ZAB ERA

1971-77
 OVERVIEW

• Early life
• Political career
• Major Issues in Pakistan during his era
• Major Policies adopted by govt.
• Achievements of the govt.
• Failures of the govt.
• Death sentence and appeal
• Evaluation
 EARLY LIFE
• He was born on 5 January 1928. The 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 went to Oxford
• He returned to Pakistan in 1953 and started his legal practice
in Karachi.
 POLITICAL CAREER
• Ideology-Bhutto was a Pakistani nationalist and socialist
• In 1957, Bhutto became the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United
Nations
• In 1958, he became Pakistan's youngest cabinet member as Minister for Commerce
• In 1960, He became trusted ally and advisor of Ayyub Khan, rising in influence and
power despite his youth and relative inexperience. He was part Indus Water Treaty
negotiation, in 1960
• After his appointment as foreign minister (1963–66), he began working for greater
independence from Western powers and for closer ties with China
• His opposition to the peace with India after the 1965 war over Kashmir forced him to
resign from the government, and in December 1967 he founded the Pakistan People’s
Party. Bhutto denounced the Ayub Khan regime as a dictatorship and was subsequently
imprisoned (1968–69)
• He was politician and statesman who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Pakistan
from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that as the 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973
 Bhutto and East Pakistan Crisis
• After the removal of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan organized free and fair election in
1970. Bhutto got majority in the West Pakistan but Awami League of Mujib-ur-
Rehman swept into majority in East Pakistan
• Bhutto refused to talk to Awami League as it was “Separatist Party”. He said if
any one from West Pakistan went to talk to Mujib “he will break his legs”
• Awami league was asking for greater autonomy, some thing like our smaller
provinces are demanding, now
• Protest converted in to riots and to separatist movement. Pakistan army was
called to deal with the situation. Despite heavy handedness, they lost to
irregular Mukti Bahini. With Indian military help Bangladesh came into being
• Bhutto’s lust for power led him to destroy the national fabric of the country
 MAJOR POLICIES ADOPTED BY GOVT.
• Bhutto founded the Pakistan’s People Party ,which to date remains Pakistan’s
important national party
• Bhutto started nationalization program of industries, financial institutions
including banks and insurance companies and rice-husking units
• Bhutto was founder of Pakistan’s atomic bomb program 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. This was brutally enforced and led to
hardships to common population
• His use of force to settle political issue set a very bad precedence in Pakistani
politics
• In the face of 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
 Achievements
• Domestic reforms, Land and agriculture reforms,
• Economic policy, 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-
limited results
• 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
 Achievements
• 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. This provided much needed foreign remittances to the
country
• The labor policy was among one of the most important cornerstone of Bhutto's
government. Shortly after assuming control, the government imposed some
conditions to the dismissal of workers
• Some argue that after initial pro-labor policies, Bhutto’s regime altered its stance
and modified the policy that led to industrial unrest in the country
• Providing Constitution in 1973 was Bhutto’s major achievement. But in his regime
seven major amendments to the 1973 Constitution were made. These
amendments and other issues paved the way for future dictatorship
 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 dividends to Pakistan's foreign policy
• Bhutto sought to diversify Pakistan's relations away from the United States and,
soon Pakistan left CENTO and SEATO
• Bhutto developed close ties with ME and strengthened the Pak-Arab and
Pakistan’s relations with the Third World
• Pakistan and Iran had cemented a special relationship, as Iran had provided
military assistance to Pakistan in 1971
• Bhutto, had built a strategic relationship with People's Republic of China
• He proudly claimed himself to be the Leader of the Third World
 FOREIGN POLICY
• Bhutto hosted the second Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1974
where he delegated and invited leaders from the Muslim world to Lahore
• He wanted a vibrant Muslim World interacting on international stage
• 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. Arab leader, by and large, were skeptic of
his intentions as it clashed with Arab nationalism
• 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“ i.e. Pakistan has no issue
with Jews its only the Palestine issue that needs to be resolved as per the
aspirations of the Palestinian people
 DECLINE OF GOVERNMENT
• Between the 1974 and 1976, many of Bhutto's original members had left
Bhutto due to political differences. Many felt that Bhutto was getting closer to
the very people whom he had politically targeted
• PPP was moving away from its policies and the goals i.e. its declared socialistic
agenda
• Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar, 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 guilty of murder, and was sentenced to death, On 18 March
1978
• On 12 March 1978, Bhutto's former Law Minister, A.H. Pirzadah 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. This split decision execution is
considered a political murder
The New York Times published its report after following the entire chronological
events surrounding Bhutto's trial which stated in part "The way they did it,
(Bhutto).. is going to grow into a legend that will some day backfire"
 Evaluation
• Bhutto had been politically aware from an early age. His keen 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