Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

March 13, 2012 Chapter 5

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto The charismatic Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the youngest child of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, a Sindi feudal lord. He graduated from University of California and had also studied law. He was known for his sharp mind and wits but also a touch of arrogance. Bhutto was very popular among the youth and the deprived class of the country as he had campaigned with his slogan of “Roti Kapra aur Makan”. He was credible and energetic and nw had the presidency and authority of martial law also. As Bhutto took hold of his position he first tried to retire the generals associated with Yahya regime. He made Gul Hassan chief of army staff as Gul Hassan had a hand in handing power over to Bhutto from Yahya and also because Bhuttos immediate aim was to stabilize the country within. Although Gul Hassan was a general of the Yahya Junta he still had a better reputation and popularity than the rest of generals. After throwing out a few senior generals Bhutto then turned his attention to Brigadier F.B.Ali and the six officers who played a very important role in convincing Yahya to resign. Bhutto started signaling his authority more than instilling discipline as will be evident from his his further actions. Although in the beginning the east Bhutto was extremely popular but he committed a blunder of having footage of the army’s surrender in Dhaka played on national T.V. Bhutto started degrading reputation of the army by suggesting screening of army personnel and wanting to sit in promotion boards of the army. After the police strike in Peshawar where Gul Hassan and air force chief refused to corporate both of them were called for briefing by Bhutto during which they both resigned. Bhutto also did not publicize the report finalized by Justice Hamood ur-Rahman on East Pakistan debacle and idea floated among the army that Bhutto tried to cover up blames on himself and General Tikka khan. General Tikka khan was an uninvited choice as army chief mostly because he did not know much about his job. Federal Security Force(FSF) a new organization, was setup and became a means to harassing political opponents and other parties members. Mohammad Amin Jafer

Page 1

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

March 13, 2012

Bhuttos support was thinning out and even the dismemberment of Pakistan was being attributed to him by military critics. Along with these factors and the army surrender in Dhaka led to the Attock conspiracy case. In this case three groups, one in the air force, one in the south army and one in the north army with their acknowledged leader Major Farouk Adam Khan acted together. The group members wanted to end the moral degeneracy and corruption from the government which they saw increasing in Bhutto’s government. However they first had to gain support the senior ranks of the army. The senior official heard the plea of the junior ranks and decided to spread the word by March 24, 1973. However on March 24, 1973 they were all arrested. A month before the matter was brought before General Tikka Khan by colonel Tariq Rafi but instead general Tikka passed it on to ISI(Inter Services Intelligence). The army authorities plan to recruit many officers led to their arrest. The officials were tried by president of court martial general Zia ul-Haq. The recordings of the proceedings showed great resentment of the junior army officials for the senior ones and this gave Bhutto a chance to promote general Zia as army chief. This resulted in Brigadier Ali and Colonel Afridi getting life sentences along with other army officials. The junior officials regularly visited the imprisoned officials but the government relocated them to prevent them from meeting. A great achievement of Bhutto was the adoption of 1973 constitution. After common ground was achieved by the opposition and government the constitution was adopted by majority of the votes in the house. The articles stated in the constitution were such that made it loud and clear that the army would not interfere in the politics and a military coup would be considered high treason. Also the summit between Bhutto and Indian Prime minister IndiraGandhi at Simla in mid-1972 yielded unexpected results. Bhutto got back the Pakistani territory occupied by the Indians however the Pakistani prisoners were not returned although the most important part of the agreement was that all disputes would be resolved peacefully through bilateral agreement. Meanwhile, in Baluchistan a weapons shipment being delivered to the Marri tribe militants was discovered who were involved in anti Pakistan activity including the chief minister of the province. Hence Bhutto dismissed this government. But now the Marri tribe went against the government with arms. Bhutto, having no choice Mohammad Amin Jafer

Page 2

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

March 13, 2012

called out on the army to bring the situation under control. At the same time political complexity was increasing in the N.W.F.P. The NWFP government was conspiring to break away the province from Pakistan and merge with Afghanistan. When in 1975 Hayat Khan Sherpao was murdered in a blast in Peshawar Bhutto accused the pro-Moscow National Awami Party and banned them. At this stage Bhutto had no effective opposition left. Bhutto also dealt with religious parties by declaring in the articles of constitution that Islam is to be state religion. The conflict between the Jamaat-i-Islami and Ahmedis worsened and National Assembly declared the Ahmedis to be out the fold of Islam for which Bhutto was applauded by the crowds. But this decision was to disrupt the unity of the country. Bhutto however had managed to make close relationships with Arab countries and Iran and also China when the Karakorum highway was opened and this brought much required aid to Pakistan. He showed Pakistan to be independent of the west but still strong ties were kept with the U.S. Then on may 8, 1974. India tested their nuclear weapon and in response to this Bhutto stressed on Pakistan acquiring nuclear power as well despite U.S disapproval. All along Bhutto was missing out on the fact that his party PPP and his own policies were suppressing the general public especially the Muhajirs in Sindh resulting in the formation of the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto’s popularity declined rapidly and the PNA gained more appeal from the public and other political parties. Now Bhutto had no choice but to hand over control to general Zia. By this time Zia’s nature with Bhutto had changed a little as now he was much required for assisting the government in maintaining control and order. Bhutto tried to persuade the army officials against supporting the PNA but to no avail. There was large scale rioting and Martial Law was declared in Lahore Karachi and Hyderabad. In order to avoid an agreement being reached between the government and PNA Zia ul-Haq on July 5, 1977 had Bhutto and his ministers arrested. It is also believed by the PPP supporters that the U.S had developed intense dislike for Bhutto and the belief was further strengthened when Pakistani Intelligence tapped a phone conversation of the U.S embassy in Islamabad. Upon hearing this Bhutto addressed the National Assembly on April 28, 1977. Despite the degeneration of his government it is very relevant to say that Mohammad Amin Jafer

Page 3

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

March 13, 2012

Bhutto had started out with the vision, energy and charisma that a great leader must have. He had an unsurpassed air of authority and charisma. Most importantly he had belief in himself, also tried his best to establish personal contact with the people through his emotional addresses. Also he was the first leader to release the have-nots of suppression from the privileged classes. However due to the lack of organization and being influenced by feudal lords Bhutto remained unsuccessful in fully accomplishing the social justice promised.

Mohammad Amin Jafer

Page 4