Understanding Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

In Pakistan few politicians have and had a broad vision and the Bhutto was the one, how many of us know the ideology today`s political parties??
Ahad

If I were a Pakistani, I would have hung Bhutto simply for:

(1) Inability to broaden his vision (to accommodate the Bengalis and to treat them as equals) which cost the country ``its`` eastern half.

(2) To permanently entrench the armed forces (who, weakened after the 1971 defeat, had realized (for once) their proper place in the scheme of things) into Pakistan as a power center - by so completely ruining the image of civilian rulers - that it became virtually impossible to remove the khakis since.

(3) Wasting a God-sent opportunity to make peace with India - by instead embarking on clandestine operations to ``get back`` at the Indians and consolidating his own corrupt setup.

The damage by the Bhutto to Pakistani political system was just as debilitating as the damage by the Indira to the Indian economic system!

In my view, they can both be legitimately classified as demagogues!

If I were a Pakistani, I would truthfully appraise if my mindset has indeed advanced far from that of the Bhutto, because there is a lesson in there in terms of where such mindset shall invariably take a whole nation to!

Zalan,
A different but a nice approach to writing a biography! Definitely interesting and looking forward to hearing from you more,

- Avkrishna

Re #2
``.....just as debilitating as the damage by the Indira to the Indian economic system! ``

Which was nothing compared to what Bhutto did to the Pakistani economic system!

interesting!!!

Delusional narcissistic megalomaniac - a Pakistani type that recurs to this day!

Author,

You did not give your source for the following statement:

``He was the only one who appealed for clemency for his life ``

Correction: ZAB never appealed for clemency to Zia. There were however worldwide appeals for clemency which Zia rejected.

Bhutto`s vision as well as his methods were controversial even during his time, as he emphasised repeatedly his concern over `polarization` in a 1977 speech. So he was well aware of the controversies surrounding him. However, no one, including his enemies, deny he was the only person after/since MAJ who had effectively mobilized an entire nation.

ZABs judicial murder was the biggest tragedy to befall Pakistan, and the spectre will remain to haunt the collective conscience of this nation for a very long time.

,,,contd...#7

But thanks for attempting to understand the phenomenon of ZAB through what he said himself and what others said about him. That`s a very unbiased way of putting it.

Thanks for this collection of quotes by and about ZAB. Ever since I read Wolpert`s biography on him, I have liked the guy--before reading that book I used to dislike him based only on hearsay from maulvis! He was a brilliant politician, a clever man but a megalomaniac nevertheless--and a great womaniser (which most great men have been!)

A quote I remember from Wolpert`s book: ``Just because I am sleeping with his wife, he thinks he can take liberties with me!`` -- my jaw dropped when I read that about Bhutto sahib.

If he had stayed alive, I think Pakistan would have been more like Malaysia by now.

ZA Bhutto, another corrupt idiot of Pakistan who didn`t had a clue which way to direct the nation.

ZA Bhutto is the main reason for today`s worst outcome for Pakistan.

ZA Bhutto is the main reason bengladesh is not Pakistan anymore.

This idiot was hanged once. No not enough. He would be hanged million times in front of all Pakistani nation and even then that would never been enough.

Just like many other Leaders that include Nawaz Sharif, he had a problem digesting populism. The majority that he commanded in West Pakistan got into his head. He had his own perceptions about Pakistan and felt that only he could deliver. He was the biggest hurdle to Sheikh Mujeeb coming to power in a United Pakistan in which his Party would perhaps rule in just two provinces ie Punjab and Sindh. He treated Bangali Mandate as alien. A student of politics and history that he was, he should have well understood what pressures of domestic political economy could do; and that with his attitude, all roads led to seperation.

But then, he did come to power and become a civilian Martial Law Administrator. Once the tenure of his popular government ran out he tried to rig elections and remain in power. In between, his socialist economic policies handed over Pakistan to thieves, thugs and unsuitable governmnet servants backrolling the economy. He raised the FSF, established Dalai Camp and had his critics beaten up. He ruined the education system and diverted the labour movements to Bhatta System and Blackmailing.

But these ae somethings that we did not like.

To the contary, he was the architect of the China Policy, Pakistan Steel Mill, Agriculture Reforms, Elite education institutions like the National Defence College and QAU, Pakistan`s Nuclear Program and mobilisation of masses. Perhaps he felt that with Awami League in power, Pakistan would be dessimated into a loose confederation and break up at the seams. Perhaps he also felt strongly that rapid industrialisation had enrichened the coffers of too few and they would become a cartel exercising great political clout. Perhaps in earnest he tried to break the clout of those notorious elites that controlled Pakistan. In the end, he could never bypass the system he set to change and became the victim of the very law he reinstituted ie the Death Penalty.

So was he an enigma?

I feel that with all said and done, he was the best thing that happened to Pakistan after Jinnah.

Cheerios

``He was the biggest hurdle to Sheikh Mujeeb coming to power in a United Pakistan in which his Party would perhaps rule in just two provinces ie Punjab and Sindh. ``

What a brilliant insight ... and Pakistan Army then launched a heroic operation to save the federation by helping Mujeeb, the legitimately elected leader of the country become the prime minister of pakistan. The operation went on for 9 months in larkana to teach bhutto and his minions a lesson to learn to respect the will of the people.

AlephNull:
that is soo accurate and concise!

Mr. Alam, Thanks for bringing this dark chapter of our history up for another hot discussion. Here are my two cents.

Bhutto was a terrible copycat of other show-shaw-lists (socialist for appearance sakes) like Gamal Abul Nasir, Hawari Bu Madian, and the likes of Nehru. He was also a bad imitation of other losers like Eedi Amin, Gaddafi, Saddam, and Kim (of North Korean variety).

His biggest achievement of sorts was also the downfall of Pakistan. He connected well with the show-shaw-list undertones of both our Mullahs on one hand, and leftie-liberals from newspapers and universities.

His leftie-communist policies that he himself called Islamic-show-shaw-lism, were a hodgepodge of religion and ill-advised shenanigans thanks to Drs. Mubashhar and Mehbub ulhaq.

His 5 years reign left behind utterly destroyed Banks, schools, and factories and created a rust-belt overburdened by government baboos.

West Pakistan had premier institutions that were poised to become the IITs, Tatas, and infosys. Thanks to this commie Bhutto, everything went back to the stone age of sorts.

Pakistanis can forgive Bhutto for all the ills including Duali torture camp, the Pakistani-Sawak called FSF, killing and torture of opponents, and breakup of Pakistan. However we can never forgive him for what he did with our hard-built institutions. Had he been around for another 10 years, we`d surely be part of the industrial-nations like North Korea and Iran.

May Allah forgive him for his mistakes!
May Allah keep us safe from other mistakes by lefties like BB!

p.s. Nehru couldn’t do that much damage because Hindu Industrialists were too strong for him. Indira did try to revive her Daddy’s show-shaw-lism, doing great harm to Hindustan.

Zeemax that last quote refers to Ghous Bizenjo..who was the only opposition leader to ask for clemency for Bhutto. A fact which speaks even more for the level of hatred and polarisation his approach created in his opponents.

Well, he endorsed the military operation, did he not?

Naqsh,

(I used to dislike him based only on hearsay from maulvis!)

In this case the maulvis were right, even if for wrong reasons. He was morally responsible for the genocide in Bdesh and physically for the carnage in NWFP/Bstan (1970s), broke up Pakistan for the sake of being PM and destroyed its economy. He undermined democracy (by his authoritarian rule, harassment and assassination of political opponents, rigging elections) undermined secularism (meausres such as Ahmedis being non-Muslim, prohibition, Friday holidays etc.) and did little even for his pet cause socialism (non-initiation of land reforms etc.).

Have to agree with Zeenaji that being hung once wasn`t punishment enough.

Regards