Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is dead but not forgotten. If not the nation as a whole, PPP makes it a point to celebrate his death anniversary faithfully every year with fond memories.
Born in a Sindhi landed family and educated in a prestigious university in America, he became an astute politician, a socialist by choice and a great popular leader. He was a devoted democrat and yet he served a military dictator as his forceful foreign minister in which capacity he distinguished himself. He became a favourite of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who it is said, loved him like a son. But Bhutto was an ambitious man and not satisfied to play a second fiddle. He, therefore, marked his time. Soon Ayub Khan started losing his popularity and at the end of 1965 war with India, which had resulted in a stalemate with odds in favour of India, ZAB made an issue of the truce terms signed by Ayub Khan with Shastri of India at Tashkent under the sponsorship of Kosygin of Russia. Bhutto called it a sell out and parted ways with the government which shocked Ayub Khan.
Taking advantage of growing political opposition to Ayub government, he launched PPP, a political party of his own. He depicted himself as a 'champion of democracy' determined to cure the ills of the country. On Ayub Khan's fall he be friended his successor Gen. Yahya Khan and influenced him to take tough stand against East Pakistan where Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman was creating problems. Fairly transparent elections which Yahya held in 1970, did legitimise Bhutto and his PPP but the Awami League swept the polls in East Pakistan and Sheikh Mujib as its leader emerged as a claimant to form the government. This was not acceptable to West Pakistanis in general and to ZAB in particular. What followed is now history. All the blame for what happened subsequently is heaped on the shoulders of the Army and the head of Yahya. Pakistan was amputed and we lost half the country. Bhutto is no less responsible for this tragedy. It was he who refused to go to Dacca to attend the National Assembly session called there by Mujib and threatened to break the legs of West Pakistani MNAs who dared. It was a break and point of no return, convincing our Bengali brothers that West Pakistan was treating them as a colony and had no intention of sharing power. They were, therefore, compelled to declare unilateral independence and India helped them achieve it. This national tragedy was a personal triumph for Bhutto, as he became the supreme boss of Pakistan, truncated though it was.
Once in power, Bhutto came into his own. He became Martial Law Administrator-cum-President-cum-Prime Minister. Having suffered a humiliating defeat in East Pakistan the army were in no position to browbeat him. On the contrary they were putty in his hands as he managed to get 90,000 of our prisoners of war released at Simla Conference with Indira Gandhi. It goes to his credit that he restored the confidence of the people of Pakistan which was at nadir after 1971 war with India. He impressed the world as a statesman by organising an impressive Islamic Summit in Lahore which projected Pakistan in the Islamic world as never before. However, within the country he is hailed for giving Pakistan its first Constitution which had for 25 years become a will-o-the-wisp. Of course all credit to Bhutto for ably and painstakingly steering the document through the parliament to obtain a unanimous endorsement, but I believe his task had become easy with the separation of East Pakistan, as despite provincial differences West Pakistan had now become a composite unit. (Earlier we did not want to give the Bengalis equal rights lest they dominate on the basis of population which had prevented successful passage of an agreed constitution).
No doubt Bhutto was a patriot and a democrat seeped in grandiose ideas of socialism. But temperamentally he was a wedera and a dictator. Once in power he did not tolerate any curbs and any politician, however, senior in rank or position even in his own party was cut down to size if he dared to oppose him. To placate the masses whom he had beguiled by promising "Roti-Kapda-Makan" and at the same time to punish businessmen and industrialists who had refused to contribute to his election chest, he launched an across the line nationalisation whereby banks, insurance companies, major industries and trade were taken over by the government. In hindsight it ruined the economy and had to be reversed in the nineties.
Overall Bhutto was going great guns and there was no doubt he would have got himself re-elected in normal course. But for reasons best known to him he called fresh elections before time and proceeded to commit irregularities to keep out politicians likely to challenge his absolute supremacy. This infuriated the opposition parties and they joined hands in protest. Bhutto's attempt to suppress them by force misfired. His most obedient servant Gen. Zia-ul-Haq then C-in-C turned against him. Bhutto was overthrown by a military coup and was kept under house arrest. Zia at the time had every intention of holding fresh elections within 90 days. But Bhutto misread the situation and rejected out of hand Zia's conciliatory approach. On the contrary he accused him of treachery and threatened him and the generals of dire consequences when he regained power. Bhutto's loose tongue earned him a noose around his neck as Zia accused him of political murder he was alleged to have authorised some time back and went ahead to hang him after due process of law.
Thus what would have become an illustrious career came to an abrupt end. Bhutto like the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein was cocky type, who rise to great heights but once they fall cannot resurrect themselves. Notwithstanding his autocratic style and many faults, Bhutto had a dynamic personality, charisma and brilliance. He was a master of the art of communication and mesmerised his audiences may they be hoi-polloi or intellectuals.
Alas! All idols have feet of day.
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