ISLAMABAD: He was killed–he was Hanged–he was murdered—But he is alive and shall remain alive—-Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto. His slain daughter Benazir Bhutto truly said “Bhutto lives in every house where thinking to fight against oppressed system is alive”.
He was hanged in rawalpindi on April 4, 1979 and nation is still mourning on his 34th death anniversary.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born on January 5, 1928. In 1958 he joined the cabinet of Iskander Mirza. From there, he was active in the Pakistani government working at various posts. He was a Pakistani politician who served as prime minister of Pakistan from 1973 – 1977.
He was one of the few non-military men to have ruled Pakistan. In 1966 he resigned from the cabinet, after serving as foreign minister. The next year, he founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore. He then became an advocate for the return of democracy to Pakistan and increased his political influence.
The year 1970 brought great victories for the PPP in Pakistani elections, which gave Bhutto great power. Following Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, he took over control of Pakistan from Ayub Khan.
In 1973, he was officially made prime minister. His time as prime minister saw many reforms passed such as land reform and nationalization of industries, which reflected the socialist values of the PPP.
Bhutto was Prime Minister between two eras of martial law, making him the only prime minister from 1973 until 1977. Prior to 1973, there had been no Prime Minister since 1958. After 1977, the office of Prime Minister would be suspended until 1985.
Bhutto also oversaw the beginning of the development of nuclear weapons by Pakistan. In 1976, he was warned by Henry Kissinger that Bhutto would pay a great price if Pakistan continued with that path. In 1977, Bhutto was overthrown by General Zia-ul-Haq who declared martial law and had Bhutto arrested. In 1979, on April 4, 1979 Bhutto was executed by hanging on charges that he had murdered political opponents
