The Trial and Execution of Bhutto by J. C. Batra
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THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF BHUTTO J. C. BATRA Barrister-at-law Consulting Editor Danial Latifi Barrister-at-law (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court) Reproduced by Sani Hussain Panhwar The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 1 Dedicated to the people of Pakistan The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 2 Contents 1. Political Turmoil. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 2. Behind the bars. .. .. .. .. .. .. 25 3. More Accusations. .. .. .. .. .. .. 67 4. Lahore High Court Judgment. .. .. .. .. 73 5. Reactions and Clemency Appeals .. .. .. .. 98 6. The Final Judgment. .. .. .. .. .. .. 106 7. Renewed Pleas to Save Bhutto. .. .. .. .. 158 8. The Final Review. .. .. .. .. .. .. 164 9. Historic Hanging. .. .. .. .. .. .. 173 The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 3 Political Turmoil Suffering is one very long moment. We cannot divide it by seasons. We can only record its moods and chronicle their return. Oscar Wilde Destiny is not always kind. Many great statesmen, soldiers and saints have been its victims and their worth ridiculed. Though I do not believe in Astrology, the "March link" on Pakistan is astounding. Astrologers have always forecast the month of March as being ill-starred for the country. It was on March 23, 1940 that the Muslim League finally committed itself to the two-nation theory and adopted the Lahore Resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan as a separate State. In March, 1947 communal riots broke up in the Punjab which further led to the division of the Punjab and Bengal. In March, 1953 the Martial Law was imposed in Pakistan for the first time in the wake of the anti-Qadian riots. In March, 1971 the seeds for the division of Pakistan were sown in Dacca. In March, 1977 the elections put the country into an unprecedented political turmoil the aftermath of which is still haunting Pakistan. In March, 1978 Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court. On March 24, 1979, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the review petition filed by Mr. Bhutto. The period from March to July, 1977 was one of protests, dialogues and deadlocks between the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) and Mr. Z.A. Bhutto's Government, and on 5th July, 1977 General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq took over as Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) in a bloodless coup. In the thirty years of the existence of Pakistan this was the third full-fledged military coup d'etat and a seventh effort to stop civil war in Pakistan as called by Martial Law Administrators. After 14th August 1947, there have been two attempts, two quasi-military and three full-fledged military coup d'etats. First military coup d'etat of General Mohammad Akbar Khan was attempted in 1951. The first quasi-military coup came in October 1954, when Ghulam Mohammad dissolved the Sovereign Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. The second quasi-military coup d'etat came in October 1955, when, in total violation of the Lahore Resolution of March 1940, provincial autonomy was abolished. In October, 1958, it was General Mohammed Ayub Khan; and in March 1969, General Yahya Khan ousted President Ayub. In March 1973, the Brigadiers military coup d'etat The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 4 was scotched. On 5th July, 1977 came the existing military coup d'etat. General Zia-ul-Haq, Chief of the Army Staff, proclaimed Martial Law throughout Pakistan and assumed the office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator. His order and proclamation issued was as: "(A) The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance; "(B) The National Assembly, the Senate and the Provincial Assemblies shall stand dissolved; "(C) The Prime Minister, the Federal Minister, Minister of State, Advisers to the Prime Minister, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and the Provincial Governors, the Provincial Chief Ministers and the Provincial Ministers shall cease to hold office; "(D) The President of Pakistan shall continue in office; and "(E) The whole of Pakistan will come under Martial Law." General Zia announced in a broadcast to the nation that all political activity will remain suspended "till further orders" but will be revived before the elections to be held in October. Some of the excerpts of the English rendering of General Zia's address to the nation as put out by Pakistan Times were: "You must have learnt by now that the Government of Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has ceased to exist and an Interim Government has been established in its place. This changeover which began at about midnight last night was completed by this morning. "This action was carried out on my orders. During this period the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and some of his colleagues have been taken into protective custody. Likewise, all the prominent leaders of the Pakistan National Alliance except Begum Nasim Wali Khan have also been taken into custody. "The reactions to this takeover have so far been very encouraging. A stream of congratulatory message has been pouring in from different quarters. "It is necessary to add here that some people have expressed misgivings that the Army takeover may have been at the behest of someone. Could it be that General Zia had secretly concerted with the former Prime Minister? On this I can only say that truth can never remain unexposed. In fact, such an air of distrust has been created during the past few months that even well-meaning people get bogged down in doubts and apprehensions. The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 5 "The Army takeover is never a pleasant act because the armed forces of Pakistan genuinely want that the administration of the country should remain in the hands of the representatives of the people who are its real masters. The people exercise this right through their elected representatives who are chosen in every democratic country through periodic elections. "The elections were held on 7th March last. The election results, however, were rejected by one of the contending parties. They alleged that the elections had been rigged on a large scale and demanded fresh elections. To press their demands for re-elections, they launched a movement which assumed such dimensions that people even started saying that democracy was not workable in Pakistan. But I genuinely feel that the survival of this country lies in democracy and democracy alone. "It is mainly due to this belief that the armed forces resisted the temptation to takeover during the recent provocative circumstances in spite of diverse massive political pressures. The armed forces have always desired and tried for the political solution to political problems. That is why the armed forces stressed on the then Government that they should reach a compromise with their political rivals without any loss of time. The Government needed time to hold these talks. The armed forces brought them this valuable period of time by maintaining Law and Order in the country. "The armed forces were subjected to criticism from certain quarters for their role in aid of the civil administration, but we tolerated this criticism in the hope that it was a passing phase. "When the political leaders failed to rescue the country out of a crisis, it is an inexcusable sin for the armed forces to sit as silent spectators. It is primarily for this reason that the army had to intervene to save the country. "I would like to point here that I saw no prospects of a compromise between the People's Party and the PNA, because of their mutual distrust and lack of faith. It was feared that the failure of the PNA and PPP to reach a compromise would plunge the country into a more serious crisis. This risk could not be taken in view of the larger interests of the country. "But the Constitution has not been abrogated. Only the operation of certain parts of the Constitution has been held in abeyance. Mr. Fazal Elahi Chowdhry has very kindly consented to continue to discharge his duties as President of Pakistan as heretofore under the same constitution. "I will discharge the duties of the Chief of the Army Staff and Chief Martial The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 6 Law Administrator, Martial Law Orders and instructions, as and when required, will be issued under my orders. "I want to make it absolutely clear that neither I have any political ambitions nor does the Army want to be taken away from its profession of soldiering. I was obliged to step in to fill in the vacuum created by the political leaders. I have accepted this challenge as a true soldier of Islam. My sole aim is to organise free and fair elections which would be held in October this year. "Soon after the polls, power will be transferred to the elected representatives of the people. I give a solemn 'assurance that I will not deviate from this schedule. During the next three months my total attention will be concentrated on the holding of elections and I would not like to dissipate my powers and energies as Chief Martial Law Administrator on anything else. "It will not be out of place to mention here that I hold the judiciary of the country in high esteem. I will do my best to refrain from doing anything which is likely to restrict the power of the judiciary. However, under unavoidable circumstances, if and when Martial Law Orders and Martial Law Regulations are issued, they would not be challenged in any court of law. "I will soon announce the modalities and detailed timetable for holding of elections.