Portrait of a a Political Murder by H S Bhatia
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CONTENTS Preface … … … … … … … 2 1. Introductory ... … … … … … … 4 2. Bhutto Personifies Pakistan ... … … … 10 3. Meteoric Career ... … … … … … 13 Pakistan People’s Party … … … … 15 War and After … … … … … 19 4. Did CIA Topple Bhutto? … … … … … 21 5. White Paper on Bhutto … … … … … 26 Murder and Connivance … … … … 27 6. Abduction and Torture … … … … … 37 Organised Violence and Suppression … … 46 Section 144 … … … … … … 54 7. Bhutto’s Appeal … … … … … … 56 8. Military Intelligence Used for Political Purposes Bhutto’s Disclosures … … … … 72 9. Lahore High Court Judgment in Murder Trial … … 76 10. Pakistan Supreme Court Verdict … … … … 239 11. No Room Against the Judgment … … … … 254 12. Supreme Court Decision on Bhutto’s Review Petition … 255 Shariat Laws Enforced … … … … 270 13 Z. A. Bhutto Hanged … … … … … 275 Portrait of a Political Murder; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 1 PREFACE Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s historic trial for the murder of his political opponent brings out the story of meteoric rise and sudden fall of a man who rose to be the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan and was later deposed and hanged as a worst criminal. It also portrays vividly the instrumentalities utilized for executing this political murder. At 0.13 a.m. on 11 November, 1974 Nawab Ahmad Khan, father of Ahmad Raza Kasuri, an opposition member of the National Assembly was hit with fire from automatic weapons. In a written statement at 3.20 a.m. the same day, Kasuri referred to an earlier murderous attack on him at Islamabad and asserted that the assassination of his father was the result of an attempt on his life carried out for political reasons. He recalled that in a statement in the National Assembly, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had stated that it was not possible for him to tolerate Kasuri any more. The Inquiry Tribunal comprising Justice Shafi-ur-Rehman reported on 26 February, 1975 that the occurrence at Lahore and the earlier incident at Islamabad had a common inspiration, motive and organization; the motive was political and that perpetrators of the crime were well organised, well equipped, resourceful and persistent. The recommendations of the Tribunal were not acted upon; rather the case was filed. After Mr. Bhutto was removed from his office on 5 July, 1977, the case was reopened. An inquiry into the working of the Federal Security Force revealed its involvement in the murder. The Lahore High Court tried the case from September 1977 to March 1978 and indicted Z.A. Bhutto and four officials of the Federal Security Force. On an appeal to the Pakistan Supreme Court, the majority judgment of February, 1979 dismissing the appeal, said: “There are no extenuating circumstances in favour of the appellant (Zulfikar Ali Bhutto), and the High Court was accordingly right in imposing the normal penalty sanctioned by law for the offence of murder as well as its abetment. The facts establish beyond any doubt that the appellant used the apparatus of Government, namely the Agency of the Federal Security Force, for a political vendetta. This was a diabolic misuse of power. Instead of safeguarding the life and liberty of the citizens of Pakistan, he set about to destroy a political opponent by using the power of the Federal Security Force, whose Director General occupied a Portrait of a Political Murder; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 2 special position under him. Ahmad Raza Kasuri was pursued relentlessly in Islamabad and Lahore until his father became the victim of the conspiracy”. Appellant Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was represented by a team of eight lawyers headed by Mr. Yahya Bakhtiar. During the seven month long trial in the Supreme Court, the appellant during his address of nearly 12 hours alleged that the case was politically motivated and there had been international conspiracy to remove the appellant from power. Mr. Bhutto also alleged bias on the part of the trial Court. Pakistan Supreme Court unanimously rejected the review petition also of Mr. Bhutto. The Sindh High Court dismissed in limini the habeas corpus petitions filed by Z.A. Bhutto and others challenging the constitution of the Lahore High Court and Pakistan Supreme Court bench which heard and decided Mr. Bhutto’s case. After rejection by the President of all the appeals and petitions for mercy, Mr. Bhutto was hanged on 4 April, 1979 in the Rawalpindi Jail. Doubts have, however, arisen in many minds regarding the ‘legality’ ‘justness’, ‘proprieties’ and ‘fairness’ of the Bhutto’s trial both in the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It had been said that the trial failed to reach basic standards of justice and that Bhutto himself became a victim of political vendetta. Whereas the military government of Pakistan claims that with the trial and execution of Bhutto, supremacy of law has been established, several jurists, journalists, lawyers, statesmen and parliamentarians have raised some important and crucial queries about the conduct of this famous trial which has created sharp opposite opinions throughout the world. This book portrays explicitly these political murders and hangings and their legal and political ramifications. This will give to the readers a better understanding of the issues involved in these tidal horrendous crimes. It may also help to halt the resurgence of political killings around the world. H. S. BHATIA New Delhi 16 April, 1979 Portrait of a Political Murder; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 3 INTRODUCTORY Mr. Zulfikar All Bhutto has become the victim of his own contradictions. He was the greatest legal and political enigma of our times. It is hard to say whether his legal termination is being justified on political grounds or whether his political termination is being justified on legal grounds. Both law and political exigency have conspired to give Bhutto a taste of his own bitter medicines. Everybody in India knows that Mr. Bhutto is the author of the slogan of 1000- year war with India which did not last even a thousand days. Whether we appreciate Bhutto as a Demo or depreciate him as a Demon , Pakistan Judgments on the case of Mr. Bhutto will inspire and perspire people of Pakistan and the world for thousands of years. If Bhutto lost a 1000-year physical war, he won gloriously a 1000-year psychological war. A tactician of the Cold War, he will live in history for a long time. Born Jan. 5, 1928 in Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan; son of Shahnawaz Khan Khurshid Bhutto; wife-Nursat; children—Benazir, Sanam, Seema (daughters); Murtaza, Shahnawaz (sons); Education: University of California, Berkley, B.A. (with honors), 1950; Christ Church, Oxford, M.A. (with honors), 1952; called to Bar, Lincoln’s Inn, London 1953: private practice of law 1953-58; University of Southampton, England, lecturer in International Law 1952-53; West Pakistan High Court Attorney, 1953-58; Sindh Muslim Law College, Karachi, teacher of constitutional law, 1956-58. Of medium build and distinguished looking, Mr. Bhutto was a forceful speaker and used to be called “the golden lad from Larkana.” An ambitious and flamboyant leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has been in the thick of Pakistani politics for nearly a quarter century. He is the architect of the rapprochement between Pakistan and China and many hold him responsible for the break-up of Pakistan in 1971 after the Pakistan People’s Party which he founded and led and secured a runaway victory in the election in West Pakistan. For many years his role in Pakistani politics was that of an implacable foe of India and he had once vowed to wage a thousand year war against this country. But his attitude softened a little after he became Prime Minister of truncated Pakistan. Bhutto came into prominence when Gen. Ayub Khan, picked him for a Cabinet post. At 30, he was the youngest Minister and he held the portfolios of Commerce, National Reconstruction and Information, Kashmir Affairs and Minority Affairs and Fuel, Power and Natural Resources before being named Portrait of a Political Murder; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 4 Foreign Minister in 1963. Bhutto’s stewardship of foreign affairs was marked by virulent anti-Indian activities. He broke with the past and started cultivating the Peking regime. Bhutto’s ministerial career came to an abrupt end when he began criticizing President Ayub Khan for having signed the Tashkent agreement in 1966. For about a year thereafter he remained in the wilderness. As opposition to President Ayub Khan mounted in the country, Bhutto formed a party of his own in 1967 to launch an independent political career. The Pakistan People’s Party, as it was christened, claimed “democracy is our policy and we believe in the supremacy of the people.” Detained under the emergency laws in November 1969, he acquired his freedom three months later. In the West Punjab and Sindh provinces, the PPP did well in the elections of December, 70 making his party the second largest in the National Assembly. With the separation of Bangladesh, the PPP became the largest party, holding 82 of the 138 National Assembly seats from West Pakistan. Bhutto at last reached the pinnacle of power in Pakistan, though not in very palatable circumstances. After launching the 1971 aggression on India, Gen. Yahya Khan persuaded Bhutto to accept the pest of Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. However, no Government was formed immediately and Bhutto was dispatched to New York to present Pakistan’s case at the United Nations. When he learnt in New York of the Pakistan Army’s rout in Bangladesh he characteristically created a scene and walked cut of the Security Council. A Flashback. In his autobiography, ‘Zulfi, My Friend’, Piloo nostalgically remembers the childhood years. He and Zulfi spent almost all their walking hours together—playing tennis, swimming, watching matinee shows, going for midnight walks, sharing ‘first love’ experiences and witnessing cricket matches (the two boys were very friendly with Mushtaq Ali).