Death of Bhutto

Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri (born 1940 ) is a Pakistani politician and lawyer, the son of Nawab

Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri (1922 – 1974) who was assassinated in an alleged car ambush in
1974.[1] Bhutto was initially charged with conspiracy to murder Ahmed Raza Kasuri, and the
murder of Kasuri's father. Masood Mehmood, Bhutto's general of the Federal Security force,
testified after a few months in a Pakistani prison that Bhutto had given the orders. Four
assasins also admitted to having had the orders before they performed the act. ( One said
that he had given testimony after he had been tortured by his imprisoners). The hanging of
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was done on the allegation of giving order to assassinate Ahmed Raza
Kasuri. But in assassination attempt his father Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Kasuri was killed.

It was time. In the evening of April 3, a team of four officers

entered Rawalpindi Jail to end a chapter in Pakistan’s history.

Jail Superintendent Yar Mohammad, Magistrate Bashir Ahmad Khan, jail

doctor Sagheer Hussain Shah, and Security Battalion Commander and
Security Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Rafiuddin had all arrived to carry out
court orders.

As narrated by Col Rafiuddin in his book Bhutto Kay Aakhri 323 Din (The last
323 days of Bhutto), the jail superintendent visited Bhutto at 6.30pm in his
cell, along with a witness. He found Bhutto lying on the floor. He first called
Bhutto’s name to draw his attention, and then read out the execution order.

“According to the March 18, 1978 order of the Lahore High Court, you, Mr
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, are to be hanged for the murder of Nawab Mohammad
Ahmad Khan,” read the order. “Your appeal in the Supreme Court was rejected
on February 6, 1979 and the review petition was turned down on March 24,
1979. The president of Pakistan has decided not to interfere in this matter. So
it has been decided to hang you.”

After months of litigation and appeals for clemency,

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is finally silenced

Col Rafiuddin was standing besides the jail superintendent.

“I did not see any sign of panic on Mr Bhutto’s face while the jail
superintendent was reading out the order. Instead, I could see that he was
quite calm, relaxed, and had a smile on his face,” observed the colonel.

After listening to the jail superintendent, Bhutto retorted that he should have
been informed about the execution 24 hours before but that had not been
done. On the contrary, he argued, when his daughter and wife met him at
11.30am, they were not sure about the day or time either. Bhutto was told that
the required order for execution was with the jailer.

Without any hesitation, the jail superintendent then asked Bhutto whether he
would like to write his will, since he was to be hanged in a few hours. Bhutto
nodded and asked for some writing materials. He also asked the jailer to show
him the black warrants, to which the jailer replied that as per the law, that
could not be done.

At 8.00pm, Bhutto drank a cup of coffee. He also called for Abdur Rahman,
his jail attendant, and asked Abdur Rahman to forgive him. Around 10.00pm,
he asked Rahman to bring some warm water so that he could shave.

Bhutto then turned to Col Rafi.

“Rafi, what is this drama that is being staged?”

The question went unanswered.

Bhutto then brushed his teeth.

For some time, he sat on his bed and began writing something. He asked the
warden about how much time was left till his execution. He was told the time.
He then burned all pieces of papers he had tried to write on.

At 11.25pm, Bhutto told his attendant that he would try to sleep for a while
because he had not been able to sleep properly last night, but asked to be
woken up at midnight.

But soon, the assistant jail superintendent and other staff arrived at his cell.
They wanted to wake Bhutto up from the outside. When they did not get any
response, they were told to enter the cell and try to wake him up.

The officials complied, only to find that Bhutto had opened his eyes. Again,
Bhutto did not respond to the doctor’s call. On the insistence of Col Rafiuddin,
Bhutto was medically checked for a third time; the doctor said that he was
fine.
Around 1.35am, the officials’ team entered the cell and saw Bhutto resting on a
mattress. The magistrate, Bashir Ahmad Khan, asked him whether he had
written a will. Bhutto replied in a low voice that he had tried, but his thoughts
were so disturbed that he could not do it and instead he burnt the paper. He
was then asked whether he wanted to walk to the gallows or whether he would
prefer to be carried, to which Bhutto remained silent.

After a few seconds, the jail superintendent called his men, who lifted Bhutto
by his limbs and put him on a stretcher. As Bhutto lay motionless on the
stretcher, he was handcuffed.

Once they reached the scaffold, two wardens helped him to the hanging board.
His handcuffs were then readjusted; once his hands were taken behind his
back, Bhutto was placed in chains again.

All present there stood in silence.

Tara Masih, the executioner, was already there and ready to perform his task.
He put a mask over Bhutto’s face.

When the clock struck four minutes past two in the morning, the executioner
whispered something into Bhutto’s ear and pressed the lever. Bhutto’s body
fell about five feet; it remained in that position for half an hour. A doctor then
checked Bhutto and pronounced him dead.

Tara Masih then brought Bhutto’s corpse down, and began massaging his
hands and legs. It was said that the executioner wanted to straighten his
limbs, which might have twisted owing to the impact of the hanging.

Half an hour later, the doctor handed over the death certificate to the jail
superintendent. His body was handed over to jail officials, who bathed his
body.

His body was placed in a coffin, and taken to Chaklala air base where a C-130
plane was ready to fly to Jacobabad. The plane took off, but after an hour’s
flight, it returned since it had developed some fault. Another plane then took
off with the body and the officials accompanying it.

At a distance, Benazir Bhutto spent the night in insufferable grief and distress,
lonely and confined. As she sunk in grief, someone in the wilderness hummed
a 1968 French song titled Comment Te Dire Adieu? (How to say goodbye to
you?) — composed in the same year that Bhutto began his political struggle
against Ayub Khan. But in the wee hours of April 4, 1979, it was time to bid
farewell to the prime minister. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was no more.