Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

  • Early Life

    The leader of the people, and the founding father of Pakistan Peoples Party, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born in Larkana, Sindh on January 5, 1928. This brave son of the soil carried pain for his people in his heart. He fought all the injustice, cruelty and tyranny the nation was being subjected to, by a dictator. It was his lifelong aim to strengthen Pakistan with democracy, education and the spirit of nationalism. He served Pakistan as a Foreign Minister and Speaker of the National Assembly, but this wasn’t the culmination of the ambitions of service he held for his motherland.

  • Politics

    Pakistan Peoples Party was his solution to the rampant dictatorship and despotism destroying Pakistan. It was also the beginning of an organized struggle for a peaceful and progressive Pakistan, which ensures impartial justice for everyone. His leadership led PPP to a sweeping victory in 1970 elections. These were the first general elections held throughout Pakistan since Independence in 1947, based on the universal adult franchise and one-man-one-vote. For Pakistan it was the dawn of democracy; for the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his comrades it was a great political triumph. The ballot in 1970 was free, fair and honest. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s democratic mantra of “roti, kapra, aur makaan” defeated the cruel and autocratic intentions of the enemies of democracy in Pakistan. And while the dictator did his best to undermine the struggles of PPP, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government united the country under the 1973 Constitution. It was the only unanimously adopted Constitution in the history of this nation and spite of its many attempted mutilations by military dictators, remains the main reference point for Pakistan’s legal and constitutional system.

  • Defining Moments

    In 1972, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto signed the historic Simla Agreement with Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi. As a result, India released 93,000 Pakistani troops and civilians and returned more than 5000 km2 land in West Pakistan. India also agreed to respect the line of control between Jammu and Kashmir resulting from the ceasefire of December 17, 1971. It was thanks to this momentous treaty that both countries put an end to conflict and confrontation, promising to work for the promotion of friendly relations and peace. They agreed to follow United Nations Charter to govern their relations and affirmed to respect each other’s national unity, political independence, and territorial integrity. On December 30, 1973, he laid the foundation of Steel Mills at Pipri, near Karachi. On January 1, 1974, the Prime Minister nationalized all banks. On February 22, 1974, the second Islamic Summit was inaugurated in Lahore. Heads of States of most of the 38 Islamic countries attended the Summit. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto also started monumental land reforms that restricted individual holdings to 150 acres of irrigated and 300 acres of un-irrigated land. The excessive land holdings were taken over by the government, resuming over 800,000 acres of agricultural land to be re-distributed among needy farmers and laborers.

  • Judicial Murder

    In the 1977 general election, PPP won again by a vast majority. However, the Party’s tenure was cut short by a scheming and power-hungry General Zia-ul-Haq who staged a coup in 1977 imposing martial law. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s popularity threatened the military dictator who ordered the hanging of the PPP leader in 1979 over false charges, bringing an end to what could have been the most definitive era of Pakistan and the Peoples Party. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was an outstanding figure in Pakistan’s political history, who will remain unparalleled. His governments aimed at providing ‘Bread, Clothing & Shelter’ to the people of Pakistan, ensuring everyone across Pakistan has access to education and health facilities as well as modern infrastructure. Yes, it was Quaid-e-Awam Bhutto Shaheed, who by his own admission, vowed to make Pakistan a nuclear power. In an interview with the Manchester Guardian in 1965, he said, “We(Pakistan) will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own (Atom bomb) … We have no other choice!” On his 51st birthday, while in a death cell of Rawalpindi jail, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto refused to compromise on his principles even when facing the gallows. His tormentors wanted to break his will and expected him to compromise his honor and principles in return for his life. They failed. And they failed miserably. The people of Pakistan will always remember him as a dynamic and charismatic leader. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave the subjugated people of this country a reason to hope for a better future; he gave them a sense of dignity, he gave them pride in being a Pakistani.

  • Original Manifesto

    His ideologies are outlined in the first Manifesto of the Party, which include:

    Islam is our Faith
    Democracy is our politics
    Socialism is our Economy
    All Power to the People

    Great leaders are known for the indelible imprints they leave permanently for posterity. Martyred Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the most prominent leader of Pakistan to have done that in the 20th Century. His ideologies cannot be killed because they are alive in the heart of each Pakistani for he brought power to the people, that no dictator can dare take away. Millions of Pakistanis still mourn the extrajudicial murder of Quaid-e-Awam Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. For Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, politics wasn’t an end but a means to alleviate the suffering of the masses and standing up for their rights. Historian Professor Ian Talbot, an authority on Pakistani politics believes that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “is occupying public space as a charismatic leader arising from coalescing social, political, cultural and economic factors.  Bhutto’s charisma was rooted in his embodiment of popular aspirations for social justice”. His perpetual opponents are still out there, trying to undermine him. But Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto continues to rule the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan.