." On 30 November 1967, in a residence of Dr.
Mubashir HassanMubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
, Bhutto, along with J.A. Rahim and Dr.
Mubashir HassanMubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
, founded the
Pakistan Peoples PartyThe Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
(PPP) in Lahore, establishing a strong base of political support in Punjab, Sindh and amongst the Muhajir communities.
Dr. Hassan, a professor of
civil engineeringCivil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
at the UET Lahore, was the main brain and hidden hand behind the success and the rise of Bhutto. Under Hassan's guidance and Bhutto's leadership, Bhutto's People's Party became a part of the pro-democracy movement involving diverse political parties from all across Pakistan. The PPP activists staged large protests and strikes in different parts of the country, increasing pressure on Ayub to resign. Dr. Hassan and Bhutto's arrest on 12 November 1969, sparked greater political unrest. After his release, Bhutto, joined by key leaders of PPP, attended the Round Table Conference called by Ayub Khan in
RawalpindiRawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, but refused to accept Ayub's continuation in office and the
East-PakistanEast Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
i politician
Sheikh Mujibur RahmanSheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
's
Six point movementThe 6 Point Movement was a Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which eventually led to the liberation of Bangladesh. The movement's main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali nationalist political parties in 1966,...
for regional autonomy.
Following Ayub's resignation, his successor, General
Yahya KhanGeneral Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...
promised to hold
parliamentary electionsGeneral elections were held for the first time in Pakistan in on 7 December 1970, although the polls in East Pakistan, originally scheduled for October, were delayed by disastrous floods and rescheduled for later in December and January 1971....
on 7 December 1970. Bhutto's party won a large number of seats from constituencies in West Pakistan. However, Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won an absolute majority in the legislature, largely because an electoral reform had given East-Pakistan a substantial majority of the seats in the chamber. Bhutto refused to accept an Awami League government and famously promised to "
break the legs" of any elected PPP member who dared to attend the inaugural session of the
National AssemblyThe National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
. Capitalising on West Pakistani fears of East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded that Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPP. According to terrorism expert
Hamid MirHamid Mir is a Pakistani journalist and editor. He is also a news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst who regularly participates in international conferences. He is also known for his columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a popular political talk show on Geo...
, Bhutto sent his most trusted companion to East Pakistan to meet with Mujib and his inner circle, played a major role convincing Mujib to meet Bhutto. After Dr. Hassan achieved this task, Bhutto and Mujib agreed upon a coalition government for the sake of keeping Pakistan united. Under the terms of the deal, Mujib would have become prime minister and Bhutto would have succeeded Yahya as president. Yahya was unaware of these talks, and both Bhutto and Mujib kept substantial pressure on Yahya Khan. After his own talks with Sheikh Mujib failed, Yahya postponed the opening session of the National Assembly and ordered an
army actionOperation Searchlight was a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in the erstwhile East Pakistan in March 1971. Ordered by the central government in West Pakistan, this was seen as the sequel to "Operation Blitz" which had been...
against Mujib. Amidst popular outrage in East Pakistan, Sheikh Mujib declared the independence of "
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
". On 26 March 1971 after Mujib was arrested by the Pakistan Army, which had been ordered by Yahya to suppress political activities. While supportive of the army's actions and working to rally international support, Bhutto distanced himself from the Yahya regime and began to criticized Khan for mishandling the situation. He refused to accept Yahya's scheme to appoint Bengali politician
Nurul AminNurul Amin , was a prominent Bengali leader of Pakistan's Muslim League who served as the 8th Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the only first and the last Vice President of Pakistan from 1970 till 1971...
as Prime minister, with Bhutto as deputy prime minister. Soon after his refusal and continuous resentment toward General Yahya Khan's mishandling of situation, General Yahya Khan ordered Military Police to arrest Bhutto for a treason charges, a quiet similar to Mujib. Bhutto was situated at the Adiala Jail along with Mujib where he was set to face the charges. The
Indian interventionThe Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
in East Pakistan led to the very bitter defeat of Pakistani forces, who surrendered on 16 December 1971. Bhutto and others condemned Yahya for failing to protect Pakistan's unity. Isolated, Yahya resigned on 20 December and transferred power to Bhutto, who became president, commander-in-chief and the first civilian chief martial law administrator. He was the country's first civilian leader since 1958, as well as the country's first civilian president.
Leader of Pakistan
By the time Bhutto had assumed control of what remained of Pakistan, the nation was completely isolated, angered, and demoralized. As President, Bhutto addressed the nation via radio and television, saying:
As President, Bhutto faced with mounted and eminent challenges in both internal and foreign fronts. The trauma was severe in Pakistan, a psychological setback and emotional breakdown for Pakistan. The
Two-Nation TheoryThe Two-Nation Theory proposed by Allama Iqbal is the ideology that the primary identity of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent is their religion, rather than their language or ethnicity, and therefore Indian Hindus and Muslims are two distinct nationalities, regardless of ethnic or other...
— the theoretical base in which Pakistan was found and established — was brutally failed, and Pakistan's foreign policy collapsed when no moral support was found anywhere, including from her own long standing allies, particularly the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Since her creation, the physical and moral existence of Pakistan was in great danger. At an internal front, the
BalochBaloch nationalism is a movement which claims that the Baloch people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly found in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are a nation...
,
SindhiSindhi nationalism is the political expression of ethno-national consciousness of the Sindhi people, who inhabit the ethno-linguistic region of Sindh started by the Ghulam Murtaza Shah, which lies in current day Pakistan....
, and the Pashtun nationalism was at its peak point, calling for their independence from Pakistan. Founding as difficult as to keep remaining Pakistan as united, Bhutto launched full fledged intelligence and extensive military operations. By the end of 1978, these nationalist organizations were brutally quelled by Pakistan Armed Forces.
Bhutto immediately placed General Yahya Khan under house arrest, brokered a ceasefire and ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the Pakistan Army. To implement this, Bhutto reversed the verdict of Mujib's court-martial trial that had taken place earlier, in which the presiding by the
JAGThe Judge Advocate General Branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces is composed of Pakistan's Military senior officers, lawyers and judges who provide legal services to the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines at all levels of command...
Branch's military judge Brigadier-General
Rahimuddin KhanRahimuddin Khan Afridi is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who was the fourth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987. He was also the longest-serving Governor and martial law administrator of Balochistan, from 1978 to when he resigned in 1984...
(later 4-star General) had sentenced Mujib to death. Appointing a new cabinet, Bhutto appointed Lieutenant-General Gul Hasan as Chief of Army Staff. On 2 January 1972 Bhutto announced the nationalization of all major industries, including iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electricals, petrochemicals, cement and public utilities. A new labour policy was announced increasing workers rights and the power of trade unions. Although he came from a feudal background himself, Bhutto announced reforms limiting land ownership and a government take-over of over a million acres (4,000 km²) to distribute to landless peasants. More than 2,000 civil servants were dismissed on charges of corruption. Bhutto also dismissed the military chiefs on 3 March after they refused orders to suppress a major police strike in Punjab. He appointed General
Tikka KhanGeneral Tikka Khan, HJ, HQA, SPk, was a senior four-star general in the Pakistan Army who served as the first Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 3 March 1972 to 1 March 1976. Before his four-star assignment, Khan was a Martial Law Administrator of erstwhile East-Pakistan...
as the new Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972 as he felt the General would not interfere in political matters and would concentrate on rehabilitating the Pakistan Army. Bhutto convened the National Assembly on 14 April, rescinded martial law on 21 April and charged the legislators with writing a new constitution.
Bhutto visited India to meet Prime Minister
Indira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
and negotiated a formal peace agreement and the release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. The two leaders signed the Shimla Agreement, which committed both nations to establish a new yet temporary
Cease-fire LineThe term Line of Control refers to the military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which, to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary but is the de facto border...
in Kashmir and obligated them to resolve disputes peacefully through bilateral talks. Bhutto also promised to hold a future summit for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and pledged to recognise
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Although he secured the release of Pakistani soldiers held by India, Bhutto was criticised by many in Pakistan for allegedly making too many concessions to India. It is theorised that Bhutto feared his downfall if he could not secure the release of Pakistani soldiers and the return of territory occupied by Indian forces. Bhutto established an atomic power development programme and inaugurated the first Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in
KarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
on 28 November. On 30 March, 59 military officers were arrested by army troops for allegedly plotting a coup against Bhutto, who appointed then-Brigadier
Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqGeneral Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
to head a military tribunal to investigate and try the suspects. The National Assembly approved the new constitution, which Bhutto signed into effect on 12 April. The constitution proclaimed an "
Islamic RepublicIslamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
" in Pakistan with a parliamentary form of government. On 10 August, Bhutto turned over the post of president to
Fazal Ilahi ChaudhryFazal Ilahi Chaudhry Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (Punjabi, ; (January 1, 1904 - June 2, 1982) was the fifth President of Pakistan from August 14, 1973 until his resignation on September 16, 1978.-Early life:...
, assuming the office of prime minister instead.
Bhutto officially recognised
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
in July. Making an official visit to
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Bhutto was criticised in Pakistan for laying flowers at a memorial for Bangladeshi
freedom fightersA resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
. Bhutto continued to develop closer relations with China as well as Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations. Bhutto hosted the Second Islamic Summit of Muslim nations in Lahore between 22 February and 24 February in 1974.
Bhutto, however, faced considerable pressure from Islamic religious leaders to declare the Ahmadiya communities as non-Muslims. Failing to restrain sectarian violence and rioting, Bhutto and the National Assembly amended the constitution to that effect. Bhutto intensified his nationalisation programme, extending government control over agricultural processing and consumer industries. Bhutto also started the planning of
Port QasimThe Port Muhammad Bin Qasim , also known as Port Qasim, is a seaport in Karachi, Pakistan, on the coastline of the Arabian Sea. It is Pakistan's second busiest port, handling about 35% of the nation's cargo...
, designed to expand harbour and naval facilities near Karachi. However, the performance of the Pakistani economy declined amidst increasing bureaucracy and a decline in private sector confidence. Bhutto re-organized and re-established the Pakistan Armed Forces as he had promised to his nation to build a professional and well-trained military. Bhutto disbanded the ranks of Commander-in-Chief in the Pakistan Armed Forces as well as re-organized country's intelligence services. As part of this vision, Bhutto upgraded naval rank for Chief of Naval Staff, and appointed Admiral
Mohammad ShariffAdmiral Mohammad Shariff, , , is a retired four-star naval officer and a career war veteran. Admiral Mohammad Shariff took over the command of Pakistan Navy on 21 March, 1979, when a three-star vice-admiral, Hasan Hafeez Ahmed, died in office...
as
NavyThe Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
's first 4-star admiral. Bhutto did the same for the
Air ForceThe Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
, and appointed
Zulfiqar Ali KhanAir Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan , NI was a four-star rank general and air officer in the Pakistan Air Force who served as a 9th Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force from April 1974 to July 1978...
as first 4-star general in the Air Force. In meantime, Bhutto also created the office of
Joint Chiefs of Staff CommitteeThe Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee , is a military administrative body of high-ranking and senior uniformed military leaders and officers in the Pakistan Defense Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, and Defence Minister on important military matters...
and the chairmanship of this post was given to 4-star General
Muhammad ShariffGeneral Muhammad Shariff was retired four-star general in the Pakistan Army who was the first Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee since its inception in 1976 till his retirement in 1978...
. In a surprise move in 1976, Bhutto appointed General
Zia-ul-HaqGeneral Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
to replace General Tikka Khan as Chief of Army Staff, surpassing five generals senior to Zia.
President of Pakistan
A
Pakistan International AirlinesPakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...
flight was sent to fetch Bhutto from New York, who at that time was presenting Pakistan's case before the
United Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
on the East Pakistan Crises. Bhutto returned home on 18 December 1971. On 20 December, he was taken to the President House in Rawalpindi where he took over two positions from Yahya Khan, one as President and the other as first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator, thus he was the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator of the dismembered Pakistan.
The new President inherited a disheartened war-weary nation. In this dark hour, he addressed the nation and promised to fight back. Bhutto's intentions to restore national confidence were in several shapes. He spoke about democracy, a new Constitution, and a modified federal and parliamentary system. He reached out to opposition leaders Abdul Wali Khan and
Mufti MahmudMaulana Mufti Mahmud , an ethnic Marwat Pashtun hailing from Abdul Khel, was born in January 1919 in Paniala, Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, province of Pakistan. He was an Islamic scholar and political activist. Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman is his son and was the leader of opposition in...
, signing an agreement regarding lifting the emergency and allowing opposition governments to be formed. He took steps to stabilise the situation by successfully negotiating the return of the 93,000 prisoners of war and a peaceful settlement with
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He took steps to ameliorate poverty and to revitalise the economy, industry and agriculture.
He gave the third Constitution to the country and established civilian authority over the armed forces in the political setup. In early 1972, Bhutto nationalised ten categories of major industries and withdrew Pakistan from the Commonwealth of Nations and S.E.A.T.O. On 1 March, he introduced extensive land reforms. On 2 July 1972, he signed the Simla Agreement with India outmanoeuvring the Indian Delegation and secured the exchange of the occupied territories and release of Prisoners of War.
After the
1973 ConstitutionThe Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
was promulgated, Pakistan changed from a presidential system to a parliamentary one. Bhutto was duly elected by the House to be the Prime Minister, and he was sworn in on 14 August 1973.
Father of the Nuclear weapons program
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, and due to his administrative and aggressive leadership to lead this nuclear deterrence programme, Bhutto is often known as Father of Nuclear deterrence programme. In October 1965, as
Foreign MinisterThe Foreign Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The current Foreign Minister is Hina Rabbani Khar who took office as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on 11 February 2011, and as full Minister of Foreign Affairs on 20 July, 2011...
, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited Vienna where a Pakistani nuclear engineer working at a senior technical post at the IAEA, Mr.
Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
informed him of the status of Indian nuclear programme and the options Pakistan had to develop its own nuclear capability. Both agreed on the need for Pakistan to develop a nuclear deterrent to meet India's nuclear capacity. While, Munir Ahmad Khan had failed to convince Ayub Khan, Bhutto had said to Munir Ahmad Khan:
Don't worry, our turn will come. Shortly, after the 1965 war, Bhutto in a press conference, famously declared that "
even if we have to eat grass, we will make nuclear bomb. We have no other choice." as he saw India was making its way to develop the bomb.
After India's nuclear test — codename
Smiling Buddha — in May 1974, Bhutto sensed and saw this test as final anticipation for
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's death. In a press conference, held shortly after India's nuclear test, Bhutto said, "India's nuclear program is designed to intimidate Pakistan and establish "
hegemony in the subcontinent". On 20 January 1972, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto rallied a conference of
nuclearNuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear power, nuclear medicine, and nuclear weapons...
scientists and engineers at
MultanMultan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
. While at the Multan meeting, arranged by Bhutto's Science Advisor Abdus Salam, scientists were wondering why the President who had so much on his hands in those trying days was paying so much attention to the scientists and engineers in the nuclear field. Bhutto said:"
Look, we're going to have the bomb. He asked them: "
Can you give it to me? And how long will it take it to make a bomb?". The academic scientists replied: "
Oh, yes, yes, You can have it." There was a lively debate on the time needed to make the bomb, and finally one scientist dared to say that maybe it could be done in five years. Prime Minister Bhutto smiled, lifted his hand, and dramatically thrust forward three fingers and said: "
Three years, I want it in three years". The atmosphere suddenly became electric. It was then that one of the junior scientist-dr. S.A.Butt (a
theoretical physicistTheoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
), who under
Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
's guiding hand would come to play a major role in making the fission weapon possible — jumped to his feet and clamoured for his leader's attention. Dr. S.A Butt replied: "
It can be done in three years". Bhutto was very much amused and he said: "
Well, much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, this is a very serious political decision, which Pakistan must make, and perhaps all Third WorldThe term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries must make one day, because it is coming. So can you do it?" And the scientist replied, "
Yes, we can do it, given the resources and given the facilities". Bhutto's answer was simple, "
I shall find you the resources and I shall find you the facilities". Despite Pakistan limited financial resources, Bhutto was so enthusiastic about Pakistan nuclear energy project, that he is reported to have said "
Pakistanis will eat grass but make a nuclear bomb."
Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
's militarisation was initiated in January 20 of 1972 and, in its initial years, was implemented by Pakistan Army's Chief of Army Staff General Tikka Khan. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP-I) was inaugurated by Bhutto during his role as
PresidentThe President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
of Pakistan at the end of 1972. Long before, as Minister for Fuel,
PowerThe Ministry of Water and Power is a federal government agency in Pakistan. The ministry is headed by the Minister for Water and Power. Syed Naveed Qamar is the current Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan....
, and
National ResourcesThe Ministry of Environment is a federal government agency in Pakistan. The ministry is headed by the Environment Minister of Pakistan. Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi is the current Environment Minister of Pakistan...
, he has played a key role in setting up of the
Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
. The nuclear weapons programme was set up loosely based on
Manhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
of 1940s under the administrative control of Bhutto. And, senior academic scientists had a direct access to Bhutto, who kept him informed about every inch of the development. Bhutto's Science Advisor,
Abdus SalamMohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
's office was also sat up in Bhutto's Prime minister Secretariat. On Bhutto's request, Salam had established and led the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) that marked the beginning of the nuclear detterence programme. The TPG designed and developed the nuclear weapons as well as the entire programme. Later,
Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
had him personally approved the budget for the development of the programme.
Wanting a capable administrator, Bhutto sought Lieutenant-General
Rahimuddin KhanRahimuddin Khan Afridi is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who was the fourth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987. He was also the longest-serving Governor and martial law administrator of Balochistan, from 1978 to when he resigned in 1984...
to chair the commission, which Rahimuddin declined, in 1971. Instead, in January 1972, Bhutto chose a
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trained
nuclear engineerNuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
as chairman of
Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(
PAECThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
) as Bhutto realized that he would wanted an administrator who understood the scientific and economical needs of this such technologically giant and ambitious programme. Since 1965, Khan had developed extremely close and trusted relationship with Bhutto, and even after his death, Benazir and Murtaza Bhutto were instructed by their father to keep in touch with Munir Ahmed Khan. In spring of 1976,
Kahuta Research FacilityThe Khan Research Laboratories ,, formerly known as Engineering Research Laboratories , is a multi-program Pakistan's weapons science and engineering research and development institute and nuclear research facility...
, then known as Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL), as part of codename
Project-706Project-706, also known as Project-726 or as the Kahuta Project, was a science effort codename of a project conducted during the Cold War and Russo-Afghan War whose objective was to develop Pakistan' first atomic weapon. The mainstream goal of the project was the development of an atomic bomb using...
, was also established by Bhutto, and brought under nuclear scientist dr.
Abdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
and the
Pakistan Army Corps of EngineersThe Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, , is an active military administrative staff corps, and a major science and technology command of the Pakistan Army...
' Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar. As Bhutto was the main architect of
Project-706, Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan kept informed Bhutto about the progressed was made by dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Because Pakistan, under Bhutto, was not a signatory or party of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation TreatyThe Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
(NPT), the
Nuclear Suppliers GroupNuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...
(NSG),
Commissariat à l'énergie atomiqueThe Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
(CEA), and British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) had immediately cancelled fuel reprocessing plant projects with PAEC. And, according to
Causar NyäzieKausar Niazi, commonly known as Maulana Kausar Niazi , was a Pakistani politician and a religious leader in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party . Niazi, in Bhutto's premiership cabinet, was a most powerful federal minister in Pakistan during 1974 till 1977...
, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission officials had misled Bhutto and he sought on a long journey to try to get Nuclear fuel reprocessing plant from France. It was on the advice of A.Q. Khan that no fuel existed to reprocess and urged Bhutto to follow his pursuit of uranium enrichment. Bhutto tried to show he was still interested in that expensive route and was relieved when Kissinger persuaded the French to cancel the deal. Bhutto had trusted Munir Ahmad Khan's plans to develop the programme ingeniously, and the mainstream goal of showing such interest in French reprocessing plant was to give time to PAEC scientists to gain expertise in building its own reprocessing plants. By the time France's CEA cancelled the project, the PAEC had acquired 95% of the detailed plans of the plant and materials.
And, Munir Ahmad Khan and
Ishfaq AhmadIshfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
believed that since PAEC had acquired most of the detailed plans, work, plans, and materials; the PAEC, based on that 95% work, could build the plutonium reprocessing reactors on its own, Pakistan should stick to its original plan, the plutonium route. Bhutto did not disagree but saw an advantage in establishing another parallel programme, the uranium enrichment programme under Abdul Qadeer Khan. Both Munir Khan and Ahmed had shown their concern over on Abdul Qadeer Khan's suspected activities but Bhutto backed Khan when Bhutto maintained that: "No less than any other nation did what Abdul Qadeer Khan (is) doing; the Soviets and Chinese ; the British and the French; the Indians and the Israelis; stole the nuclear weapons designs previously in the past and no one questioned them but rather tend to be quiet. We are not stealing what they (illegally) stole in the past (as referring the nuclear weapon designs) but we're taking a small machine which is not useful for making the atomic bomb but for a fuel". International pressure was difficult to counter at that time, and Bhutto, with the help of Munir Ahmad Khan and Aziz Ahmed, tackled the intense heated criticism and diplomatic war with the United States at numerous fronts— while the progress on nuclear weapons remained highly classified. During this pressure, Aziz Ahmed played a significant role by convincing the consortium industries to sell and export sensitive electronic components before the United States could approach to them and try and prevent the consortium industries to export such equipments and components. Bhutto slowly reversed and thwarted United States' any attempt to infiltrate the programme as he had expelled many of the
American diplomatic officialsBrigadier General Henry Alfred Byroade, United States Army of Indiana was a career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Egypt in 1955 and 1956 and later to five other countries, including United States Ambassador to Burma from September 1963 to June 1968, and served as Assistant Secretary of State...
in the country, under
Operation Sun Rise, authorized by Bhutto under
ISI. On the other hand, Bhutto intensified his staunch support and eye-blindly backed Abdul Qadeer Khan to quietly bring the Urenco's weapon-grade technology to Pakistan, keeping the Kahuta Laboratories hidden from the outside world. Regional rivals such as India and Soviet Union, had no basic intelligence on Pakistan's nuclear energy project during the 1970s, and Bhutto's intensified clandestine efforts seemed to be paid off in 1978 when the programme was fully matured.
By the time Bhutto was ousted, this crash programme had fully matured in terms of technical development as well as scientific efforts. By the 1977, PAEC and KRL had built their uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing plants, and selection for test sites, at
Chagai HillsThe Chagai Hills is a range of granite hills in the Chagai District in Pakistan's Balochistan province.-Location:The Chagai Hills lie in a desert area in the northernmost part of Chagai District north of Pakistan's Ras Koh Hills and south of Afghanistan's Helmand and Nimruz provinces.- Topography...
, was done by the PAEC. The feasibility reports were submitted by both organizations on their works. In 1977, the PAEC's Theoretical Physics Group had finished the designing of the first fission weapon, and KRL scientists succeeded in electromagnetic isotope separation of Uranium fissile isotopes. In spite of this, still little had been done in the development of weapons, and Pakistan's nuclear arsenal were actually made by General Zia-ul-Haq's military regime, under the watchful eyes of several Naval admirals, Army and Air Force's generals including
Ghulam Ishaq KhanGhulam Ishaq Khan , abbreviated as GIK, was the seventh President of Pakistan from August 17, 1988 until July 18, 1993 and a career statesman from the start to the end of cold war...
. In 1983, Bhutto's decision later proved to be right, when PAEC had conducted a cold test, near Kirana Hills, evidently made from non-fissioned plutonium. It has been speculated recently in the press that Dr. Khan's uranium enrichment designs were used by the Chinese in exchange for
(UF6)Uranium hexafluoride , referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure , is highly toxic, reacts violently with water...
and some highly enriched weapons grade uranium. Later on this weapons grade uranium was offered back to the Chinese as the Pakistanis used their own materials. In all, Bhutto knew that Pakistan had became nuclear weapon state in 1978 when his friend Munir Ahmad Khan paid a visit to him in his jail cell. There, Munir Ahmad Khan told Bhutto that the process of weapon designing is finished and a milestone in the complex and difficult enrichment of weapon-grade fuel has been achieved by the PAEC and dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan of ERL. Bhutto called for an immediate nuclear test to be conducted, no response was issued by General Zia or any member of his government.
Furthermore, in a thesis written in
The Myth of Independence, Bhutto argued that nuclear weapons would allow India to use its
[Air Force] The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
warplanes that with the use of small
battlefieldBattlefield range ballistic missile is a type of ballistic missile with battlefield range, i.e. less than 100 km.-Specific BRBM's:* Hatf I* OTR-21_Tochka* FROG-7* NASR -See also:...
nuclear devices against the Pakistan Army cantonments, armored and infantry columns and PAF bases and nuclear and military industrial facilities. The Indian Air Force would not meet with an adverse reaction from the world community as long as civilian casualties could be kept to a minimum. This way, India would defeat Pakistan, force its Armed Forces into a humiliating surrender and occupy and annex the
Northern AreasGilgit-Baltistan , is the northernmost political entity within Pakistan. It borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the east and northeast, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the...
of Pakistan and
Azad KashmirAzad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
. India would then carve up Pakistan into tiny states based on ethnic divisions and that would be the end of the “
Pakistan problem” once and for all.
Ordering military operation in Balochistan
Following the secession of East Pakistan, calls for the independence of
BalochistanBalochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
by Baloch nationalists grew immensely. The existence of Pakistan was still in danger with Balochistan's tribal leaders demanding independence from Pakistan. Surveying the political instability, Bhutto's central government sacked two provincial governments within six months, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four
MNAsThe National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
and MPAs, obtained an order from the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
banning the
National People's PartyThe National Awami Party was a leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan in July 1957 through the merger of several leftist and progressive groups. It advocated provincial autonomy, rights on the basis of ethnicity, recognition of ethinicities...
on the recommendation of Akbar Bugti, and charged everyone with high treason to be tried by a specially constituted
Hyderabad tribunalThe Hyderabad tribunal , also known as Hyderabad conspiracy case, is the name of a former judicial tribunal used in Pakistan to prosecute opposition politicians of the National Awami Party on the charges of treason and acting against the ideology of Pakistan.The tribunal was set up on the orders of...
of handpicked judges.
In January 1973, Bhutto ordered and authorized the military operations led by Pakistan Armed Forces to suppress a rising insurgency in the province of Balochistan and dismissed the governments in Balochistan and the
North-West Frontier ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
once more. Following the alleged discovery of Iraqi arms in Islamabad in February 1973, Bhutto dissolved the
Provincial Assembly of BalochistanThe Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is one of the four provincial assemblies of Pakistan, and the seat of the Government of Balochistan. The Balochistan assembly is the unicameral legislature of the province of Balochistan. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of the Pakistan...
. The operation, under General
Tikka KhanGeneral Tikka Khan, HJ, HQA, SPk, was a senior four-star general in the Pakistan Army who served as the first Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 3 March 1972 to 1 March 1976. Before his four-star assignment, Khan was a Martial Law Administrator of erstwhile East-Pakistan...
, soon took shape in a five-year conflict with the
Baloch separatistsThe Balochistan Liberation Army is a terrorist group based in Balochistan, a mountainous region within southern Iran and Pakistan. The organization is a participant in the Balochistan conflict and strives to establish an independent state of Balochistan, free of Pakistani and Iranian rule...
. The sporadic fighting between the
insurgencyAn insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
and the army started in 1973 with the largest confrontation taking place in September 1974. Later on, Pakistan Navy, under Vice-Admiral Patrick Julius Simpson, also jumped in the conflict as it had applied naval blockades to Balochistan's port. The Navy began its separate operations to seized the shipments sent to aid Baloch separatists. Pakistan Air Force also launched air operations, and with the support of navy and army, the air force had pounded the mountainous hidden heavens of the Separatists. The Iranian military, also fearing a spread of the greater Baloch resistance in Iran, also aided the Pakistani military. Among Iran's contribution were 30 Huey cobra attack helicopters and $200 million in aid. The Iraqi government provided support for Baluchi separatists in Pakistan, hoping that their conflict would spread into rival ran. Iraq provided the Baluchis with arms, and it opened an office for the Baluchistan Liberation Front in Baghdad. Bhutto began a series of economic and political reform. The government abolished the Sardari System , the sardars continued to appropriate to themselves a generous share of government developmental funds whilst At the same time they opposed and blackmailed the government whenever they could.Gradually the tribesmen started coming out of the Sardars' quarantine. Modern amenities, like medical aid, automobiles for passenger transport and schooling of children became available in the interior of Baluchistan for the first time.The government also constructed 564 miles of new roads, including the key link between Sibi and Maiwand creating new trade and commerce centres. Bhutto also took steps to aggressive steps carrot and sticks approach with afghanistan which was exploiting the insurgency and provided training and refuge to the fighters.
Prime Minister of Pakistan
After the promulgation of the 1973 Constitution, the elections for the President, Prime Minister,
Chairman of SenateThe current Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan is Farooq Naek since 12 March, 2009.The first Chairman of the Senate was Justice Khan Habibullah Khan Marwat.-History:...
of Senate—the
upper houseAn upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
of Pakistan Parliament—
SpeakerSpeaker of the National Assembly may refer to:Kenya*Speaker of the Kenyan National AssemblyPakistan*Speaker of the National Assembly of PakistanSouth Africa*Speaker of the South African National AssemblySuriname...
, and Deputy Speaker of the
National AssemblyThe National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
—the
Lower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of Parliament of Pakistan—were to be undertaken. The 1973 Constitution had adopted a federal parliamentary system for the country in which the President was only a figurehead and the administrative power lay with the Prime Minister.
Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the country on August 14, 1973, after he had secured 108 votes in a house of 146 members.
Fazal Ilahi ChaudhryFazal Ilahi Chaudhry Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (Punjabi, ; (January 1, 1904 - June 2, 1982) was the fifth President of Pakistan from August 14, 1973 until his resignation on September 16, 1978.-Early life:...
was elected as the President under the new Constitution.
Constitutional reforms
Bhutto is considered the main architect of 1973 constitution as part of his vision to put Pakistan to road to parliamentary democracy. One of the major achievement in Bhutto's life was drafting of Pakistan's first ever consensus constitution to the country. Bhutto supervised the promulgation of 1973 constitution that triggered an unstoppable constitutional revolution hrough his politics wedded to the emancipation of the downtrodden masses by first giving people a voice in the Parliament, and introducing radical changes in the economic sphere for their benefit .
During his period in office the Government carried out seven major amendments to the 1973 Constitution. The First Amendment led to Pakistan's recognition of and diplomatic ties with Bangladesh. The Second Amendment in the constitution declared the Ahmadis as non-Muslims, and defined the term non-Muslim. The rights of the detained were limited under the Third Amendment while the powers and jurisdiction of the courts for providing relief to political opponents were curtailed under the Fourth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment passed on 15 September 1976, focused on curtailing the power and jurisdiction of the Judiciary. This amendment was highly criticised by lawyers and political leaders. The main provision of the Sixth Amendment extended the term of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the High Courts beyond the age of retirement. This Amendment was made in the Constitution to favour the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who was supposed to be a friend of Bhutto.
Domestic reforms
The Bhutto Government carried out a number of reforms in the industrial sector. His reforms were twofold; nationalisation, and the improvement of workers' rights. In the first phase, basic industries like steel, chemical and cement were nationalised. This was done in 1972. The next major step in nationalisation took place on 1 January 1974, when Bhutto nationalised all banks. The last step in the series was the most shocking; it was the nationalisation of all flour, rice and cotton mills throughout the country. This nationalisation process was not as successful as Bhutto expected. Most of the nationalised units were small businesses that could not be described as industrial units, hence making no sense for the step that was taken. Consequently, a considerable number of small businessmen and traders were ruined, displaced or rendered unemployed. In the concluding analysis, nationalisation caused colossal loss not only to the national treasury but also to the people of Pakistan.
Land reforms
During his period as the Prime Minister, a number of land reforms were also introduced. The important land reforms included the reduction of land ceilings and introducing the security of tenancy to tenant farmers. The land ceiling was fixed to 150 acre (0.607029 km²) of irrigated land and 300 acres (1.2 km²) of non-irrigated land. Another step that Bhutto took was to democratise Pakistan's Civil Service.
Economic policy
Bhutto introduced
socialist economicsSocialist economics are the economic theories and practices of hypothetical and existing socialist economic systems.A socialist economy is based on public ownership or independent cooperative ownership of the means of production, wherein production is carried out to directly produce use-value,...
policies while working to prevent any further division of the country. Major heavy mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering industries were immediately nationalized by Bhutto, and all of the industries came under direct control of government. Industries, such as KESC were under complete government control with no private influence in KESC decision. Bhutto abandoned Auyb Khan's
CapitalistCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
policies, and introduced socialist policies in a move to reduced the
rich get richer and poor get poorer ratio"The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is a catchphrase and proverb, frequently used in discussing economic inequality...
. Bhutto also established the
Port QasimThe Port Muhammad Bin Qasim , also known as Port Qasim, is a seaport in Karachi, Pakistan, on the coastline of the Arabian Sea. It is Pakistan's second busiest port, handling about 35% of the nation's cargo...
,
Pakistan Steel MillsThe Pakistan Steel Mills, PSM, is the state-owned producer of long rolled steel and heavy iron products in Karachi, Sindh Province of Pakistan. The Pakistan Steel Mill is the country's largest industrial undertaking having a production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of steel...
, the Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) and several cement factories such Dera Ghazi Khan Cement, Kohat Cement, Dandot Cement, Thatta Cement and expansion of Javedan and Mustehkam cement units as a part of country's road to industrialization program. However, the growth rate of economy relative to that of early 1960s when East Pakistan was still part of Pakistan and Pakistan was still receipt of generous United States'
aid and loansPakistan receives Foreign aid from several different countries and the International community. Much of this money goes to the development of stability and civil development within the country.The bulk of assistance to Pakistan is from the Coalition Support Fund which is reimbursement "to Pakistan...
declined the
1973 oil crisisThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
also had a negative impact on the economy. Despite the initiatives undertaken by Bhutto's government to boost the country's economy. On its effect on Pakistan's society, the level of absolute poverty was sharply reduced, with the percentage of the population estimated to be living in absolute poverty falling from 46.50% by the end of 1979-80, under the General Zia-ul-Haq's military rule, to 30.78%. The land reform programme provided increased economic support to landless tenants, and development spending was substantially increased, particularly on health and education, in both rural and urban areas, and provided "material support" to rural wage workers, landless peasants, and urban wage workers.
Bhutto's nationalization policies were initiated with an aim to put workers in control of the tools of production and to protect workers and small businesses. However, critics on the right argued that the nationalization program initially effected the small industries and they believed it it had devastating effects on Pakistan's economy and this in their view that shrinked Bhutto's credibility. they also believed that nationalization policies had the investor's confidence damaged by the government, and government corruption in nationalized industries grew. However Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said foreign companies in pakistan where except from nationalisation policies and his government would be willing to receive foreign investment to put up factories While commenting on his policies in 1973, Bhutto told the group of investors that belonged to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industary (LCCI), that "activity of
public sector or state sectorThe public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
prevents the concentration of economic power in
few handsA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
, and protects the small and medium entrepreneurs from the clutches of giant enterprises and vested interests".
Banking expansion
Banking reforms were introduced to provide more opportunities to small farmers and business such as forcing banks to ensure 70% of institutional lending should be for small land holders of 12.5 acres or less, which was a revolutionary idea at a time when banks only clients where the privileged classes. The number of bank branches rose by 75% from the period December 1971 to November 1976. In 1971, the sum of the branches of the banks in the country increased from 3,295 to 5,727 on November 30, 1976. It was one of the most radical move made by Bhutto, and the Bank infrastructure was expanded covering all towns and villages with a population of 5,000 in accordance with targets set after the nationalization of banks.
By end of the Bhutto government concentration of wealth had declined compared to height of the Ayub Khan era when 22 families owned 66% of industrial capital, and also controlled banking and 97% of insurance.
Export Policy
Measures taken in the first few months of 1972 set a new framework for the revival of the economy. The diversion of trade from East Pakistan to international markets was completed within a short period. By 1974 , exports exceeded one billion dollars, showing a 60 per cent increase over the combined exports of East and West Pakistan before separation. This happened at a time when the world was in the midst of the major
1973 oil crisisThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
and in the middle of global recession
the national income of Pakistan increased by 15 per cent and industrial production by as much as 20 per cent in 4 years.
Agricultural Policy
Bhutto believed people would not feel safe psychologically unless pakistan achieved self-sufficiency in food. He embarked on programs to make pakistan self sufficient in rice,sugar,wheat and the strategically important self sufficient in fertiliser Not a single Fertilizer factory has been set up in post-Bhutto era
Flood Policy
Following the 1976 floods Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto established the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) . The responsibility assigned to the FFC is to prepare national flood protection plans, and flood forecasting and research to harness floodwater. On a Visit to
SukkurSukkur, or Sakharu , formerly Aror and Bakar, is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River in Pakistan in Sukkur District. However, the word Sakharu in Sindhi means "superior", which the spelling of the city's name in Sindhi suggests is the origin of the...
Mr Bhutto accompanied by Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi the chief engineer witnessed the 1976 flood carrying more than 1.0 million cusec water passing through the Lloyd Barrage .The Bhutto Government in the aftermath took steps to improve strengthen and raise flood defences the embankments on both sides of the Indus River .Since then no government has taken such steps to improve flood defences.
School Policy
During his period of four years, 6,500 new primary schools, 900 middle schools, 407 high schools, 51 Intermediate Colleges and 21 Degree Colleges where been opened with special emphasis on the areas which were hitherto denied of these facilities.
Subsidized Books
Pakistan was a virtual desert as far as books in general when the Bhutto government came to power, foreign text-books in particular were concerned. They were not only scarce but highly expensive. This situation was changed by importing and locally reprinting hundreds of thousands of copies of essential books and making them available to students at heavily subsidized rates. To cater to the requirements of poorer students, Book Banks have been set up in most institutions and over 400,000 copies of text-books have already been supplied to them.
Higher Education Policy
Bhutto is credited for establishing the world class Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad and Allama Iqbalin 1974.As well as establishing Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan in 1973
As his role as Foreign Minister, and in 1967 with the help of Abdus Salam, established the Institute of Theoretical Physics. As Prime Minister, Bhutto made revolutionary efforts to expand the web of education. Bhutto established the
Allama Iqbal Medical CollegeAllama Iqbal Medical College Allama Iqbal Medical College Allama Iqbal Medical College (Urdu:, established in 1975, is a public school of medicine, nursing and allied health sciences located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Jinnah hospital is attached to the college as a teaching hospital. Today Allama...
in 1975].A further four new Universities which have been established at Multan, Bahawalpur, and Khairpur. The People’s Open University is another innovative venture which has started functioning from Islamabad.The Government's Education Policy provides for the remission of fees and the grant of a number of scholarships for higher education to the children of low-paid employees
New facilities for students
7,000 new hostel seats where planned to be added to the existing accommodation after the 1977 election. Bhutto said in 1975 he was aware "of the difficulties and deficiencies faced by college students in many of the existing hostels. Directions have, therefore, been issued that fans, water-coolers and pay-telephones must be provided in each and every hostel in as short a time as physically possible.
Then there is the chronic difficulty of student transport. The problem is vast and the physical means to solve it are essentially limited. However, we are determined to solve it in a phased programme on a priority basis."
In 1974, with the help of Abdus Salam, Bhutto gave authorization of the International Nathiagali Summer College on Contemporary Physics (INSC) at the Nathiagali and as even as of today, INSC conference is still held on Pakistan where thousands of scientists from all over the world are delegated to Pakistan to interact with Pakistan's academic scientists. In 1976, Bhutto established the
Engineering CouncilThe Pakistan Engineering Council is an executive and administrative premier engineering regulatory authority for professional and registered engineers, and technicians in Pakistan. It is located at Islamabad, Pakistan. As a statutory authority it regulates the education and accreditation of...
,
Institute of Theoretical PhysicsThe Pakistan Institute of Physics of the University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore, is a national research institute in Pakistan...
, and the
Pakistan Academy of LettersThe Pakistan Academy of Letters is a learned society of literary, Arts, and humanities. It is the largest learned society of it own kind, and promotes literacy and literature based conferences throughout the country...
.
Pension Policy
In 1972 the Bhutto government initially provided for some old age benefits for workers through group insurance, increased rates of compensation and higher rates of gratuity. Later Bhutto came to the conclusion that this is not enough. He therefore, introduced a scheme of old age benefits which would provide a payment of Rs. 75 a month to workers after retirement at the age of 55 for men and 50 for women, on condition that the worker had completed a minimum of 15 years’ insurable employment. This applied to all factories and establishments employing 10 or more workers drawing monthly wages up to Rs. 1,000. Workers who become invalid after 5 years of insurable employment would also be entitled to benefits under this scheme. Those who where too old to complete years of insurable employment at the inception of the scheme , would still benefit from it if they have completed 7 years.
Bhutto did not want to go for the western model where workers generally contribute along with the employers towards their old age benefits. In view of pakistan's conditions,Bhutto did not wish the financial burden of this scheme to fall even partly on the worker. It was decided that the scheme be founded through a contribution from employers to the extent of 5 per cent of the wage bill.
Defence Policy
Increased defence expenditure from Rs. 3,720 million in 1971-72 to Rs. 7,030 million by 1975
Investment Policy
As part of his Investment policies, Bhutto founded the
National Development Finance Corporation (NDFC)National Development Finance Corporation is based Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan was founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. National Development Finance Corporation is the largest development finance institution of Pakistan performing diversified activities in the field of industrial financing and investment...
— a finance institution which was established in 1973. In July 1973, this financial institute began operation with with an initial government investment of 100 million
PRsThe rupee is the currency of Pakistan. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country. The most commonly used symbol for the rupee is Rs, used on receipts when purchasing goods and services. In Pakistan, the rupee is referred to as the...
. It aim was finance public sector industrial enterprises but, later on, its charter was modified to provide finance to the private sector as well . The NDFC is currently the largest development finance institution of Pakistan performing diversified activities in the field of industrial financing and investment banking. 42 projects financed by NDFC have contributed Rs. 10,761 million to Pakistan's GDP and generated Rs. 690.0 million after-tax profits and 40,465 jobs . By the mid 1990s NDFC had a pool of resources amounting to US $ 878 million
The Bhutto government increased the level of investment, private and public, in the economy from less than Rs. 7,000 million in 1971-72 to more than Rs. 17,000 million in 1974-75
Expatriate Pakistanis Policy
He gave the right of a passport to every citizen of Pakistan and facilitated millions of skilled and non-skilled Pakistanis to seek employment in the Middle Eastern countries through a singing a number combination of bilateral agreements. From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alone 35,000 workers where given the opportunity to work in the United Arab Emirates and
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Bhutto used the
Pakistani community of LondonThe Pakistani community of London consist of Pakistani emigrants and their descendants who have settled in London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom...
to lobby and influence
European governmentsThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
to improve the rights of expatriate Pakistani communities in Europe.
The remittances from overseas Pakistanis, which are now in the vicinity of $25 billion per anum, constitute a dependable source of foreign exchange for Pakistan.
Labour Policy
The International Labour Organization Seminar on Industrial Relations held in Karachi paid tributes to comprehensive labour reforms initiated by the Bhutto government .
In 1972, the government imposed some conditions on the dismissal of a worker. In 1973, the government instituted Labour Courts for the speedy redress of workers’ grievances. The Government also introduced a scheme for workers’ participation in management. This scheme provided for 20 per cent participation by workers in management committees set up at factory level.
Prior to 1972, there was no statutory provision for the payment of any bonus to workers. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Government passed a law making the grant of a minimum bonus compulsory under certain conditions. The Government abolished the workers’ contribution to the Social Security Fund; instead, the employers were made to increase their contribution from 4 to 6 per cent. The government enhanced compensation rates under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. The Government imposed a cess on all employers for the education of workers’ children. The Government's Education Policy provides for the remission of fees and the grant of a number of scholarships for higher education to the children of low-paid employees . The Government also introduced an allowance for called the cost-of-living allowances: Rs. 35 in 1973, Rs. 50 in 1974 but was cut to Rs. 25 1975 due to financial stringencies
Foreign Policy
Since 1960s, Bhutto rose to very great heights in the international politics, his knowledge of the global affairs and role in the foreign relations were unequaled by anyone, which also was admired by the world's leaders. After assuming power, Bhutto sought to diversify Pakistan's relations away from the United States and, soon Pakistan left
CENTOCento is a city and comune in the province of Ferrara, part of the region Emilia-Romagna . In Italian "cento" means 100.-History:The name Cento is a reference to the centuriation of the Po Valley...
and SEATO. Bhutto developed close and strengthened the
Arab relationsPakistan–Arab relations refer to foreign relations between Pakistan and the various states of the Arab world which constitute the Arab League.-Comparison:-Background:...
, and
Sino-Pak relationsPeople's Republic of China–Pakistan relations began in 1950 when Pakistan was among the first countries to break relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and recognize the PRC. Following the 1962 Sino-Indian War, both countries has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a...
. Bhutto in believed an independent Foreign Policy which had hitherto been the hand maiden of the Western Power, particularly independent from the United State's
sphere of influenceIn the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
. With Bhutto as Foreign minister, and Prime minister, Pakistan and Iran had cemented a special relationship, as Iran had provided military assistance to Pakistan. The Sino-Pak relations were immensely improved, and Pakistan, under Bhutto, had built a strategic relationship with People's Republic of China, when PRC was isolated. In 1974, Bhutto hosted the second Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1974 where he delegated and invited leaders from the
Muslim worldThe term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
to
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
,
Punjab ProvincePunjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan. Bhutto was a strong advocate of Afro-Asian Solidarity and had cemented ties with Afro-Asian and Islamic countries and by 1976 had emerged as the Leader of the Third World .
Bhutto sought a peace agreement—Simla Agreement— with
Indira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
, Premier of India, and brought back 93,000 P.O.Ws to Pakistan and secured 5000 sq mi (12,949.9 km²) held by India with out compromising on Kashmir stance or recognizing Bangladesh which where the key Indian demands. Negotiating with a power that has dismembered the country was an open-challenge to Bhutto who smoothly convinced India to return the territory and the POWs back to Pakistan. Before this conference, Bhutto and his colleagues did the comprehensive homework as Bhutto had realized that
ArabsThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
have still not succeeded in regaining
territory lost in the
1967 warThe Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
with Israel. Therefore, capturing of land does not cry out for
international attentionThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
the same way as the prisoners do. According to Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto demanded the control of the territory in the first stage of the Agreement which surprised and shocked the Indian delegation. In Bhutto's point of view, the POW problem was more of a
humanitarian problemA humanitarian crisis is an event or series of events which represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community or other large group of people, usually over a wide area...
that could be tackled at any time, but the territorial problem was something that could be integrated in India as time elapses. Indian Premier Gandhi was stunned and astonished at Bhutto's demand and reacted immediately by refusing Bhutto's demand. However, Bhutto calmed her and negotiated with economic packages dealed with Gandhi. Bhutto's knowledge and his intellectualism impressed Gandhi personally that Gandhi agreed to give the territory back to Bhutto in a first stage of the agreement. Signing of this agreement with Pakistan paying small price is still considered Bhutto's one of the huge diplomatic success.
Bhutto sought to improved Pakistan's ties with the Arab world, and sided with the Arab world during the Arab-Israeli conflict. Colonel Gaddafi of former Socialist Libya, considered Bhutto as one of his greatest inspiration and was said to be very fond of Bhutto's intellectualism. In 1973, during the
Yom Kippur WarThe Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, Pakistan's relations with the Arab world represented a watershed. Both in Pakistan and the Arab world, Pakistan's swift, unconditional and forthright offer of assistance to the Arab states was deeply appreciated.
In 1974, pressured by other Muslim nations, Pakistan eventually recognized Bangladesh as Mujib stated he would only go to the OIC conference in Lahore if Pakistan recognised Bangladesh. In 1976, Pakistan established full diplomatic relations with Bangladesh on January 18, 1976 and relations improved in the following decades.
However, Pakistan's
relationshipPakistan – United States relations refers to the bilateral relationship between the Pakistan and the United States. The United States first established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on 20 October 1947. The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to...
with United States severed as United States was opposing Pakistan's nuclear detterrence programme. In 1974, with India carried out the test of nuclear test near the Pakistan's eastern border, codename
Smiling BuddhaThe Smiling Buddha, formally designated as Pokhran-I, was the codename given to Republic of India's first nuclear test explosion that took place at the long-constructed Indian Army base, Pokhran Test Range at Pokhran municipality, Rajasthan state on 18 May 1974 at 8:05 a.m....
, Bhutto sought United States to impose economic sanctions in India. Though it was unsuccessful approach, with an advise from Bhutto, Pakistan's Ambassador to United States convened a meeting with Secretary of State
Henry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, Kissingers told Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington that the test is “
a fait accompli and that Pakistan would have to learn to live with it,” although he was aware this is a “little rough” on the Pakistanis. In 1976, the ties were further severed with Bhutto as Bhutto had continued to administer the research on weapons. In 1976, Kissinger immediately traveled to Pakistan to hold a meeting with Bhutto. At Prime minister Secretariat, Kissinger used unorthodox language and threatened Bhutto while using a inhumane language with many witnessed and surprised with the language used by Kissinger. In a meeting, Kissinger had told to Bhutto, "
that if you [Bhutto] do not cancel, modify or postpone the Reprocessing Plant Agreement, we will make a horrible example from you". Dr.
Mubashir HassanMubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
came forward to defend Bhutto and an extensive exchange of acrimonious words were made between dr. Hassan and Kissinger. The meeting was ended by Bhutto as he had replied: For my country’s sake, for the sake of people of Pakistan, I did not succumb to that black-mailing and threats. Bhutto and his cabinet left Kissinger and his delegation alone in the room while Bhutto and his cabinet walk away from the room.
Bhutto intensified Pakistan's foreign policy towards more onto Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, and sought to developed relations with both Soviet Union and the United States. Bhutto was keenly aware of
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
’s policy of “
Divide and Rule”, and
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
’s policy of “
Unite and Rule”. In 1974, Bhutto, as Prime minister, visited Soviet Union. Prime Minister Bhutto made a deliberate attempt to warm relations with Russia as he was trying to improve relations with the Communist bloc. Bhutto sought to developed and alleviated the Soviet-Pak Relations, with Soviet Union established
Pakistan Steel MillsThe Pakistan Steel Mills, PSM, is the state-owned producer of long rolled steel and heavy iron products in Karachi, Sindh Province of Pakistan. The Pakistan Steel Mill is the country's largest industrial undertaking having a production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of steel...
in 1972. The foundation stone for this gigantic project was laid on 30 December 1973 by the then Prime minister Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Facing inexperience for the erection work of the integrated steel mill, Bhutto requested Soviet Union to send its experts. Soviet Union sends dozens of advisors and experts, under Russian scientist Mikhail Koltokof, who supervised the construction of this integrated Steel Mills, with a number of industrial and consortium companies financing this mega-project.
Bhutto initially tried to build friendly ties with Afghanistan. However such attempts where rebuffed. Soviet Afghanistan's began covert involvement in Pakistan's
North-West Frontier ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
began increasingly disturbing for the Bhutto's government.
Afghan PresidentAfghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
Dawood KhanSardar Mohammed Daoud Khan or Daud Khan was Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and later becoming the President of Afghanistan...
's controversial
pashtunizationPakhtunistan or Pashtunistan, meaning the "land of Pakhtuns" or "land of Pashtuns", is a modern term used for the historical region inhabited by the native Afghans or Pashtun since at least the 1st millennium BC...
policies resulted in Pakistan with gruesome violence and civil disturbances. Daud was also providing safe havens and training camps to anti Pakistan militants.Afghan Intelligence was heavily involved in Pakistan. Therefore, Bhutto's government decided to retaliate, and Bhutto launched a covert counter-operation in 1974 under the command of Major-General
Naseerullah BabarMajor-General Naseerullah Khan Babar , SJ, HJ, was a retired 2-star rank general officer in the Pakistan Army, and later career military officer-turned statesman from the leftist democratic soclialist, the Pakistan Peoples Party...
, who was then Director-General of the
M.I.In Pakistan Defence Forces, the Directorate-General for the Military Intelligence , is a Pakistan Defence Forces intelligence agency and that is responsible for the military counter-intelligence. It also refers specifically to the intelligence components of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Unlike the...
Directorate-General for Western Fronts (DGWI). According to General Baber, it was an excellent idea and it had hard-hitting impact on Afghanistan. The aim of this operation was to arm the Islamic fundamentalists and to instigate an attack in different parts of Afghanistan. In 1974, Bhutto authorized a covert operation in
KabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and the
Pakistan Air ForceThe Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
and the members of
AIThe Directorate for the Air Intelligence of Pakistan, codename AI, is an air force staff corps and chief intelligence directorate of the Pakistan Air Force . The AI is responsible for the formulation of the aerial intelligence picture, and participates in forging the overall intelligence view as...
and the
ISI successfully extradited
Burhanuddin RabbaniProfessor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
, Jan Mohammad Khan, Gulbadin Hekmatyar, and Ahmad Shah Massoud to
PeshawarPeshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, in a amid fear that Rabbani may be assassinated. This move was done in order to teach Dauod Khan a lesson after he continuously interfered in Pakistan's internal matter. By the end of 1974, Bhutto gave final authorization of covert operation to train Afghan mujaheddin to take on Daoud Khan's government. This operation was an ultimate success and it forced Daoud Khan to approached to Bhutto to solve the problems. By 1976 Daud had become concerned about his country over dependence on the Soviet Union and the Rising Insurgency and pakistan assertive foreign policy against Afghan interference. In 7 June 1976 Bhutto went on a 3 day tour of Afghanistan. August 20–24, 1976 Daud Khan paid a 5 day visit to Pakistan. Bhutto and Daud came to an agreement an tentative agreement wherby Bhutto agrees to introduce more autonomy to Pakistani Provinces and release some prisoners while Daud agreed to recognise the Durand Line as a boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan.On March 2, 1977 Agreement on the resumption of air communications between Afghanistan and Pakistan is reached, as relations continue to improve . However, before such an agreement was signed, Bhutto was removed by General Zia-ul-Haq in a 1977 military coup d'éta whilst a few months later Daud is overthrown in a Communist Coup by soviet sympathisers.Robert Wirsing a specialist on South Asian politics said Bhutto "astute policy in regards to the border question clearly increased pressure of the afghanistan and very likely helped stimulate afghan governments move towards accommodation" . Whilst the Deputy Afghan Foreign Minister Abdul Samad Ghaus also admitted before the compromise afghanistan had been heavily involved inside pakistan.
Popular unrest and military coup
Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed. Initially targeting leader of the opposition Abdul Vali Khan and his opposition
National People's PartyThe National Awami Party was a leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan in July 1957 through the merger of several leftist and progressive groups. It advocated provincial autonomy, rights on the basis of ethnicity, recognition of ethinicities...
(NAP), a democratic socialist party. Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce and started with the Federal government's decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of Hyatt Scherpaoi, a close confident and lieutenant of Bhutto, in a bomb blast in Peshawar, the capital of the then
North-West Frontier ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
, now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Another notable figure, Chief Justice
Hamoodur RahmanChief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, Urdu: حمود الرحمن) was Pakistan-Bengali jurist and academia, a legal educator, who formerly served as the 7th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University as well as Professor of Law and Justice at the Karachi University...
died due to a cardiac arrest while in the office. Between the 1974 and 1976, many of Bhutto's original members had left Bhutto due to political differences or natural death causes. In 1974, Bhutto's trusted Science Advisor
Abdus SalamMohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
also left Pakistan when Parliament declared Ahmadiyyah Muslims as non-Muslims. With Salam's departure, the research on nuclear weapons slowed down the progress as Dr.
Mubaschir HassannMubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
, now a Bhutto's appointed Science Advisor, would focus on politics more than the science research. Many civil bureaucrats and military officers loyal to Bhutto were replaced by new faces. Bhutto founded himself with new advisers and collaborators.
Dissidence also increased within the PPP and the murder of dissident leader
Ahmad Raza CasuriSahibzada Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri is a former Pakistani politician from the Punjab province.-References:...
's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar, former Governor of Punjab, openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan Province intensified as civil liberties remained suspended and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of human rights abuses and killing large numbers of civilians.
On 8 January 1977, many opposition political parties grouped to form the
Pakistan National AllianceThe Pakistan National Alliance was a nine-party alliance in Pakistan, formed in 1977 in which the alliance agreed to run as a single bloc to overthrow the rule of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected leader of that country. It was a major and largest alliance formed against...
(PNA). It was a 9 party alliance against government of Bhutto and his colleagues. Bhutto called fresh elections and the PNA participated in those elections with full force and managed to contest the elections jointly even though they had grave differences in their opinions and views. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, accusing their opponents of rigging the election. They first claimed rigging on 14 seats and finally on 40 seats in the national assembly and boycotted provisional elections turn out in national elections was of highest degree. Provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, violent PNA declare the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. Hard-line Islamist leaders such as Maulana Maududi called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime.
Mubashir HassanMubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
, Science Advisor of Bhutto, feared a possible coup against Bhutto. Therefore, Hassan jumped in the conflict and attempted made a unsuccessful attempt to reach an agreement with PNA. The hard-line Islamist refused to meet with Hassan as they saw him as a main brain behind Bhutto's success. The same year, an intensive crackdown was initiated on
Pakistan Muslim LeagueThe Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962, as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League in Pakistan. Unlike the original PML which ended in 1958 when General Ayub Khan banned all political parties, each subsequent Muslim League was in some way propped by the military dictators of...
, a conservative front. The
People's National PartyThe Awami National Party is an Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International...
's President and former Leader of the Opposition Khan Vali Khan saw Bhutto's actions as his last stand and power struggle between PNA, Pakistan Armed Forces and Bhutto, including his colleagues, was triggered. In an open public seminar, Vali Khan quoted that "There is one possible grave for two people ... let us see who gets in first". The
Federal Security ForceFederal Security Force was a paramilitary force created by Pakistani President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Established in 1972, created as a civil task force of the federal government, ostensibly...
allegedly either arrested or extrajudicially killed members of the Muslim League. Following this, amid protest and civil distress felt in the
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, and People's Party lost the administrative control over the Lahore.
Intensifying political and civil disorder prompted Bhutto to hold talks with PNA leaders, which culminated in an agreement for the dissolution of the assemblies and fresh elections under a form of government of national unity. However on 5 July 1977 Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia. It is generally believed that the coup took place on the pretext of unrest despite Bhutto having reached an agreement with the opposition. Bhutto had a very good intelligence in the deep circles of Army, and many officers such as Major-General
Tajamül Hussain MalikMajor General Tajammul Hussain Malik is a senior and former 2-star rank general officer in the Pakistan army and the former General Officer Commanding of the 23rd Division of Pakistan Army, retiring with the rank of Major-General...
were loyal to Bhutto and supported him till the end. However, General Zia-ul-Haq signed a training programme act with the officers from
Special Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(SAS). General Zia-ul-Haq ordered many of Bhutto's loyal officers to attend the first course. The teaching of senior officers were delayed until the midnight. None of the officers were allowed to let away from classes till late in the evening before coup. During this time, arrangements for the coup was made.
General Zia announced that martial law had been imposed, the constitution suspended and all assemblies dissolved and promised elections within ninety days. Zia also ordered the arrest of senior PPP and PNA leaders but promised elections in October. Bhutto was released on 29 July and was received by a large crowd of supporters in his hometown of Larkana. He immediately began touring across Pakistan, delivering speeches to very large crowds and planning his political comeback. Bhutto was arrested again on 3 September before being released on bail on 13 September. Fearing yet another arrest, Bhutto named his wife,
NusratBegum Nusrat Bhutto was an Iranian-Pakistani who was the wife of the 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as the First Lady of Pakistan during his premiership from 1971 until Bhutto's removal in 1977. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples...
, president of the Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto was imprisoned on 16 September and a large number of PPP leaders, notably dr.
Mubascher HasanMubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
and activists arrested and disqualified from contesting in elections.
Trial of the Prime Minister
Bhutto's trial began on 24 October on charges of "conspiracy to murder" of
Ahmed Raza KasuriSahibzada Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri is a former Pakistani politician from the Punjab province.-References:...
. On 5 July 1977 the military, led by General
Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqGeneral Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
, staged a coup. Zia relieved prime minister Bhutto of power, holding him in detention for a month. Zia pledged that new elections would be held in 90 days. He kept postponing the elections and publicly retorted during successive press conferences that if the elections were held in the presence of Bhutto his party would not return to power again.
Upon his release, Bhutto traveled the country amid adulatory crowds of PPP supporters. He used to take the train traveling from the south to the north and on the way, would address public meetings at different stations. Several of these trains were late, some by days, in reaching their respective destinations and as a result Bhutto was banned from traveling by train. The last visit he made to the city of
MultanMultan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
in the province of Punjab marked the turning point in Bhutto's political career and ultimately, his life. In spite of the administration's efforts to block the gathering, the crowd was so large that it became disorderly, providing an opportunity for the administration to declare that Bhutto, along with dr. Hassan, had been taken into custody because the people were against him and it had become necessary to protect him from the masses for his own safety.
Re-arrest and trial
On 3 September the Army arrested Bhutto again on charges of authorising the murder of a political opponent in March 1974. A 35-year-old politician
Ahmed Raza KasuriSahibzada Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri is a former Pakistani politician from the Punjab province.-References:...
tried to run as a PPP candidate in elections, despite having previously left the party. The
Pakistan Peoples PartyThe Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
rebuffed him. Three years earlier, Kasuri and his family had been ambushed, leaving Kasuri's father, Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan, dead. Kasuri claimed that he was the actual target, accusing Bhutto of being the mastermind. Kasuri later claimed that he had been the victim of 15 assassination attempts. Bhutto's wife
Nusrat BhuttoBegum Nusrat Bhutto was an Iranian-Pakistani who was the wife of the 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as the First Lady of Pakistan during his premiership from 1971 until Bhutto's removal in 1977. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples...
established the team of premier lawyers of Pakistan and had
Fäkhruddien AbrahamThe Honourable Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim , TI, is a retired Pakistani Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Senior Advocate Supreme Court, and peace activist. Ebrahim also served as the interim Law Minister from 18 July 1993 till 19 October 1993, and interim Justice Minister 5...
, Yahya Bakhtiar and
Abdulhafiz PirzadaAbdul Hafiz Pirzada, Senior Advocate Supreme Court, is one of the premier lawyers of Pakistan. Pirzada, a lawmaker and legal expert, is one of the founding members of Pakistan Peoples Party , a democratic socialist party, and a close associate and aide of former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto...
as the leader of the Bhutto's legal team.
Bhutto was released 10 days after his arrest due to a judge, Justice KMA Samadani, finding the evidence "contradictory and incomplete." Justice Samadani had to pay for this; he was immediately removed from the court and placed at the disposal of the law ministry. Three days later Zia arrested Bhutto again on the same charges, this time under "martial law." When the PPP organised demonstrations among Bhutto's supporters, Zia cancelled the upcoming elections.
Bhutto was arraigned before the
High CourtThe Lahore High Court is based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on March 21, 1919. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab...
of
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
instead of in a lower court, thus automatically depriving him of one level of appeal. The judge who had granted him bail was removed. Five new judges were appointed, headed by Chief Justice of Lahore High Court
Maulvi Mushtaq HussainMaulvi Mushtaq Hussain was a Pakistani jurist who served as chief justice of the high court of Lahore. He presided over the trial of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, during the proceedings in the Pakistani high court....
. Hussain had previously served as Bhutto's Foreign secretary during 1965, and is said to have strongly disliked and distrusted Bhutto, and a conspiracy planned by him, Ayub Khan had removed Bhutto from his cabinet. Now, a judge of Bhutto's trial, Hussain was a known in public as Bhutto hater and made no secret of his dislike and enmity with the former Prime Minister, as a result Hussain clearly denied bail. The trial lasted five months, and
BhuttoBhutto is a Sindhi, Rajput tribe settled in Sindh, Pakistan.-Bhutto tribe:The Bhutto tribe is a Rajput tribe that has been settled in Sindh for over two centuries, occupying part of Balochistan in Kachhi, Sibi, Dera Murad Jamali, Bhag and Mithri, having migrated to Sindh from Jaiselmere in India...
appeared in court in a dock specially built for the trial.
Proceedings began on 24 October 1977. Masood Mahmood, the director general of the Federal Security Force (since renamed the
Federal Investigation AgencyThe Federal Investigation Agency is an agency of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Interior, that serves as a federal criminal investigative body with one of the Directorate dealing as Pakistani body of Interpol. It has a wide role in anti-terrorism, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, human smuggling...
), testified against Bhutto. Mahmood had been arrested immediately after Zia's coup and had been imprisoned for two months prior to taking the stand. In his testimony, he claimed Bhutto had ordered Kasuri's assassination and that four members of the Federal Security Force had organised the ambush on Bhutto's orders.
The four alleged assassins were arrested and later confessed. They were brought into court as "co-accused" but one of them recanted his testimony, declaring that it had been extracted from him under torture. The following day, the witness was not present in court; the prosecution claimed that he had suddenly "fallen ill".
Bhutto's defence team fought the case efficiently and challenged the prosecution with proof from an army logbook the prosecution had submitted. It showed that the jeep allegedly driven during the attack on Kasuri was not even in Lahore at the time. The prosecution had the logbook disregarded as "incorrect". During the defence's cross-examination of witnesses, the bench often interrupted questioning by the plaintiff team. The 706-page official transcript contained none of the objections or inconsistencies in the evidence pointed out by the defence. Former U.S. Attorney General
Ramsey ClarkWilliam Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
, who attended the trial, called this trail a
mock trialA Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
fought in a
Kangaroo courtA kangaroo court is "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".The outcome of a trial by kangaroo court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or...
. While witnessing, Clark later wrote:.
When Bhutto began his testimony on 25 January 1978, Chief Justice Maulvi Mushtaq closed the courtroom to all observers. Bhutto responded by refusing to say any more. Bhutto demanded a retrial, accusing the Chief Justice of bias, after Mushtaq allegedly insulted Bhutto's home province. The court refused his demand.
Death sentence and appeal
On 18 March 1978, Bhutto wasn't declared guilty of murder but was sentenced to death.
On March 12, 1978, Bhutto's former Legal Minister,
A.H. Per-ZadahAbdul Hafiz Pirzada, Senior Advocate Supreme Court, is one of the premier lawyers of Pakistan. Pirzada, a lawmaker and legal expert, is one of the founding members of Pakistan Peoples Party , a democratic socialist party, and a close associate and aide of former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto...
sought to Supreme Court for the release of Bhutto's Science Adviser Dr. Mubashir Hassan and to review the death sentence to Bhutto based on the split decision. Supreme Court denied Dr. Hassan's release as he was held by Military Police but agreed to listen to the arguments. During this 12 days long, the Supreme Court concluded that the President of Pakistan can change death sentence into life imprisonment. Per-Zadah filed an application to Presidential Palace to then-Chief Martial Law Administrator. However, General Zia-ul-Haq did not act immediately and claimed that the application has gone missing.
Emotionally shattered, Perzafa informed Bhutto about the development and General Zia-ul-Haq's intention. Therefore, Bhutto did not seek an appeal. While he was transferred to a cell in
RawalpindiRawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
central jail, his family appealed on his behalf, and a hearing before the Supreme Court commenced in May. Bhutto was given one week to prepare. Bhutto issued a thorough rejoinder to the charges, although Zia blocked its publication. Chief Justice
S. Anwarul HaqSheikh Anwarul Haq is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [September 23, 1977 - March 25, 1981]...
adjourned the court until the end of July 1978, supposedly because five of the nine appeal court judges were willing to overrule the Lahore verdict. One of the pro-Bhutto judges was due to retire in July.
Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq presided over the trial, despite being close to Zia, even serving as Acting President when Zia was out of the country. Bhutto's lawyers managed to secure Bhutto the right to conduct his own defence before the Supreme Court. On 18 December 1978, Bhutto made his appearance in public before a packed courtroom in Rawalpindi. By this time he had been on death row for 9 months and had gone without fresh water for the previous 25 days. He addressed the court for four days, speaking without notes.
The appeal was completed on 23 December 1978. On 6 February 1979, the Supreme Court issued a guilty verdict, a decision reached by a bare 4-to-3 majority. The Bhutto family had seven days in which to appeal. The court granted a stay of execution while it studied the petition. By 24 February 1979 when the next court hearing began, appeals for clemency arrived from many heads of state. Zia said that the appeals amounted to "trade union activity" among politicians.
On 24 March 1979 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. Zia upheld the death sentence. Bhutto was hanged at Central jail, Rawalpindi, on 4 April 1979, and is buried in Village Cemetery at Garhi Khuda Baksh.
Bhutto's children
MurtazaDr. Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and the Member of the Parliament of Pakistan, representing Pakistan People's Party from the Larkana constituency...
and
BenazirBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
worked on rallying the international support to release of their father.
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
's
Colonel GaddafiMuammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
sent his Prime minister
Abdus Salam JalloudAbdessalam Jalloud was the Prime Minister of Libya from 16 July 1972 to 2 March 1977. He was also Finance Minister from 1970 until 1972....
on an emergency trip to Pakistan to hold talks with Pakistan's military establishment for the release of Bhutto. In a press conference, Jalloud told the journalists that Gaddafi had offered General Zia to exile him Libya, and Prime minister Jalloud stayed in the
Islamabad International where the specially designated Presidential aircraft waited for Bhutto. However, after a week of staying in the airport, General Zia rejected Prime minister Jalloud's request while Jalloud met him in Rawalpindi and held the death sentence. In all, the entire
Muslim worldThe term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
was silenced on Bhutto's execution, and Gaddafi was in shock after his request was denied and publicly sympathized Bhutto's family over the loss.
On April 4, 1979, the day when Bhutto was executed,
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
published its final report when it follows the entire chronological events surrounding Bhutto's trial. " The way they [ISI and CIA] did it, [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto] is going to grow into a legend that will some day backfire ",
The New York Times quoted.
Role of United States in ousting Bhutto
In 1998, Benazir Bhutto publicly announced her believe that her father was "sent to the gallows at the instance of the superpower for pursuing the nuclear capability, though she did not disclose the name of the power but many believed in that it was the United States. Many political analysts and scientists widely suspected that the riots and coup against Bhutto was orchestrated with help of
Central Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and the United States Government because United States feared over Bhutto's socialist policies where seen as sympathetic to the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and had built a bridge that allowed Soviet Union to involved in Pakistan. A former U.S. attorney general and Human rights activist, Ramsey Clark, quoted that:
"I [Ramsey Clark] do not believe in conspiracy theories in general, but the similarities in the staging of riots in Chile (where the CIA allegedly helped overthrow PresidentThe President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
Salvadore AllandeSalvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
) and in Pakistan are just too close, Bhutto was removed from power in Pakistan by force on 5 July, after the usual party on the 4th at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, with U.S. approval, if not more, by General Zia-ul-Haq. Bhutto was falsely accused and brutalized for months during proceedings that corrupted the Judiciary of PakistanThe Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
before being murdered, then hanged. As Americans, we must ask ourselves this: Is it possible that a rational military leader under the circumstances in Pakistan could have overthrown a constitutional government, without at least the tacit approval of the United States?".
Many Pakistan's political scientists and historians and the leading U.S. experts such as Ramsey Clark believed that Bhutto's removal and his execution was a single and most dramatic change in the world politics and a major setback for Soviet Union who failed to realized the effects of Bhutto's executions, in which, will emerged on Soviet Union's future. Bhutto's death was a turning point of
Cold warThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, and critical and a breakthrough in world power alignment since World War II. After eight months passed since Bhutto's death, Soviet Union intervened in
Afghanistan Soviet Socialist RepublicThe Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War.- Saur Revolution :...
that hampered the Soviet economy and led the dissolution of Soviet Union, and United States emerged as
single most powerful country in the worldA superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
.
Re-opening of Bhutto Trial
The Governing party, PPP has filed a reference on 2 April 2011, to reopen Bhutto's trial, after 32 years past since Bhutto's death.
Iftikhar AhmadAgha Iftikhar Ahmad, , is a Pakistani research journalist and an active political activist. Ahmad started his career in 1980, after his released and joined Jang Media Network and since then, he occupied a senior position in the Network...
, Bhutto's former Media adviser, ran series of interviews of those personalities who played a major and controversial role in Bhutto's death which eventually promoted the PPP's to open the trial. This move was initiated by the
Federal CabinetThe Cabinet of Pakistan is headed by Prime Minister and plays an important role in the Government of Pakistan, in accordance with the Westminster System....
and backed by the Provincial Government of Punjab led by Chief minister
Shahbaz SharifMian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is a well-known conservative Pakistani politician and currently President of Pakistan Muslim League . He is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is the chief minister of Pakistan's most populous province Punjab since 2008...
.
PresidentThe President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
Asif Ali ZardariAsif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
consented to this presidential reference Article 186 of the Constitution to Supreme Court of Pakistan. The
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
will take up the reference on 13 April 2011. Chief Justice
Iftikhar ChaudhryIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is the current Chief Justice of Pakistan.He became chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court in 2005 and soon became not only a central figure in the nation's political struggles but an icon to the country's legal profession and others campaigning for the rule of law...
is presiding the three-judge-bench, though it may be expanded with law experts from four provinces of Pakistan, and
Babar Awan Zaheer-ud-din Babar Awan is the former Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Pakistan. He is also a senator in Pakistan's upper House of the Parliament, and a practicing lawyer and member of the Pakistan Peoples Party Central Executive Committee...
, Federal minister for Law, is counseling Bhutto's case. Babar Awan has resigned from his ministry post in order to legally counsel the ZAB's case, while Chief Justice Chaudhry praised and appreciated the move by the senior PPP leader and remarked the gesture as "
historic".
In a crucial advancement, Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered to form Larger Bench to hear the case which would be responsible to decided the status of Bhutto's execution.
Criticism
Even after his death, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto remains a controversial figure in Pakistan. While he was hailed for being a nationalist, Bhutto was roundly criticized for intimidating his political opponents by his critics. By the time Bhutto was given the control of his country, his nation was torn apart, isolated, demoralized, and emotionally shattered after a psychological and bitter defeat that came from intense regional rival, India, as a result of Indo-Pak war of 1971. His political rivals had blamed his socialist policies for slowing down Pakistan's economic progress owing to poor productivity and high costs although Bhutto and his colleagues maintained that Bhutto was merely addressing the massive inequality built up over the Ayub Khan years. Bhutto is blamed by some quarters for causing the the
Pakistan war in BangladeshThe Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
. In 1977, General Zia-ul-Haq released former general Yahya Khan from Prison and his Lieutenant-General
Fazle HaqLieutenant General Fazle Haq was a 3-star rank general in the Pakistan Army, and former Martial Law Administrator of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. He was the "Corps-Commander" of the XI Corps, and commanded all the Pakistan Army assets assigned in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province...
gave him the honorary guard of honor when the former general died in 1980. After being released from house arrest after 1977 Coup former Chief Martial Law Administrator General Yahya Khanstated in an undated government affadivit:
It was Bhutto, not Mujib, who broke Pakistan. Bhutto's stance in 1971 and his stubbornness harmed Pakistan's solidarity much more than Sheikh Mujib's six-point demand. It was his high ambitions and rigid stance that led to rebellion in East Pakistan. He riled up the Bengalis and brought an end to Pakistan's solidarity. East Pakistan broke away.
A comprehensive thesis written in "
The Power of Mirage" by Dr. Mubashir Hassan, it argued that the
Military spectrum'sThe Establishment is a term used commonly by Pakistani political scientists and also by political scholars and analysts around the world for the powerful military-dominant oligarchy in Pakistan...
criticism of Bhutto is an attempt to hide the failure and incompetency of the their [military] government and their [military] performances in the [ 1971 war, and this absolute false narrative was encouraged by the Zia regime , who were hostile towards Bhutto and remnants of the PPP after Bhutto's execution .
Military circles blamed Bhutto for the causes of 1971 Winter war as an attempt to scapegoat Bhutto to conceal their inability to approach to people to gain the support of the military governments.
Bhutto is also often criticized for human rights abuses perpetrated by the Armed Forces in Balochistan, which
Hard-line IslamicMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal is a coalition of Islamist parties that was formed in 2002 to electorally challenge the Pakistan Parliament's incumbent parties...
and
Conservative frontThe Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962, as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League in Pakistan. Unlike the original PML which ended in 1958 when General Ayub Khan banned all political parties, each subsequent Muslim League was in some way propped by the military dictators of...
s both have accused him. Many officers from the
Pakistan ArmyThe Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
blame Bhutto for the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
notably the former President and former Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharaf condemned Bhutto for having caused the crisis that led to the
Bangladesh Liberation WarThe Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
, and Pakistan's bitter defeat. East Pakistan's former
Martial Law AdministratorMartial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
and former Unified Commander of the
Eastern Military High CommandThe Eastern Military High Command of the Pakistan Armed Forces was a field-level military command headed by an appointed senior 3-star officer, who was designated the Unified Commander of the Eastern Military High Command...
Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan also criticized and held Bhutto sole responsible for creating the hostile atmosphere and hatred among the people in both East and West Pakistan. In his article which was published in 1989, a month before admiral's death, Admiral Ahsan held Bhutto responsible for a transgression which was bound to further fuel "public resentment".
Bhutto's action against the
insurgency in BalochistanThe 1970s military operation in Balochistan was a a five-year conflict in which a separatist movement in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, engaged with the Pakistan Army after then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ordered a military operation in the region in 1973...
is also describes as failing to bring peace to the region.
Image and Praise
Bhutto's international image was more of an
InternationalistInternationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
with a secular image. In spite of all the criticism—and subsequent media trials—Bhutto still remains the most popular leader of the country. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology is named for him; his daughter was chairman of its board of trustees. Under his democratic premiership, Bhutto was responsible for supervising the promulgation of Pakistan's third 1973 constitution for which he successfully obtained approval from all of political parties in Pakistan. Because of his administrative and aggressive nature to lead the
nuclear weapons programmePakistan began focusing on nuclear weapons development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan...
, Bhutto, in the
worldWorld Politics is an academic journal founded in 1948. It publishes articles from all subdisciplines of political science. Material might be historical in nature, current affairs, journalistic, or policy-oriented. It includes research on all topics of import in the field of international affairs...
, is often and commonly regarded as the Father of Pakistan's nuclear deterrence programme, in spite of Pakistan's limited financial resources and strong opposition from other countries, particularly the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In order to retrieve 93,000 P.O.Ws held in India and to avoid another major conflict, Bhutto held peace talks with arch-rival neighbor
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and successfully signed Simla Agreement with Indira Gandhi, Premier of India during this time period. In 2006, while globally publishing the article, "
The Wrath of KhanAbdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
",
The Atlantic described Bhutto as
demagogicDemagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...
and extremely populist, but Pakistan's greatest civilian leader. Whereas, the
Bombay TimesThe Bombay Times is a free supplement of The Times of India, in the Mumbai region.It covers celebrity news, news features, international and national music news, international and national fashion news, lifestyle and feature articles pegged on news events both national and international that have...
referred to Bhutto as "
genius" and "
person with brilliant manner". Despite Henry Kissinger developed differences with Bhutto and his colleagues, Kissinger could not hide his expression in 1979 when he quoted Bhutto as "
brilliant, charming, of global stature in his perception, a man of extraordinary abilities, capable of drawing close to any country that served Pakistan`s national interests". While, Bhutto's former Law Minister Mairaj Muhammad Khan described Bhutto as "a great man but cruel". His family remained active and influential in politics, with first his wife and then his daughter becoming leader of the PPP political party. His eldest daughter,
Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, was twice Prime minister of Pakistan, and was
assassinatedThe assassination of Benazir Bhutto occurred on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan and then-leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January 2008...
on 27 December 2007, while campaigning for
2008 electionsA general election was held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008, after being postponed from 8 January 2008. The original date was intended to elect members of the National Assembly of Pakistan, the lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora...
. While his son, Murtaza Bhutto, served as the Member Parliament of Pakistan, and was also assassinated in a controversial police encounter. With all the criticism and opposition, Bhutto remained highly influential and respected figure even after his death. In 2011, in a gallop survey managed and taken by
Dawn NewspapersDawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
, Bhutto was voted and listed as Pakistan's one of the few greatest leader, and came in second place while
JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
— Pakistan's founder— listed and voted in first place. Bhutto is widely regarded as being among the most influential men in the
historyThe 1st known inhabitants of the modern-day Pakistan region are believed to have been the Soanian , who settled in the Soan Valley and Riwat almost 2 million years ago. Over the next several thousand years, the region would develop into various civilizations like Mehrgarh and the Indus Valley...
of Pakistan. His supporters gave him the title
Quaid-e-Awam (Leader of the people).
Eponyms
- Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology is a Pakistani university, with headquarters at Karachi and campuses at Islamabad, Karachi, Larkana and Dubai...
, a science and engineering institute named after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, located in Karachi, Sindh of Pakistan.
- ZA Bhutto Agricultural College
The Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Agriculture College, Dorki, is the affiliated college of Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam. This college is situated in Taluka Bakrani, district Larkana at an elevation of 164 ft above mean sea level...
, an agriculture engineering and science college named after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, located at Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan.
- F-22P Zulfiquar class frigate, Pakistan Navy Combatant vessel ordered in April 2006, launched July 2009.
- Zulfiqarabad
Zulfiqarabad or Zulfikharabad or Zulfikarabad is a proposed new city in Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan.The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to identify a million acres of land near the coast in Thatta district for the development of the proposed new...
, a planned city in Thatta District of Sindh, Pakistan. The city is named after in the memory of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Literature and Books written by Bhutto
- Peace-Keeping by the United Nations, Pakistan Publishing House, Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, 1967
- Political Situation in Pakistan, Veshasher Prakashan, New Delhi, 1968
- The Myth of Independence, Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, Karachi and LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, 1969
- The Great Tragedy, Pakistan People's Party, Karachi, 1971
- Marching Towards Democracy, (collections of speeches), 1972
- Politics of the People (speeches, statements and articles), 1948–1971
- The Third World: New Directions, Quartet Books, London, 1977
- My Pakistan, Biswin Sadi Publications, New Delhi, 1979
- If I am Assassinated, Vikas, New Delhi, 1979
- My Execution, Musawaat Weekly International, London, 1980
- New Directions, Narmara Publishers, London, 1980
See also
- Movement for Restoration of Democracy
The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy was a major alliance formed by Secular-Socialist democratic political forces aiming to end the General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law and military dictatorship in the country. It was formed in February 1981. The alliance was aimed at restoring democracy and...
- Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
- Murtaza Bhutto
Dr. Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and the Member of the Parliament of Pakistan, representing Pakistan People's Party from the Larkana constituency...
- Ghinwa Bhutto
Ghinwa Bhutto is a politician and the widow of Murtaza Bhutto. She is also the sister-in-law of the late Benazir Bhutto. She is of Syrian-Lebanese origin and is the second wife of Murtaza Bhutto and stepmother of Fatima Bhutto....
- Hyderabad tribunal
The Hyderabad tribunal , also known as Hyderabad conspiracy case, is the name of a former judicial tribunal used in Pakistan to prosecute opposition politicians of the National Awami Party on the charges of treason and acting against the ideology of Pakistan.The tribunal was set up on the orders of...
- Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
- Asghar Khan
Air Marshal Asghar Khan is a Pakistani 3-star rank general and politician who was the first native Air Force Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Air Force. A politician and world war II veteran fighter pilot, at the age of 36, he served as the youngest and first Pakistani head of the Pakistan Air Force...
- Mufti Mahmud
Maulana Mufti Mahmud , an ethnic Marwat Pashtun hailing from Abdul Khel, was born in January 1919 in Paniala, Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, province of Pakistan. He was an Islamic scholar and political activist. Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman is his son and was the leader of opposition in...
- Malik Anwer Ali Noon
Malik Anwar Ali Noon of Ali Pur Noon, son of Malik Sultan Ali Khan Noon is a popular, prominent politician and a famous landlord of Sargodha in the Noon family. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His own village is Ali Pur Noon, situated...
- Sherbaz Mazari
- Mausoleum of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Mazar of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is situated at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan.The mazar is notable for containing the graves of the Bhutto family and being the burial place of Zulfiqar, Murtaza, , and Benazir Bhutto....
External links
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