Pakistan Studies

Assignment 3
Task: Read the chapter ‘The Era of Populism Zulfi Bhutto (1971-77)’ provided in pdf from the book
‘Democracy and Governance in Pakistan’ by Dr Tahir Kamran. Write your assessment of this era by citing
the important events (political, economic, foreign policy related) according to your opinion. Write in
short paragraphs. Give them suitable headings.

The Era of Populism Zulfi Bhutto (1971-77):

Personal Profile:
Name: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
DOB: 5 Jan 1928
Birth Place: Ratodero Taluka, Bombay Presidency, British India
(present-day Sindh, Pakistan)
DOD: 4 April 1979 (aged 51)
Cause of Death: Execution by hanging
Place of Death: Bhutto family mausoleum, Garhi Khuda Bakhsh,
Sindh, Pakistan

Early life:

 He was born on 5 January 1928.

 He was only son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto.
 He completed his early education from Bombay Cathedral high school.
 In 1947, he joined the University of Southern California and later the university
of California at Berkeley in June 1949.
 After completed his degree with honors in political science in 1950 he was
admitioned to Oxford.

Political Career:

 In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest

 member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations.
 As his father was politically active, Bhutto had learned
 politics and its affairs from very early age.
  In 1958, he became Pakistan’s youngest cabinet
 minister. He was assigned ministry of Water and
 Power.
 He was then given ministry of Commerce,
 Communication and Industry.
 Close and trustworthy to Ayub Khan.
 Indus Water Treaty and Oil Exploration Agreement.
 1963, Bhutto became Foreign Minister
 Initiative of friendly relations with China.
 His style of leading the Foreign Ministry and his
swift rise to power brought him national
 prominence and popularity.
 After Tashkent Agreement, he left Ayub Khan and
resigned in 1966.
 Founded Pakistan People’s Party in 1967.
 Contested elections in 1970 and won majority in
 West Pakistan
 Took over from Yahya Khan in 1971, became first
civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator
 Disintegration of Bangladesh

Visionary:

 Nationalist and Socialist, Democratic point of view.

 Aggressive leader
 Popular in public
 Friendly relations with China, Germany,
 Indonesia, Saudia Arabia and other countries
 Aggressive Geo-strategic and foreign policies
 towards India.

Major issues:

 Nationalization policy cause criticism and was serious damage to efforts for
economic development during 1960’s and results in economic insufficiency and
miss-allocation of resources.
 On January 1977 The opposition organized into the Pakistan national alliance. A nine-
party- coalition against government Bhutto and his allies.
Major policies adopted by Govt:

 Lying foundation of PPP

 Nationalization policy
 Atomic bomb program
 Surpressing revolt in Baluchistan
 Bhutto founded the Pakistan’s People Party ,which to date remains Pakistan’s
largest and most popular party.
 PPP was founded in opposition to Pakistan’s 1st military ruler Ayub Khan in
whose cabinet Mr. Bhutto held the portfolio of foreign minister.
 Bhutto started nationalization programmed of industries, financial institutions
including banks and insurance companies and rice-husking units.
 Bhutto was founder of Pakistan’s atomic bomb programmed due to his
 aggressive leadership he is often known as Father of nuclear deterrence.
 In January 1973, Bhutto ordered the Pakistan Armed forces to suppress a rising
insurgency in the province of Baluchistan.

Reforms and Achievement:

 Domestic reforms
 Higher Education reforms
 Foreign policy
 Land reforms
 Economic policy
 Labor reforms
 Domestic reforms
 Flood and agriculture reforms
 Banking and Export expansion
 Constitutional reforms
 Right of passport to every citizen
 During his period as prime minister, a number of land reforms were introduced.
 Bhutto introduced socialist economics 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.
 Banking reforms were introduced to provide more opportunities to small
farmers.
  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 MNAs and MPAs.
 Bhutto government 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.
 The labor policy was among one of the most important cornerstone of Bhutto's
government, Shortly after assuming control, the government imposed some
conditions on the dismissal of workers.
 During his period in office the government carried out seven major
amendments to the 1973 Constitution.

Foreign policy:

 His vast knowledge, intelligence, and keen awareness of post-World War II,
and the nuclear history, enabled him to craft the foreign policy which brought
unmatched un-divides in Pakistan's foreign policy history
 Bhutto sought to diversify Pakistan's relations away from the United States
and, soon Pakistan left CENTO and SEATO.
 Bhutto developed close and strengthened the Arab relations, and Sino-Pak
relations.
 Pakistan and Iran had cemented a special relationship, as Iran had provided
military assistance to Pakistan.
 Bhutto, had built a strategic relationship with People's Republic of China.
 Bhutto hosted the second Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in
 1974 where he delegated and invited leaders from the Muslim world to Lahore.
 Bhutto had been an anti-SEATO and preferred a non-aligned policy.
 Bhutto improved Pakistan's ties with the Arab world, and sided with the Arab
world during the Arab-Israeli conflict.
 In spite of troubled relations with Israel, Bhutto had made it clear to Israel that
his policy against Israel is not based on "anti-Semitism“.

Decline of Govt:

 Between the 1974 and 1976, many of Bhutto's original members had left
Bhutto due to political differences.
 Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khan, former Governor of
Punjab, openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime.
 Amid protest and civil distress felt in Lahore, and People's Party lost the
 administrative control over the city.
 On 3 September the Army arrested Bhutto again on charges of authorizing the
murder of a political opponent in March 1974.

Death sentence and appeal:

 Bhutto was declared not guilty of murder, but was sentenced to death, On 18
March 1978.
 On 12 March 1978, Bhutto's former Legal Minister, A.H. Per-Zadah petitioned
the Supreme Court for the release of Bhutto's Science Adviser, Mubashir
Hassan, and to review Bhutto's death sentence based on the split decision.
 The Supreme Court denied Hassan's release because he was held by Military
Police, but the court agreed to hear the arguments.
 On 4 April 1979, the day Bhutto was executed.

Bhutto’s words:

I did not kill that man. My God is aware of it. I am big enough to admit if I had done it, that admission
would have been less of an ordeal and humiliation than this barbarous trial which no self respecting man
can endure. I am a Muslim. A Muslim's fate is in the hands of God Almighty I can face Him with a clear
conscience and tell Him that I rebuilt His Islamic State of Pakistan from ashes into a respectable Nation. I
am entirely at peace with my conscience in this black hole of Kot Lakhpat. I am not afraid of death. You
have seen what fires I have passed through.

Evaluation:

 Bhutto had been politically aware from an early age. His grave interest in politics led him to
write a letter to Mohammad Ali Jinnah on April 26, 1945 which read:
 “You have inspired us and we are proud of you. Being still in school, I am unable to help the
establishment of our sacred land. But the time will come when I will even sacrifice my life for
Pakistan.”
 He was the first Asian student to be elected to the student council at USC. Bhutto volunteered
for the election campaign of Democrat Helen Gahagan for a seat in the US senate.
 He was a man full of contradictions. He was a democrat with despotic tendencies, populist but
not afraid of taking a stand, loved his country but not more than himself, socialist while owning
huge tracts of lands and much more.