Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (January 5, 1928–April 4, 1979) was a Pakistani politician who

served as the fourth President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as the ninth Minister of
Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. He was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the
largest and most influential political party in Pakistan. His daughter Benazir Bhutto also
served twice as prime minister; she was assassinated on December 27, 2007.

Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States and University of
Oxford in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his economic initiatives and
authoring Pakistan's nuclear programme. He was executed in 1979 after the Supreme
Court of Pakistan sentenced him to death 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 The pereption is that this was politically motivated judicial
murder.

Early life

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born to Khursheed Begum and Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. He was
born in a prominent Sindhi Shia Muslim family Bhutto's father was a prominent political
figure in the Indian colonial government. Bhutto was born in his parent's residence near
Larkana in what later became the province of Sindh.. His father was a wealthy landlord, a
zamindar and a prominent politician in Sindh, As a young boy, Bhutto moved to Worli
Seaface in Bombay (now Mumbai) to study at the Cathedral and John Connon School.
During this period, he also became a student activist in the League's Pakistan Movement.
In 1943, his marriage was arranged with Shireen Amir Begum. In 1947, Bhutto was
admitted to the University of Southern California.

In 1949, Bhutto transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an

honours degree in political science. Here he would become interested in the theories of
socialism, delivering a series of lectures on the feasibility of socialism in Islamic
countries. In June, 1950 Bhutto travelled to England to study law at Christ Church,
Oxford. Upon finishing his studies, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 (the
same school at which Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied law) .

Bhutto married his second wife, the Iranian-Kurdish Begum Nusrat Ispahani who was
also a Shi'a Muslim, in Karachi on September 8, 1951. Their first child, his daughter
Benazir, was born in 1953. She was followed by Murtaza in 1954, a second daughter,
Sanam, in 1957, and the youngest child, Shahnawaz Bhutto, in 1958. He accepted the
post of lecturer at the Sindh Muslim College, from where he was also awarded an
honorary law degree by the then college President, Mr. Hassanally A. Rahman 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 Nations. He would address the United Nations Sixth Committee on Aggression on
October 25, 1957 and lead Pakistan's deputation to the United Nations Conference on the
Law of the Seas in 1958. In the same year, Bhutto became the youngest Pakistani cabinet
minister when he was given charge of the energy ministry by President Muhammad Ayub
Khan, He was subsequently promoted to head the ministries of commerce, information
and industries. Bhutto became a close and trusted advisor to Ayub, rising in influence and
power despite his youth and relative inexperience in politics. Bhutto aided Ayub in
negotiating the Indus Water Treaty with India in 1960. In 1961, Bhutto negotiated an oil
exploration agreement with the Soviet Union, which also agreed to provide economic and
technical aid to Pakistan.

Foreign Minister

In 1962, he was appointed Pakistan's foreign minister. His swift rise to power also
brought him national prominence and popularity.

• Bhutto began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent
of U.S. influence.
• Bhutto criticised the U.S. for providing military aid to India during and after the
Sino-Indian War of 1962, which was seen as an abrogation of Pakistan's alliance
with the U.S.
• Bhutto worked to establish stronger relations with the People's Republic of
China..
• Bhutto advocated hardline and confrontational policies against India over the
Kashmir conflict and other issues.
• A 17 day war broke out between Pakistan and India on 6 September 1965 known
as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
• Bhutto joined Ayub in Tashkent to negotiate a peace treaty with the Indian Prime
Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. 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 resigned in June, 1966 and expressed strong opposition to Ayub's regime.

Pakistan Peoples Party

In 1966 Bhutto declared the PPP's beliefs, "Islam is our faith, democracy is our policy,
socialism is our economy. All power to the people." On November 30, 1967 Bhutto
founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore, establishing a strong base of
political support in Punjab, Sindh and amongst the Muhajir communities.

East Pakistan Tragedy

Following Ayub's resignation, the new president Gen. Yahya Khan promised to hold
parliamentary elections on December 7, 1970. Bhutto's party won a large number of seats
from constituencies in West Pakistan. However, Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won an
outright majority from the constituencies located in East Pakistan. Bhutto demanded that
Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPP. Yahya postponed the inaugural session of
the National Assembly after talks with Sheikh Mujib failed. Amidst popular outrage in
East Pakistan, Major Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of "Bangladesh" on
March 26, 1971 after Mujibur was arrested by the Pakistani Army, which had been
ordered by Yahya to suppress political activities. December 16, 1971. Bhutto and others
condemned Yahya for failing to protect Pakistan's unity. Isolated, Yahya resigned on
December 20 and transferred power to Bhutto, who became the president, army
commander-in-chief as well as the first civilian chief martial law administrator.

As President, Bhutto’s Speech

As president, Bhutto addressed the nation via radio and television, saying "My dear
countrymen, my dear friends, my dear students, labourers, peasants… those who fought
for Pakistan… We are facing the worst crisis in our country's life, a deadly crisis. We
have to pick up the pieces, very small pieces, but we will make a new Pakistan, a
prosperous and progressive Pakistan."

Leader of Pakistan

• A new labour policy was announced increasing workers rights and the power of
trade unions.
• Bhutto announced reforms limiting land ownership and a government take-over of
over a million acres (4,000 km²) to distribute to landless peasants.
• Bhutto visited India to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and negotiated a
formal peace agreement and the release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.
• Bhutto established an atomic power development programme and inaugurated the
first Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with Canada in Karachi on
November 28
• He gave the third Constitution to the country.
• After the 1973 Constitution was promulgated, Bhutto was elected by the House to
be the Prime Minister, and he was sworn in on August 14, 1973.

Father of the Nuclear program

Zulifikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme. In October, 1965,
the then-Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited Vienna when
Munir Ahmad Khan informed him of the status of India's nuclear program 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.

Popular unrest and military coup

Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term
progressed.Initially targeting leader of the opposition Abdul Wali Khan and his
opposition National Awami Party (NAP). General Zia announced that martial law had
been imposed, the constitution suspended and all assemblies dissolved and promised
elections within ninety days.

Trial of the Prime Minister

Bhutto's trial began on October 24 on charges of "conspiracy to murder" Ahmed Raza

Kasuri. On July 5, 1977 the military, led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, 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.

Death Sentence And Appeal

On March 18, 1978, Bhutto wasn't declared guilty of murder but was sentenced to death.
his family appealed on his behalf, and a hearing before the Supreme Court commenced in
May. Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq adjourned the court until the end of July 1978,
supposedly because five of the nine appeals court judges were willing to overrule the
Lahore verdict. One of the pro-Bhutto judges was due to retire in July.

On March 24, 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.

Criticism and legacy

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto remains a controversial figure in Pakistan. While he was hailed for
being a nationalist, Bhutto was roundly criticised for opportunism and intimidating his
political opponents. He gave Pakistan its third constitution, oversaw Pakistan's nuclear
programme, held peace talks with neighbour India and was more of an Internationalist
with a secular image. His socialist policies are blamed for slowing down Pakistan's
economic progress owing to poor productivity and high costs. Bhutto is also criticised for
human rights abuses perpetrated by the army in Balochistan.