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Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Personal Profile

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
  • Date of Birth:
    January 5, 1928
  • Place of Birth:
    Larkana, British India
  • Place of Death:
    Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Date of Death:
    April 4, 1979
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    Pakistani
  • Education:

    University of California, Berkeley, United States

    University of Oxford, United Kingdom

    Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, India

Family

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
  • Father:
    Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto
  • Mother:
    Khursheed Begum née Lakhi Bai
  • Spouse:
    Shireen Amir Begum
  • Daughter:
    Benazir Bhutto

Career

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Trivia

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
  • Zulifikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme.
  • Bhutto visited India to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and negotiated a formal peace agreement and the release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.
  • As president, Bhutto addressed the nation via radio and television, saying "My dear countrymen, my dear friends, my dear students, labourers, peasants… those who fought for Pakistan… We are facing the worst crisis in our country's life, a deadly crisis.
  • Bhutto advocated hardline and confrontational policies against India over the Kashmir conflict and other issues. A 17 day war broke out between Pakistan and India on 6 September 1965 known as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
  • In 1962, he was appointed Pakistan's foreign minister.
  • He would address the United Nations Sixth Committee on Aggression on October 25, 1957 and lead Pakistan's deputation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Seas in 1958.
  • In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations.
  • He was executed in 1979 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for authorizing the murder of a political opponent, in a move that was done under the directives of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
  • He was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan.
  • Was a Pakistani politician who served as the President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977.

Quotes

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
  • “Let's build a monument for the veto. Let's build a monument for impotence and incapacity.”
  • “Pakistan was once called the most allied ally of the United States. We are now the most nonallied.”
View all Quotes: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Biography

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Last Updated: Thursday, September 24, 2009

Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who served as prime minister of Pakistan from 1973 - 1977. He was one of the few non-military men to have ruled the nation.

Bhutto was born in Larkana, Pakistan the only son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. He completed his early education in Bombay. After completing his initial education, he went to the United States in 1947 to study at the University of Southern California and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley.

While at Berkeley he was the first Asian student to be elected to the Berkeley Student Council. From Berkeley he earned a degree in political science, after which he went to Oxford and studied at Christ Church College from where he graduated with honors.

Following his time at Oxford, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 (which had also been attended by Allama Iqbal and Muhammed Ali Jinnah). The same year, his first child was born, a daughter Benazir, who would later become prime minister herself. In 1958 he joined the cabinet of Iskander Mirza. From there, he was active in the Pakistani government working at various posts.

In 1966 he resigned from the cabinet, after serving as foreign minister. The next year, he founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore. He then became an advocate for the return of democracy to Pakistan and increased his political influence.

1970 brought great victories for the PPP in Pakistani elections, which gave Bhutto great power. Following Pakistan's defeat in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, he took over control of Pakistan from Ayub Khan. In 1973, he was officially made prime minister. His time as prime minister saw many reforms passed such as land reform and nationalization of industries, which reflected the socialist values of the PPP.

Bhutto was Prime Minister between two eras of martial law, making him the only prime minister from 1973 until 1977. Prior to 1973, there had been no Prime Minister since 1958. After 1977, the office of Prime Minister would be suspended until 1985.

Bhutto also oversaw the beginning of the development of nuclear weapons by Pakistan. In 1976, he was warned by Henry Kissinger that Bhutto would pay a great price if Pakistan continued with that path. In 1977, Bhutto was overthrown by General Zia-ul-Haq who declared martial law and had Bhutto arrested.

In 1979, Bhutto was executed by hanging on charges that he had murdered political opponents. Many Pakistanis believed that this was a conspiracy initiated at the behest of USA. He is buried in his ancestral village of Larkana next to his father.

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