Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali (b. 5 Jan. 1928, d. 4 Apr. 1979). President of Pakistan 1971–3, Prime Minister 1973–7 Born in Larkana (Sind) into a wealthy landowning family, he studied law at Berkeley and Oxford, becoming a barrister in Karachi in 1953. He came to the attention of Ayub Khan, who brought him into his government, first as Minister of Fuel, Power, and Natural Resources (1958), then as Foreign Minister (1963). Rejecting too close relations with the US, he pursued a policy of greater neutrality (against Ayub Khan's own inclinations) in favour of greater cooperation with the Soviet Union and China. He persuaded Ayub Khan to precipitate the second Indo-Pakistan War in September 1956 by sending troops into Indian Kashmir. He opposed the subsequent Tashkent Agreement, in which India and Pakistan compromised in their dispute over Kashmir. Expelled from the government in 1966, Bhutto founded the People's Party of Pakistan (PPP) in 1967.

Bhutto won the 1970 elections in West Pakistan with eighty-one out of 138 allocated seats, but refused to discuss the demands of the Awami League, which had gained an overwhelming mandate with 160 out of the 162 seats allocated to East Pakistan. This ultimately led to the separation of East Pakistan as Bangladesh in 1971. In its wake, he was appointed as Pakistan's first civilian President. He nationalized a large number of industries, and introduced a new Constitution in 1973. Despite his formidable political skills and his powerful personality, his power was based throughout on the support of the military. He called a surprise election in 1977, which he was only able to win by large-scale electoral fraud. It led to serious riots which the army quelled, deposing Bhutto in the process. Vastly overestimating his own popularity and strength, Bhutto continued to be defiant against the new regime, insisting that Zia-ul-Haq would not dare touch him. He was wrong. He was sentenced to death and executed for the alleged murder of a political opponent.