OUR PAKISTANI POLITICIAN

Shah Mehmood Qureshi

2011-02-18T19:16:00.001+05:00

Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 31 March 2008 – 9 February 2011
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded by	Inam-ul-Haq
Succeeded by	Hina Rabbani Khar

Born	22 June 1956 (1956-06-22) (age 54) Murree, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Alma mater	Forman Christian College University of Cambridge
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Islam

Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Hussain Qureshi (born June 22, 1956) is the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan in the coalition government of PPP, Muttahida Quami Movement[MQM], ANP and JUI-F formed after the 2008 general elections.He is a senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party, where he was the president of PPP Punjab.He is the head of the Qureshi family and has many followers in the country and in South Asia. Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also the current Sajjada Nashin and custodian of the Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and of the Shrine (Darbar) of Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya.
Education
He received a bachelor's from Forman Christian College in Lahore. The Western-style private university was established in 1864 by American Charles William Forman. Qureshi also received a law degree from Cambridge University. He is becomming new leader of Pakistan.
Latest
Shah Mehmood Qureshi is was snubbed in the 2011 Cabinet reshuffle.Many observers believe this was because he disagreed with the PM over weather Raymond Davis was legally a Diplomat.According to Qureshi Raymond Davis was not a dipolomat.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2008 - 2011)
After taking charge of the office, Qureshi immediately made clear that he was committed to establishing peace in the region and that maintaining friendly ties with neighboring India were amongst his top priorities.Qureshi recently went on his first visit as foreign minister to China with Ahmad Mukhtar and President Asif Ali Zardari. On his arrival back, he was given praise for his work. Qureshi has visited many states as Foreign Minister and has been very busy explaining Pakistan's stance on the war on terror to the foreign world.
An agriculturalist by trade, Qureshi is also the president of the Farmers Association of Pakistan.
Of late, there have been rumors that he will soon be appointed as the Prime Minister of the People's Party led coalition government in order to revive this administration's image that has fallen to single digit popularity in credible polls

Dark day for Pakistan

2011-01-05T08:09:00.001+05:00

Dark day for Pakistani Christians as senior politician is assassinated for opposing the blasphemy laws.

London: January 4, 2011. (PCP) An assassin has murdered a senior Pakistani politician for opposing the country's controversial blasphemy laws under which Christians are being persecuted.

Salman Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, was gunned down on January 4 by one of his own elite force security guards.

The man fired two bullets into Mr Taseer as the politician climbed out of a vehicle on arriving for a lunch at Khosar Market, an upmarket shopping and dining area in Islamabad, the country's capital.

The attacker was injured in a shoot-out with police before surrendering. Five other people were also wounded in the crossfire.

Mr Taseer was immediately taken to the Poly Clinic Hospital in Islamabad, but he died on the way from his injuries.

Afterwards the killer boasted that he shot Mr Taseer because "the governor described the blasphemy laws as a black law".

An intelligence official interrogating the suspect, identified as Mumtaz Qadri, told the Associated Press said he was proud to have killed a blasphemer.

The Pakistani government has come under international pressure to either repeal or amend the laws because it is being routinely used by Islamists to harass the Christian minority.

Under the code it is a capital offence to insult Mohammed, the founder of Islam, but human rights groups say Christians are being prosecuted on the basis of false allegations.

In November, Asiya Bibi, a Christian mother of five, became the first woman to be sentenced to hang for insulting Mohammed.

She argued that she was falsely accused following an argument with a Muslim woman who objected to sharing a drinking font with a Christian, and is appealing against sentence and conviction.Mr Taseer, 56, was among those politicians close to President Asif Ali Zardari who were pressing for the laws to be changed in the light of evidence of widespread abuse.

Nasir Saeed, a leading campaigner for the abolition of the laws, described the governor's murder as a "very dark day for Christians in Pakistan".

"It's a great loss for Pakistani religious minorities, because Salman Taseer was a vocal about minority rights, changes to blasphemy law on several occasions, and on the release of Asiya Bibi from prison particularly," said Mr Saeed, the director of the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement.

"The killing is a terrorist act against the Christians of Pakistan and it is a serious attempt to stop any possible changes to blasphemy law," he said.

Mr Taseer, he added, had petitioned the President to change the law and there was a danger that his plea will now be ignored.

The government has indicated it has no proposals under consideration to amend the blasphemy law and that the petitions by Mr Taseer and Sherry Rehman are being considered only as individual acts.

"This is very dark day for Christians in Pakistan," said Mr Saeed. "This is an act of oppression and of humiliation of the entire community and it is taking away from them the chance from to be represented and to be heard."

The murder represents the most high-profile assassination of a political figure in Pakistan since the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

Mr Taseer was a member of Mrs Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and a friend of President Zardari, her widower.

A business and media tycoon who used Twitter to publicise his opinions, he was appointed to the ceremonial position of Punjab governor in May 2008.

Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Zardari and friend of Mr Taseer, described him as the "most courageous voice after Benazir Bhutto on the rights of women and religious minorities".

Mr Taseer had continued to press for changes to the law in spite of receiving threats from a number of Islamic organisations.

The Pakistani government has indicated that it is keen to find out if his assassin acted alone or if he carried out the killing as part of a wider plot involving Islamist groups.

Dozens of innocent Pakistanis are prosecuted each year under the blasphemy law, which has its origins in colonial era legislation designed to protect the then minority Muslims from oppression by the Hindu majority of India.

The current form dates back to the 1980s military rule of General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and human rights activists have long complained that it is used to take revenge against Christians or and persecute rile.

Pakistani Governor killed by own guard in capital

2011-01-05T07:59:00.002+05:00

Pakistani Governor killed by own guard in capital

The governor of Pakistan's powerful Punjab province was shot dead in the capital Tuesday by one of his guards, who told interrogators afterward that he was angry about the politician's stance against the country's blasphemy law, officials said.

The killing of Salman Taseer was the most high-profile assassination of a political figure in Pakistan since the slaying of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, and it rattled a country already dealing with crises ranging from a potential collapse of the government to Islamist militancy.

Aitzaz Ahsan

2010-07-04T08:47:00.001+05:00

Aitzaz Ahsan

Ex-President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (Pakistan)
Preceded by	Munir A. Malik
Succeeded by	Ali Ahmad Kurd

Born	27 September 1945(age 64) Murree, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
Spouse(s)	Bushra Ahsan
Relations	Ahsan hails from Punjab'sWaraich clan of jats.
Residence	Lahore, Pakistan
Profession	Barrister-at-Law / Politician
Religion	Islam

Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan (Urdu: چودھری اعتزاز احسن) (born 27 September 1945) is aPakistani barrister and politician who served as President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan

He is married and a father of two daughters and a son, Ali Ahsan.

Early life and education

Aitzaz Ahsan was born in Murree, Rawalpindi District, Punjab in 1945 during British rule. After being educated at Aitchison College and the Government College, Lahore, Ahsan matriculated to Downing College, Cambridge to study law, and was called to the Bar atGray's Inn in 1967.^[1]

Professional life

Political career

In 1975, Ahsan was elected to the Punjab Assembly after Chaudhry Anwar Samma, a member representing the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was murdered. After his election, Ahsan was invited to join the cabinet and given the portfolio of information, planning and development. After the police opened fire on a rally of lawyers during thePNA demonstrations against the alleged rigging of elections by the PPP government in 1977, Ahsan resigned as a cabinet minister in protest, and was later expelled from the PPP.^[1]

Following the 1977 coup d'état of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Ahsan became involved in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, and rejoined the PPP following the declaration of martial law. For his participation in the MRD he was repeatedly imprisoned.^[1] Ahsan was elected to the National Assembly as a PPP candidate in 1988, serving as Minister for Law and Justice, the Interior and Narcotics Control before winning re-election in 1990 and losing in 1993. In 1994 he was elected to the Senate of Pakistan, where he sat as Leader of the Opposition until 1999. He was re-elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a Peoples Party candidate in the 2002 General Elections.^[2]

Parliamentary session in 1998-1999. From Left: Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir, Ajmal Khattak, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Benazir Bhutto.)

As a lawyer

A Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and senior partner of the firm Aitzaz Ahsan & Associates Ahsan is a well respected Pakistani lawyer, consistently given the highest rank by Chambers and Partners ranking of legal professionals ^[3]. He also made legal history of by having defended two Prime Ministers in the court of law. Having previously fought cases in defence of Benazir Bhutto in 2001 he took up a case in defence of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

During his most recent tenure as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan he was a member of the Standing Committee on Interior and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

Chief Justice case

Recently Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and his team comprising of Shahid Saeed, Gohar Khan and Nadeem Ahmed successfully representedChief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry's case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan [PLD 2007 SC 578]. They were pitted against a team comprising of 16 senior lawyers representing the Federation in this misadventure. The hearing was being conducted by a full court headed by Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, and the 13-member panel reinstated the Chief Justice declaring his suspension by Pervez Musharraf regime "illegal."

Human rights activist

He is also a human rights activist and a founder and vice-president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. He has been incarcerated under arbitrary detention laws many times by military and authoritarian regimes. During one such prolonged detention, he wrote The Indus Saga. Aitzaz Ahsan has been selected in the world's top 2008 intellectuals.

During and after Emergency

Aitzaz Ahsan was arrested soon after the declaration of emergency/martial law^[4], ^[5]. At the time he and his team [Shahid Saeed, Gohar Khan and Nadeem Ahmed] were arguing against the eligibility of General Musharraf to contest the 2007 Presidential Elections before a full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. There have also been rumours that he is being kept in solitary confinement and being tortured. Recently, 33 US Senators wrote to President Musharraf to release Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan immediately, as he is widely respected all around the world. He withdrew his papers of nomination to run for the National Parliament, this in deference to National Lawyers' Convention decision to boycott elections under Mr. Musharraf. It has lifted his stature by putting the lawyers cause above his own.

Barrister Ahsan is succinct in his resolute to restore democracy and pre-emergency judiciary in Pakistan with peaceful resistance. He was rearrested during his three days reprieve for celebrating religious holiday; when he decided to offer prayers with Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry and was heading to Islamabad. He has served detention in his house for 90 days and has declared his detention as illegal. It is reported (Nawaiwaqt 19 Jan 2008), with a dour determination he refused to abandon restoration of judiciary movement and was reticent to negotiate when approached by Attorney General. His role in PPP after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto will be pivotal since he commands the respect of representatives of Punjab, the nations lawyers; elected President of Supreme Court Bar Association by an overwhelming majority, and public at large.

Aitzaz Ahsan, has been awarded the Asian Human Rights Defender Award by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) along with Munir A Malik (past President SCBA)(Dawn 23 Jan 2008). The annual Award for Distinction in International Law and Affairs will be presented to Aitzaz Ahsan in asbentia as more than 5,000 lawyers gather for the annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). Freed for two days, Mr. Ahsan was rearrested for 30 days on 2 February 2008 before he was to board a flight to Sindh to offer his condolences to Benazir Bhutto's husband (Dawn 2 February 2008).

Literary contribution

He has also authored the book The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan and its Urdu translation, Sindh Sagar Aur Qyam-e-Pakistanwhich presents the cultural history of Pakistan.^[6]

He has also co-authored the book Divided by Democracy with Lord Meghnad Desai of the London School of Economics.^[7]

Honours

Aitzaz Ahsan has been admitted to an Honorary Fellowship at Downing College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge.^[8] In an Internet poll of the US magazine Foreign Policy, Ahsan was voted one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world in May 2008.^[9]

Fauzia Wahab

2010-07-04T08:42:00.000+05:00

Fauzia Wahab

Fauzia Wahab Urdu: فوزیہ وہاب ) is a Pakistani politician in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). She is currently a member of National Assembly from Sindh, returned on a reserved seat for women after the February 18, 2008 general elections.

Fauzia Wahab has been appointed as the new central Information Secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party in place of Ms. Sherry Rehman on March 18, 2009 by Co-Chairman, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari.

Marriage

She married in 1978 to Wahab Siddiqui, a journalist and TV anchorman in political talk shows in later years on Pakistan Television. For the next fourteen years, she was a housewife and had four children. In February 1993, Wahab Siddiqui died of a massive heart attack and her life took a new turn^[2]. She then re-married prominent cardiologist Dr Athar Hussein.

Political career

Fauzia Wahab is worked for the Pakistan Industrial & Commercial Leasing as a Marketing Manager between 1993 and 1996. During this period, she was nominated as Member Advisory Council of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in October 1994. Initially she was given charge of the a Municipal Ward 59, area comprising of Cooperative societies of Karachi. She was also nominated as Chairman of the Information Committee of KMC. In the meanwhile, then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto nominated her to become the Information Secretary of women's wing of the PPP in Sindh, a position Fauzia held till early 2002. After the dissolution of the PPP government in November 1996, general elections were held in February 1997 in which she was nominated to contest the elections on NA-193, as a PPP candidate. The PPP lost the elections and was confined to the opposition benches in the subsequent National Assembly.

With the vilification campaign and politically motivated cases established against the PPP leadership, a multi pronged stragegy was initiated by the party to defend its leadership. It included contesting cases in the courts and apprising international institutions about the conduct of these cases. Later on in 1998, Benazir Bhutto nominated Fauzia Wahab to become the Central Coordinator of the Human Rights Cell and was tasked to correspond with human rights defending organizations abroad. During the incarceration period of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, she wrote on various pressure tactics of the National Accountability Bureau and various government agencies against the couple as well as party leaders and workers.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] She was also an active proponent for the repealing of theHudood Ordinance as well as Blasphemy law.^[7]

When the Pakistani general election, 2002 were called in October, she was nominated as a candidate for the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. She took oath as a legislator and was also made part of Standing Committee on Privatization and Standing Committee on Economic Affairs. She was also a senior member of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly that looked after the budget of the assembly.

In 2003, she attended the National Defence College course for bringing the politicians and Armed forces close to each other. She was one of the initiators of relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and was invited to attend the "Win With Women – Global Initiative" of the Institute in December 2003. In June 2004, she was invited by the NDI to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention^[8] in Boston where Senator John Kerry was nominated for United States presidential election, 2004.

Fauzia also represented her party on a study tour of the German Parliamentary System in 2004.

With the 2005 Local Government elections taking place in August, she was made responsible to work out an adjustment with theJamat-e-Islami in the District East of Karachi. Later on, she was nominated to contest the elections of Nazim of the City District Government Karachi, however, her candidature was withdrawn in favor Naimatullah Khan.

During the National Assembly of 2002 and 2007, she was a very active member of the opposition involved in a number of questions, calling attention notices, adjournment motions, resolutions and motions. She was also a mover of a number of bills including a bill onthe environment and a ban on polythene bags.

She was nominated again for a second term by the PPP and returned to the National Assembly. She took oath as a Treasury bench member on March 6, 2008.

After Information Minister Sherry Rehman resigned from her government position, the party position she held was taken away and Fauzia Wahab was appointed the Information Secretary of the PPP. By virtue of being the Information Secretary, Fauzia Wahab became an ex-officio member of the Central Executive Committee of the Party. Now she serves as paid servant of Zardari and talk shows joker.

Benazir Bhutto's return and assassination attempts

PPP Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after an eight year exile on October 18, 2007. A crowd of nearly 3 million people had assembled outside the Karachi's Jinnah International Airport. The convoy carrying the PPP Chairperson was attacked at midnight by a Suicide bomber in which more than 180 citizens and party workers were killed and more than 500 were injured. Fauzia was also on the truck carrying the Chairperson and was injured in the explosion

Nusrat Bhutto

2010-06-25T20:03:00.000+05:00

Nusrat Bhutto

Nusrat Bhutto
Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party
In office 4 April 1979 - 10 January 1983
Preceded by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Succeeded by	Benazir Bhutto

Born	March 23, 1929 (1929-03-23) (age 81) Esfahan, Iran
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse(s)	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Children	Benazir Bhutto Murtaza Bhutto Sanam Bhutto Shahnawaz Bhutto
Religion	Islam

Begum Nusrat Bhutto (Sindhi: بیگم نصرت ڀھٽو, Urdu: بیگم نصرت بھٹو) (born March 23, 1929) is the former First Lady of Pakistan, who was the wife of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from 1979-1983. She is also the mother of the late PPP chairman and former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto.

Background

Nusrat Bhutto was born on March 23, 1929. She comes from the wealthy Hariri Esfahani family in Esfahan, Iran. The Kurdish connection comes from her grandmother who had married into the Hariri family ^[1] Nusrat Bhutto is the daughter of a wealthy Iranian businessman who settled in Karachi, Pakistan.^[1] Nusrat met Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Karachi where they got married on September 8, 1951.^[2] She was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's second marriage, and they had four children together, three of whom she has outlived.

Family and career

As first lady from 1973-1977,^[1] Nusrat Bhutto functioned as a political hostess and accompanied her husband on a number of overseas visits. In 1979, after the trial and execution of her husband, she succeeded her husband as leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party as chairman for life. In 1982, ill with cancer, she was given permission to leave the country for medical treatment in London at which point her daughter, Benazir Bhutto, became acting leader of the party and by 1984 Benazir was being referred to as party chairman.^[3]^[4]

After returning to Pakistan in the late 1980s, she served several terms as a Member of Parliament to the National Assembly from the family constituency of Larkana in Sindh. Also, during the administrations of her daughter Benazir, she became a cabinet minister and Deputy Prime Minister. In the 1990s, she and Benazir became estranged when Nusrat took the side of her son Murtaza during a family dispute, but later reconciled after Murtaza's murder.

She currently resides with her daughter's family in Dubai, and suffers from the combined effects of a stroke and Alzheimer's Disease.

Party political offices
Preceded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto	Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Benazir Bhutto was acting chairperson from 1982 to 1984 1979 –1984	Succeeded by Benazir Bhutto

Yousaf Raza Gillani

2010-06-17T20:29:00.000+05:00

Yousaf Raza Gillani

Prime Minister of Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 March 2008
President	Pervez Musharraf Muhammad Mian Soomro (Acting) Asif Ali Zardari
Preceded by	Muhammad Mian Soomro
Speaker of National Assembly
In office 17 October 1993 – 16 February 1997
Preceded by	Gohar Ayub Khan
Succeeded by	Elahi Bux Soomro

Born	9 June 1952 (1952-06-09) (age 58) Karachi, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse(s)	Fauzia Gillani^[1]
Residence	Multan, Pakistan
Alma mater	Government College University University of the Punjab
Religion	Islam

Makhdoom Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani (Urdu: مخدوم سیّد یوسف رضا گیلانی) (born 9 June 1952) is the 17th and current Prime Minister of Pakistan and Vice-Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He was previously Speaker of the National Assembly (1993-1997) and a Federal Minister (1985-1986, 1989-1990).

He was nominated as Prime Minister by the PPP, with the support of its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on 22 March 2008.^[2] He took the oath of office from President Pervez Musharraf on 25 March 2008.^[3] Gilani is the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan from the Saraiki-speaking belt.^[4] In 2009 Gillani was ranked as the 38th most powerful person in the world by Forbes following Prime Minister of Japan and Prime Minister of India

Family and education

Gillani was born in Karachi on 9 June 1952 . He belongs to an influential political family from Multan. His father was a descendant of Syed Musa Pak, a spiritual figure of the Qadiri Sufism order which traces its origins to Abdul-Qadir Gilani of the Gilan province of Iran. Gillani attended Government College and obtained his B.A and M.A. in Journalism from University of the Punjab. Gillani is married and has four sons, one daughter, and one grandson.^[6] His eldest son, Syed Makhdoom Abdul Qadir Gillani, started his own political career from Multan, and in 2008 he married the granddaughter of Pir Pagara Shah Mardan Shah II, an influential political and religious leader of Sindh. His three other sons—Ali Qasim Gillani, Ali Musa Gillani and Ali Haider Gillani—are triplets and two of them are studying abroad while Ali Haider Gillani is studying at Lahore School of Economics, Lahore. Ali Musa Gillani is now usually seen with his father, these days. His daughter's name is Fiza Gillani.

Political career

Gillani's political journey began during General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law in 1978. He joined the Central Working Committee of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). He was also a cabinet member in the three-year government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo, and served as Minister of Housing and Works from April 1985 to January 1986 and as Railways Minister from January 1986 to December 1986.

After a short stint with the Muslim League, Gillani joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1988. In the Benazir Bhutto government of 1988-1990, he was Minister of Tourism from March 1989 to January 1990 and Minister of Housing and Works from January 1990 to August 1990. Later, under another Bhutto government, he became Speaker of the National Assembly in October 1993, serving in that post until February 1997.

He has been elected various times as the Member of National Assembly from Multan. In the 2008 general election, he beat Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) leader Sikandar Hayat Bosan.

Imprisonment

Yousaf Raza Gillani was arrested on 11th February 2001, under the auspices of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an anti-corruption agency, set up by the military government in 1999, over charges that he misused his authority while he was Speaker of the National Assembly. Specifically, he was accused of hiring up to 600 people from among his constituents and placing them on the government's payroll.^[7] The NAB claimed that Gillani inflicted a loss of Rs 30 million annually on the national exchequer.^[8] He was convicted by an anti-corruption court formed by Musharraf and spent nearly six years in prison.^[9]

The legal proceedings were perceived by many as politically motivated; his party, the PPP, was in opposition to Musharraf, who had embarked on a campaign to coerce party members to switch sides. Thus his conviction by Musharraf-backed courts and subsequent prison sentence are seen as marks of loyalty within the PPP. His imprisonment was widely condemned by various individuals across the country, including Mushahid Hussain Syed, a senior leader of the PML-Q.^{[citation needed]} He was released on 7 October 2006 from Adiala Jail, after spending more than five years in captivity.^[10]

Premiership

On 22 March 2008, the PPP nominated Gillani for the post of Prime Minister. PPP completed consultations with coalition partners about the Prime Minister and its allies endorsed the nomination. The formal announcement of the name of Prime Minister was expected to be made that night.

On 22 March at 9:38 pm Islamabad, (1638 GMT), he was officially announced by PPP as its candidate for the premiership of the country.

Many analysts said that they would not be surprised if Zardari succeeded Gillani after a few months. It was reported on 24 March 2008, that Zardari said he was not interested in the job of Prime Minister and that Gillani would serve until 2013 in the position. Speculation that Zardari might be gunning for the premiership grew stronger when he picked the less popular Gillani over Ameen Faheem, President of the PPP. Fahmida Mirza, the newly-elected Speaker of the Assembly, insists there is no plan to replace Gillani. She added, however, that if Gillani did not do a good job, all options were open.^[11]

On 24 March 2008, Gillani was elected as Prime Minister by Parliament, defeating his rival, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of the PML-Q, by a score of 264 to 42.^[12] He was sworn in by Musharraf on the next day.^[3] On 29 March, he won a unanimous vote of confidence in Parliament.^[13]

On the same day, following the vote of confidence, Gillani announced the programme for the first 100 days of his administration. Some of the points he announced were:

Frontier Crimes Regulations and Industrial Relations Order repealed

A “truth and reconciliation commission” proposed

PM House budget cut by 40 percent

Special counters at airports for parliamentarians to be removed

No money to be spent on the renovation of government buildings and residences

A freedom of information law to be framed, while PEMRA will be made a subsidiary of the information ministry

Talks will be initiated with extremists who lay down arms and ‘adopt the path of peace’

A new package for tribal areas promised

Employment commission to be set up

Madressah authority to implement a uniform curriculum

One million housing units to be built annually for low-income groups

Irrigation channels to be bricklined.

A lifting of the bans on elected labor and students' unions.^[14]

The first part of Gillani's Cabinet was sworn in on 31 March. Of the 24 ministers sworn in on this occasion, 11 were members of the PPP, nine were members of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), two were members of the Awami National Party, one was from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, and one came from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Other appointments were expected to follow.^[15]

On 13 May 2008, the PML (N) ministers resigned from Gillani's government due to a disagreement related to the reinstatement of judges whom Musharraf removed from office in 2007. Zardari, hoping to preserve the coalition, told Gillani to reject the resignations.^[16]

At the close of 2008, Pakistan's The Financial Daily conducted a public poll on its website; respondants entered the names of their favourite personalities for the year, and Gillani was named among the top 50.^[17]

In April 2010 he announced the Pakistan national energy policy to deal with the severe electricity shortage facing Pakistan.^[18]

First public speech as Prime Minister

On 19 July 2008 at 11:06pm (Pakistan Standard Time), Gillani appeared on Pakistan Television (PTV) in his first address to the nation. The main points in his address were focused on the crisis of flour shortage, load-shedding, terrorism and extremism, restoration of judges, economic downslide and, above all, inflation and unemployment in the country.The speech was a disaster as a result of which prime minister looked confused on account of mismanagement by his staff.

2008 assassination attempt

Gillani escaped an assassination attempt on 3 September 2008 ^[19], when unidentified gunmen fired shots at his motorcade near the garrison city of Rawalpindi, officials said. The shooting occurred shortly after Gillani was returning from an official visit to the eastern city of Lahore. His motorcade was going to Islamabad from the high-security Chaklala military airbase in Rawalpindi. A spokesman for the Prime Minister's House said Gillani and members of his staff had escaped unhurt and were safe.He said police had been put on high alert and an investigation launched into the incident. The unidentified assailants fired at Gillani's motorcade on a highway. At least two shots hit the Prime Minister's bulletproof vehicle, TV channels quoted officials as saying. State-run PTV beamed footage of the damage caused by the bullets to the window of the driver's door of the vehicle. Reports said the incident occurred at a spot where former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif's motorcade was fired at on 27 December last year, shortly before Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide bombing in Rawalpindi.

According to Gillani's press secretary, Zahid Bashir, a car carrying Gillani was hit by ten bullets in an attack near Islamabad on 3 September 2008; Bashir said that Gillani was unharmed.^[20] The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.^[21]

Gillani's Role in Chief Justice restoration

During the political crisis of March 2009, Prime Minister Gillani is credited with playing a central role in convincing the President Asif Ali Zardari to restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. This, according to some analysts, has strengthened his role as Prime Minister.^[22]

Makhdoom Muhammad Ameen Faheem

2010-06-17T20:05:00.000+05:00

Makhdoom Muhammad Ameen Faheem

Makhdoom Muhammad Ameen Faheem (alt. spelling: Amin Fahim) (Sindhi: مخدوم محمد امين فھيم, Urdu: مخدوم محمد امین فہیم, born 4 August, 1939) is a senior citizen of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, where he serves. He is also the brother of Pakistani politician Altaf Hussien. He also holds the cabinet portfolio of Federal Minister for Commerce in the Gillani-led government since November 2008.

Faheem is chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians in National Assembly of Pakistan and parliamentary Leader of his party in National Assembly of Pakistan. He also served as Federal Minister during Benazir Bhutto's tenure.

Early years

Ameen Faheem was born in Makhdoom family of Hala, which is located 200 km off the southern port city of Karachi, on August 4, 1939. His father Makhdoom Muhammmad Zaman "Talib-ul-Mola", the spiritual leader of Sarwari Jammat of Pakistan, was one of the founding members of the PPP in 1967. Talib ul Mola was a great poet and was elected MNA from the same area as his son. Later, Makhdoom Muhammad Zaman was also offered many high posts in the time of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, but he refused and chose to stay in Hala and look after his Sarwari Jamaat.

Faheem did his matriculation in 1955 and intermediate in 1957 in his native town Hala. In 1958, he got admission in political science department of Sindh University, and completed his bachelors in 1961.^{[citation needed]}

Political career

Known as a humble politician, Faheem entered in the political arena in 1970 when he was elected as member National Assembly from southern Thatta district of Sindh province. Since then, Faheem has so far contested seven elections in 1977, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, and 2002 and remained undefeated. Faheem, however, boycotted the non-party elections of 1985 held by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq-led military regime in line with the decision of his party.

Faheem was later offered the post of prime minister in 2002 by General Pervez Musharraf keeping in mind Benazir's refusal to appoint Faheem as Chief Minister of Sindh province after 1993 general elections.^{[citation needed]}

Faheem is currently the Vice-Chairman of the PPP, and is also the Parliamentary Leader of the same party in the National Assembly. He was a federal minister in both of Benazir Bhutto governments. He was Communications Minister from December 1988 to August 1990 and Railways Minister from December 1988 to March 1989. In the second government, Faheem was Minister for Housing and Works from January 1994 to November 1996.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim is also the leader of the largest spiritual group of people called the "Sarwari Jamaat" in Pakistan, consisting of more than 6 million people across the world, it was recorded that Sarwari Jamaat consisted of 1 million people 300 years back "No lakhi Gadii", but gradually expanded to the current number.

He is a landlord and leader of a social democratic party, as well as a Sufi divine (Sarwari Jamaat).

Career after Benazir Bhutto

Makhdoom Ameen Faheem was mentioned as a possible chairman for the PPP in the wake of the December 27, 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto,^[1] but Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari were named party co-chairs and Faheem was considered the party's probable candidate for Prime Minister.^[2] However, the PPP hesitated to name Faheem as its candidate following its victory in the February 2008 election. It was suggested that Asif Ali Zardari might be reluctant to nominate Faheem as Prime Minister because he is worried that Faheem could strengthen his political base in Sindh and threaten the influence of the Bhutto family there.^[3]

On 15 March 2008, Faheem said that he did not understand why the PPP had still not named him as its candidate. According to Faheem, if Zardari wanted to take the position for himself, Faheem would support him.^[4]

Later, the PPP nominated Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister on March 22, 2008. Although this was viewed as a snub to Faheem, he said that he would not leave the PPP and had the "best wishes" for Gilani.^[5] Faheem, however, was made the Commerce Minister of Pakistan in November 2008 shuffle as a consolation.

Poetry

Initially, Faheem was more interested in poetry than politics. However, he had no choice but to jump into the fray as the political heir of Makhdoom family. "Poetry is my first love. I am still fond of saying verses and reading poetry of others," Faheem says. His forte is mystic poetry. His poetry speaks about love, peace, and simplicity. "I have always been fond of the poetry of Maulana Rumi, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, and Sachal Sarmast. Their poetry has left a deep impact on my life. I have learnt from them (poets) to be loyal to your loved ones in good or rainy days," he says. "I don't believe in ruling the people. I believe in ruling their hearts. That is why my voters love me, and they never disappointed me," he opines.

General Pervez Musharraf

2010-06-14T20:26:00.000+05:00

General Pervez Musharraf

Chief Executive of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
In office 20 June 2001 – 18 August 2008
Prime Minister	Zafarullah Khan Jamali Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Shaukat Aziz Muhammad Mian Soomro Yousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded by	Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Succeeded by	Muhammad Mian Soomro (Acting)
In office 12 October 1999 – 21 November 2002
President	Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Preceded by	Nawaz Sharif (Prime Minister)
Succeeded by	Zafarullah Khan Jamali (Prime Minister)
Chief of Army Staff
In office 6 October 1998 – 28 November 2007
Preceded by	Jehangir Karamat
Succeeded by	Ashfaq Parvez Kayani

Born	11 August 1943 (1943-08-11) (age 66) Delhi, British India
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid
Spouse(s)	Sehba Musharraf
Alma mater	Forman Christian College
Profession	Soldier
Religion	Islam
Military service
Service/branch	Pakistan Army (PA – 6920)
Years of service	1964–2007
Rank	General
Unit	Corps of Artillery (16 SP)
Commands	40th Infantry Division (Okara) DG Military Operations (DGMO) I Strike Corps (Mangla) Chief of Army Staff Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Battles/wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Siachen conflict Kargil War 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff War in North-West Pakistan
Awards	Tamgha-e-Basalat Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)

General (ret) Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: پرویز مشرف) (born 11 August 1943), NI(M), TBt, is a Pakistani politician and military figure who served as the tenth President of Pakistan (2001–2008) and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army (1998–2007).
He took power on 12 October 1999, following a nonviolent military coup d'état and subsequent ouster of the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The military-led government stated its intention to restructure the political, economic and electoral systems. On May 12, 2000, Pakistan's 12 member Supreme Court unanimously validated the October 1999 coup and granted Musharraf executive and legislative authority for 3 years from the coup date endorsing his governance.
On 18 August 2008, Pervez Musharraf resigned from the post of President under impeachment pressure from the coalition government. He was succeeded on 6 September 2008 by Asif Ali Zardari duly elected as Pakistan's 11th President.

Early life
Pervez Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943 in Nehar Wali Haveli meaning "House Next to the Canal", situated in Kacha Saad Ullah Mohallah, Daryaganj in Delhi, British India, and stems from a family of government servants. After Musharraf's grandfather, Qazi Mohtashimuddin, retired as the Deputy Collector of Revenue based in Dehli, he acquired Neharwali Haveli in the old walled city of Delhi where Musharraf was born.
The haveli, with its high roofs and arches, and is believed to have been previously the home of a "Wazir" (Minister) in the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Mughal emperor of the 19th century.
After independence of Pakistan, Musharraf's family migrated to Pakistan where his father, Syed Musharraf Uddin — a graduate of Aligarh University joined the Pakistan Foreign Office as an Accountant, and ultimately retired as a Director.
Musharraf's mother, Zarin, received her master's degree from the University of Lucknow in 1944 and supplemented the recently immigrated family's income to support the education of her children. She recently retired from a United Nations agency in Islamabad.
He revealed in his memoirs that he was critically injured after falling from a mango tree as a teenager, and he considers this his first direct experience with death.
Musharraf attended Saint Patrick's School, Karachi, graduating in 1958, later attending Forman Christian College in Lahore and is said to have been good in mathematics during his academic life.
Musharraf is married to Sehba, who is from Okara. They have a son, Bilal, who was a graduate student at Stanford University and currently works in Silicon Valley, and a daughter, Ayla Raza, who works as an architect in Karachi.
Military career

In 1961, he entered the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, graduating 11th in his class. He was commissioned on April 19, 1964 in the Artillery Regiment. Later he joined the Special Services Group and was posted to Field Artillery Regiments. A graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, and the National Defence College, Rawalpindi, Musharraf is also a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies of the United Kingdom. Musharraf revealed in his memoirs that in 1965 he was charged with taking unauthorized leave and was about to be court-martialed for it, but was excused due to the war with India.
Indo-Pakistani wars

Musharraf participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 16 (SP) Field Artillery Regiment. His regiment saw action as part of the First Armoured Division’s offensive in the Khemkaran sector; as part of a major offensive against the Indian Army, the Pakistani army advanced 15 miles (24 km) into India and it was in the town of Khem Karan that Musharraf wrote his first letter to his mother during the war "proudly saying that I was writing from India".[5] By all accounts the vital advance failed at the Battle of Asal Uttar, as Pakistan lost a golden opportunity to make major strategic gains; this was a turning point in the war.His regiment was later moved to the Lahore front, which was threatened by the Indian Army. According to Musharraf, "Having stabilized the Lahore front, we were ordered to move again to the Sialkot front. This was where the famous tank battles of Chawinda were fought. At the end of the war this sector was to become a graveyard of Indian tanks.".During the war Musharraf was noted for sticking to his post under shellfire.Towards the end of the war an Indian shell hit one of the artillery guns of Musharraf's unit and set it on fire. According to Musharraf, whilst everyone else took cover, he, followed by a soldier, "dashed to the blazing gun" and removed the "hot shells" one by one and "threw them to safety on the ground". For this he received an award for gallantry and was promoted to the rank of captain.
Later, in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he served as a Company Commander in the Special Service Group (SSG) Commando Battalion. Originally scheduled to be flown to East Pakistan along with other SSG troops, he was redeployed in Punjab as war broke out and all flights over India were cancelled. He later admitted that he "broke down and wept"when he heard the "disgusting" news of Pakistan's unconditional surrender to India.Later he commanded regiments of artillery, an Artillery Brigade and then an infantry division. In September 1987, he was instrumental in giving orders to a newly formed SSG at Khapalu base (Kashmir), which launched an assault and successfully captured two intermediate posts, Bilafond La in Siachen Glacier, before being pushed back.
On promotion to the rank of Major General on 15 January 1991, he was assigned the command of an infantry Division. Later, on promotion to Lieutenant General on 21 October 1995 he took over command of 1 Corps, the elite strike corps. In 1998, following the resignation of General Jehangir Karamat, he was personally promoted over other senior officers by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and took over as the Army Chief of Staff and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Role in Kargil Conflict

From May to July 1999, Pakistan and India were involved in the Kargil Conflict, an armed conflict between the two countries in the Kargil district of Kashmir. It was planned and executed during General Musharraf's term as the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Sharif.
Sharif has claimed that Musharraf was solely responsible for the Kargil attacks.On the other hand, Musharraf claims that the decision was made by Sharif, who was under United States pressure. Ex-CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni, and Sharif, have stated that Musharraf requested that the Prime Minister withdraw Pakistani troops from Kashmir.
Casualties on both sides had been particularly heavy in Kargil.Musharraf had good relations with Jehangir Karamat from whom he took over the command. Soon after the coup, one of the first to be appointed as minister was journalist Maleeha Lodhi who was close to Jehangir Karamat. Also recruited was Shaukat Aziz (who served as the country's Prime Minister later) who volunteered to improve the economy. Western banks rescheduled Pakistani loans, which had been subjected to economic sanctions since Pakistan conducted atomic testing.
Pervez Musharraf resigned from the Army on 28 November 2007 in an attempt to regularize his position as President.
Presidency

Military coup d'état

Musharraf became de facto Head of Government (using the title Chief Executive and assuming extensive powers) of Pakistan following a bloodless coup d'état on 12 October 1999. That day, Sharif attempted to dismiss Musharraf and install Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director Ziauddin Butt in his place. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Senior army generals refused to accept Musharraf's dismissal, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Sharif ordered the Karachi airport closed to prevent the landing of the airliner, which then circled the skies over Karachi. In the coup, the Generals ousted Sharif's administration and took over the airport. The plane landed, allegedly with only a few minutes of fuel to spare, and Musharraf assumed control of the government. Sharif was put under house arrest and later exiled to Saudi Arabia, where he resided until he returned again to Pakistan on 25 November 2007.

PIA Flight PK-805 of October 12, 1999

He and other leaders have subsequently been prevented from entering Pakistan. Although the disagreement between Musharraf and Sharif started from the day Nawaz Sharif ordered withdrawal of troops from Kargil it reportedly centred around the Prime Minister's desire to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with India in the Kashmir region.
The existing President of Pakistan, Rafiq Tarar, remained in office until June 2001. Musharraf formally appointed himself President on 20 June 2001, just days before his scheduled visit to Agra for talks with India.
Foreign policy
Support for the War on Terror
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Musharraf sided with the United States against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after an ultimatum by U.S. President George W. Bush. Musharraf agreed to give the United States the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and other Administration officials met with Musharraf. On 19 September 2001, Musharraf addressed the people of Pakistan and stated that, while he opposed military tactics against the Taliban, Pakistan risked being endangered by an alliance of India and the U.S. if it did not cooperate.[18] In 2006, Musharraf testified that this stance was pressured by threats from the U.S., and revealed in his memoirs that he had "war-gamed" the United States as an adversary and decided that it would end in a loss for Pakistan.
The leadership in Pakistan war-gamed the USA and NATO as an enemy and realized that it was worthless committing suicide over the obstinate Taliban. Pakistan's stagnated economy had only slightly started recovering, after being put in the HIPCs category, by the IMF and World Bank, as one of the highest indebted poor countries. Galvanizing the whole nation into agreeing to fight the USA and NATO was another impossible task. Indian eagerness to join the War on Terror was an alarming condition that Pakistan could not have overlooked. Indian jets flying over Pakistan's space, with the strategic assets lying below, were a suicidal recipe. An accidental Indian bomb dropped on the Kahuta plant would have created disaster.[38]. Pakistan drew up plans to secure its NWFP border along Afghanistan. Around 80,000 troops were placed to patrol and were assigned specific targets.
Relations with India
Musharraf was Chief of Army Staff at the time of Mujahideen incursions into India from Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the summer of 1999. Although Pakistan claimed that these were Kashmiri freedom fighters based in Indian-controlled Kashmir, later developments showed that they were Pakistani paramilitary soldiers backing up the separatists on the mountain top. After fierce fighting, Pakistani soldiers were pulled back due to pressure from the international community.
However, in Battle Ready, a book co-authored by ex-CENTCOM Commander in Chief Anthony Zinni and novelist Tom Clancy, the former alleges that Musharraf was the one who pushed Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani troops after being caught in a losing scenario.According to an ex-official of the Musharraf government, Hassan Abbas, Musharraf planned the whole operation and sold the idea to Sharif.The view that Musharraf wanted to attempt the Kargil infiltrations much earlier was also revealed by Bhutto in an interview with a leading daily newspaper, where he had supposedly boasted that "he would hoist the flag of Pakistan atop the Srinagar Assembly" if his plan was executed.Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML(N)), a leading Pakistan party added that Musharraf had planned the Kargil intrusions but panicked when the conflict broke out with India and decided to alert Sharif.Since the Kargil incident occurred just after the Lahore Peace Summit earlier that year, Musharraf is often regarded with scepticism in India.
In the middle of 2004, Musharraf began a series of talks with India to solve the Kashmir dispute. Both leaders also discussed the following issues: Wullar Barrage and Kishangaga power project, Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir, disputed Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch, Siachin glacier, issues of Gurdaspur and Ferozepur's status, minority rights, Indian contentions that Pakistan is sponsoring "cross-border" terrorism.
In 2007, Musharraf stated, after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that the current push to normalize relations between the two states is "irreversible."
2001 Gujarat Earthqauke of India
Pakistan President Pervez Mushrraf sent a plane load of relief supplies to India from Islamabad to Ahmedabad[26] that carried 200 tents and more than 2,000 blankets .[27].Furthermore, the President called Indian PM to express his sympathy over the loss from the earthquake.[28]
Richard Armitage comments
During a 24 September 2006 interview with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes, Musharraf said that then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had called Musharraf's intelligence director shortly following the 9/11 attacks and threatened military action if Pakistan did not support the U.S.-led "war on terror". According to Musharraf, Armitage warned: "Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age."Furthermore, during an interview with Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on 26 September 2006, Musharraf stated that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell also contacted him with a similar message: "You are with us or against us." Musharraf refused to elaborate further, citing the then-upcoming release of his book, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir (ISBN 0-7432-8344-9). Armitage has, however, categorically denied that he had used such harsh words to threaten Pakistan, saying instead that on 12 September 2001 he had told Pakistan's top intelligence official that Pakistan would have to decide whether it was with or against the U.S. in its efforts against al-Qaida and the Taliban. In Armitage's words, "It would be completely out of character for me to threaten the use of military force when I was not authorized to do so. I don't command aircraft and could not make good on such a threat." In a 22 September 2006 joint news conference with Musharraf, U.S. President George W. Bush said, "I don't know of any conversation that was reported in the newspaper like that."
Nuclear proliferation
Main article: Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
As President, Musharraf had promoted Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan as his "special scientific adviser". One of the most widely-reported controversies during Musharraf's administration arose as a consequence of the disclosure of nuclear proliferation by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the metallurgical engineer known as the father of Pakistan's bomb. Musharraf has denied knowledge of or participation by Pakistan's government or army in this proliferation and has faced bitter domestic criticism for singularly vilifying Khan, a former national hero. Khan has been pardoned in exchange for cooperation in the investigation, but is still under house arrest. After Musharraf's resignation, dr. Khan was released from House arrest by the supreme court's order.
Space Program
Musharraf was eager for the Pakistan to lead the way in the space race. He was one of the few leaders of Pakistan to authorized space-development projects in Pakistan. Musharraf also unfroze Pakistan's Space program which was last frozen in 1996. In 1999, when Dr. A. Q. Khan met with him, he quickly authorized SUPARCO to developed its first domestically build earth observational satellite. Musharraf also established a separated fund for SUPARCO to developed its high-powered HRLV, SLV, PSLV projects. According to the media, all these project will be launch from Pakistan in 2012, but the SUPARCO has not confirmed yet. In 2005, President Musharraf outlined his vision for SUPARCO by laying down a clearly defined agenda for the national space agency to pursue and deliver in minimum time. Musharraf had made it clear that:
"Pakistan would need to catch up to the world space leaders and make up for lost time and neglect in the past and future".
Musharraf had authorised renewed research and development on an indigenous launch capability that would be able to put into orbit a domestically built satellite, Paksat-1R. In his [Musharraf] book, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, Musharraf has expressed his desired that "SUPARCO has suffered severe economic and global sanctions. Musharraf has expressed his desired that "SUPARCO has suffered severe economic and global sanctions but in future Pakistan will send its satellites from its soil".
Relations with China
Musharraf accused Western leaders and media of politicizing the 2008 Summer Olympics by criticizing China's human rights record and its policy in Tibet. He also said he would cooperate with China, which is a historical ally to Pakistan, in the fight against terrorism.
President Musharraf was internally Pro-China and kept the strategic relations intact. During President Musharraf’s government, China for the first time allowed a Pakistani president access to one of its most advanced and secret military research facilities.[citation needed]
Relations with Saudi Arabia
Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia continues to grow. After his coup in October 1999, Riyadh was the first foreign capital General Pervez Musharraf visited, to signify the importance he gave to PAK-Saudi relations.
King Abdullah's first visit to Pakistan in 2006 as ruler, he was welcomed at the airport by both President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shawkat Aziz, a reflection of the strong ties between the two nations. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis lined the road from the airport to welcome the Saudi King. President Musharraf and the Saudi King, take a common stand on the war on terror and expanding trade ties, as well as international issues such as Kashmir, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Iran’s nuclear program, Afghanistan and reform of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). President Musharraf honored King Abdullah by conferring upon him Pakistan’s highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, in a colorful investiture ceremony at the presidential palace.
On 21 Jan 2007, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah conferred the King Abdul Aziz Medallion, the Kingdom’s top honor, on Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf during a ceremony at his palace in Riyadh.[35]. The first Pakistani leader ever to receive this highest Saudi honor.
Musharraf nominated for 2004 Nobel Peace Prize
In 2004, the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf was nominated in the final list of hopefuls for that year's prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, which totals 194 candidates, as annonced by the Nobel Institute. It is not the very first time that a suggestion of awarding the Noble Peace Prize to President Musharraf has been made from such an important quarter but seeing the very clear role being played by the Pakistani President in fighting terrorism against Al Qaeda and other extremist groups within Pakistan, several important figures and organisations have also begun supporting General Musharraf as the strongest entrant for the Noble Peace Prize.
Domestic issues
2002 elections
Shortly after Musharraf's takeover, several people filed court petitions challenging his assumption of power. However, he got The Oath of Judges Order 2000 issued. It required the judges to take a fresh oath of office swearing allegiance to military rule and to state they would make no decisions against the military. Many judges refused and resigned in protest. On 12 May 2000, the Supreme Court asked Musharraf to hold national elections by 12 October 2002; elections for local governments took place in 2001.
In an attempt to legitimize his presidency and assure its continuance after the approaching restoration of democracy, he held a referendum on 30 April 2002 to extend his term to five years after the October elections. The voter turnout was 80 percent by most estimates, amidst claims of irregularities. A few weeks later, Musharraf went on TV and apologized to the nation for "irregularities" in the referendum.
In August 2002, he passed the Legal Framework Order which provided for the general elections of 2002 and the revival of the 1973 Constitution, but added numerous amendments to the Constitution. The Supreme Court rejected part of the Order.
General elections were held in October 2002 and a plurality of the seats in the Parliament was won by the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q), a pro-Musharraf party. It formed a majority coalition with independents and allies such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). However, parties opposed to Musharraf effectively paralysed the National Assembly for over a year. The following month, Musharraf handed over certain powers to the newly elected Parliament. The National Assembly elected Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali as Prime Minister, who in turn appointed his own cabinet.
In December 2003, Musharraf made a deal with Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a six-member coalition of Islamic parties, agreeing to leave the army by 31 December 2004. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf legislators were able to muster the two-thirds supermajority required to pass the Seventeenth Amendment, which retroactively legalized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees. In late 2004, Musharraf went back on his agreement with the MMA and pro-Musharraf legislators in the Parliament passed a bill allowing Musharraf to keep both offices. Constitution Article 63 clause (1) paragraph (d), read with proviso to Article 41 clause (7) paragraph (b), allows the President to hold dual office.
Denunciation of extremism
On 12 January 2002, Musharraf gave a landmark speech against Islamic extremism, a few months after September 11. He unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism and pledged to combat Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan itself. He vowed, the government was committed to root out extremism and made it clear that the banned militant organizations would not be allowed to resurface under any new name.He stressed, "the recent decision to ban extremist groups promoting militancy was taken in the national interest after thorough consultations. It was not taken under any foreign influence".
In 2002, the Musharraf-led government, took a firm stand against the jihadi organizations and groups promoting extremism, and arrested Maulana Masood Azhar, head of the Jaish-i-Mohammad, and Hafiz Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-i-Taiba, and took dozens of activists into custody. An official ban was imposed on the groups on January 12.
At the same time as banning foreign funding of Islamic educational institutions, he made it compulsory for them to teach a whole host of additional subjects such as computing. This meant that many had to close due to the halt of funds from Pakistanis working abroad resulting in not being able to teach the additional subjects that he had made compulsory. Musharraf also instituted prohibitions on foreign students' access to studying Islam within Pakistan, an effort which began as an outright ban but was later reduced to restrictions on obtaining visas.
In 2004, he proposed "Enlightened Moderation" as an alternative to Islamic fundamentalism. On 18 September 2005, Musharraf made a historic speech before a broad based audience of Jewish leadership, sponsored by the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry, in New York City.In the speech, he denounced terrorism and opened the door to relationships between Pakistan and Israel, as well as between the Muslim world and Jews worldwide. He was widely criticized by Middle Eastern Arab leaders and Muslim clerics, but was met with some praise among Jewish leadership.
On 13 September 2007, 300 Pakistani troops were captured by Islamic militants. Terrorists then bombed Musharraf's own SSG unit, killing 16, and launched rocket attacks in the North-West Frontier province and Tribal areas.
Musharraf has been met by criticism. Zahid Hussain, Pakistan's correspondent for the Times of London, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek and political correspondent for the Karachi-based monthly Newsline said in 2007 that despite Musharraf delivering to the United States, where Al Qaeda was concerned, he did in fact do nothing to eliminate extremism from the Pakistani society or to curb the activities of the Taliban. This is very natural, he said, because since 1994 Pakistan has very actively backed the Taliban and the military itself has Taliban sympathizers. Hussain also said that Musharraf was also criticized for his contradictory statements and, through which he sought to get support from both the Western allies as well as the islamist militants. Musharraf also "never took any action against those madrassas that preached hatred" and have been involved in fueling extremism. Hussain said that Musharraf did talk a lot about it and whenever there was pressure from abroad, he would announce some measures but these were not followed by any implementation. In other words, Hussain said, he failed to understand that one can not develop a moderate Muslim society unless the root cause of extremism is completely eliminated.
Assassination attempts
In 2000 Kamram Atif, allegedly a member of Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Alami, tried to assassinate Musharraf. Atif was sentenced to death in 2006 by an Anti Terrorism Court.
On 14 December 2003, Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule. On 25 December 2003, two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill him; 16 others nearby died instead.[45] Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windscreen on his car. Militant Amjad Farooqi was apparently suspected of being the mastermind behind these attempts, and was killed by Pakistani forces in 2004 after an extensive manhunt.
On 6 July 2007, there was another attempted assassination, when an unknown group fired a 7.62 submachine gun at Musharraf's plane as it took off from a runway in Rawalpindi. Security also recovered 2 anti-aircraft guns, from which no shots had been fired. On 17 July 2007, Pakistani police detained 39 people in relation to the attempted assassination of Musharraf They were detained at an undisclosed location by a joint team of Punjab Police, the Federal Investigation Agency and other Pakistani intelligence agencies.
On 8 October 2007, a military helicopter escorting President Musharraf, on his visit to the earthquake-affected areas on its second anniversary, crashed near Muzaffarabad, killing four people, including a brigadier. The Puma helicopter crashed at Majohi near Garhi Dupatta in Azad Kashmir at 11:15 am due to technical fault. Those killed included Brigadier Zahoor Ahmed, Naik Ajmal, Sepoy Rashid and PTV cameraman Muhammad Farooq, while President’s Media Advisor Maj Gen (R) Rashid Qureshi sustained injuries. Twelve people were on board the helicopter.
2004 confidence vote
PML-Q led government with the help of the religious parties the MMA, secured 2/3 majority in National assembly and Senate and constitionally validated Musharraf's election.
On 1 January 2004 Musharraf had won a confidence vote in the Electoral College of Pakistan, consisting of both houses of Parliament and the four provincial assemblies. Musharraf received 658 out of 1170 votes, a 56 percent majority, but many opposition and Islamic members of parliament walked out to protest the vote. As a result of this vote, according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, Musharraf was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President. His term was extended to 2007.
Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned on 26 June 2004, after losing the support of the PML(Q). His resignation was at least partly due to his public differences with the party chairman Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, and was rumoured to have happened at Musharraf's command, although neither man has confirmed this. Jamali had been appointed with the support of Musharraf's and the pro-Musharraf PML(Q). Most PML(Q) parliamentarians formerly belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League party led by Sharif, and most ministers of the cabinet were formerly senior members of other parties, joining the PML(Q) after the elections upon being offered powerful offices. It is believed that Musharraf replaced Jamali due to his poor performance and in his place Musharraf nominated Shaukat Aziz, the minister for finance and a former employee of Citibank[50] and head of Citibank Private Banking as the new prime minister.
Economy
In 1999, under Nawaz Sharif, Revenue generation of around Rs.308 billion could not meet the growing expenditure requirements; with only an average of Rs.80 billion being spent on Public sector development programs (PSDP) annually, and no visible project to boast about. From this Rs.308 billion around 65% was being utilized for debt servicing. In 1988 Pakistan’s foreign debt was $18 billion, but at the end of 1999 it had accumulated to become $38 billion. A 100% increased burden on the already crippled economy. Public and external debt exceeded 300% of Foreign exchange earnings.
Musharraf then appointed Shaukat Aziz, a former Citibank executive, as finance minister. Profile: Shaukat Aziz - BBC News
Pakistan's Economic Comparison 1999 to 2007
• Pakistan’s economy grew by 100% — to become $ 160 billion
• Revenue grew by 100% — to become $ 11.4 billion
• Per Capita income grew by 100% — to become $ 925
• Foreign Reserves grew by 500% — to become $ 17 billion
• Exports grew by 100% — to become $ 18.5 billion
• Textile exports grew by 100% — to become $ 11.2 billion
• Karachi Stock Exchange grew by 500% — to become $ 75 billion
• Foreign Direct Investment grew by 500% — to become $ 8.4 billion
• Annual Debt servicing decreased by 35% — to become 26%
• Poverty decreased by 10% — to become 24%
• Literacy ratio grew by 10% — to become 54%
• Public development Funds grew by 100% — to become Rs 520 billion
The vision and policies helped Pakistan come out of the list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) while setting it on path of prosperity, growth and economic reforms. The world financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF and ADB have been praising Pakistan for its reforms, fiscal policies and macro-economic achievements.
Poverty alleviation
Pakistan show tremendous reduction in poverty during the period 2000 - 2007. According official figures, the poverty level dropped from 34% to 24% and the overall living standard improves dramatically.
Education
Under Musharraf's tenure, Pakistan saw exceptional setup of 47 universities, including Virtual University, under the supervision of Higher Education Commission. Most of the universities were of international standards.
Pakistan now has a total of 245,682 educational institutions in all categories, including 164,579 (i.e. 67 percent) in the public sector and 81,103 (i.e. 100 percent) in the private sector, reports the National Education Census (NEC-2005). The census — jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education, the Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) and the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) — reveals that the number of private-sector institutions has increased from 36,096 in 1999-2000 to 81,103 in 2005, i.e. by 100 percent. 45,007 Educational Institutions have increased in Musharraf Era.
Women's Rights
The National Assembly voted in favor of the “Women's Protection Bill” on 15 November 2006 and the Senate approved it on 23 November 2006. President General Pervez Musharraf signed into law the “Women's Protection Bill”, on 1 December 2006. The bill places rape laws under the penal code and allegedly does away with harsh conditions that previously required victims to produce four male witnesses and exposed the victims to prosecution for adultery, if they were unable to prove the crime.However, the Women's Protection bill has been criticized heavily by many for paying continued lip service and failing to address the actual problem by its' roots: repealing the Hudood Ordinance. In this context, Musharraf has also been criticized by women and human rights activists for not following up his words by action.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that "The so-called Women's Protection Bill is a farcical attempt at making Hudood Ordinances palatable" outlining the issues of the bill and the continued impact on women.
His government increased reserved seats for women in assemblies, to increase women's representation and make their presence more effective. Compared with 1988 seats in the National Assembly were increased from 20 to 60. In provincial assemblies 128 seats were reserved for women. This situation has brought out increase participation of women for 1988 and 2008 elections.
Ethnic Minorities Rights
General Pervez Musharraf upon assuming power promised protection of the rights of religious minorities and an end to the culture of religious intolerance. A Christian, Derick Cyprian, was appointed as a federal minister and the government undertook to repeal all discriminatory laws. There have been some positive developments in according basic rights to religious minorities, although in real terms their impact has been nullified by the growth of extremism and intolerance within the fabric of the society. General Musharraf has continued with his promise that religious minorities will be protected, and there are limited signs that Christians, Hindus (and, to a lesser extent, the Ahmaddiyas) are not being overtly discriminated against with regard to public positions. In August 2005, Justice Rana Bhagwandas (a Hindu) was sworn in as acting Chief Justice. Among noticeable positive steps taken by the military government are the declaration of the abolition of separate electorates, apparent curbs on extremist and sectarian groups, and a sense of inclusivity of all religious communities. The thaw in the relations with India allowed greater influx of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims and, during 2004-5, the Punjab government allocated funds to renovate the Krishna Mandir temple in Lahore. In addition, the Pakistani Constitution reserves 10 national assembly seats for religious minorities.
Corruption issues
When Musharraf came to power, he claimed that the corruption in the government bureaucracy would be cleaned up. According to Transparency International, Pakistan has improved its ratings under Musharraf's regime, from being the 11th most corrupt country to fall down to 41st.
In 2002, according to a survey by Transparency International, Pakistan’s rating improved from 11th most corrupt country in 2001 to 24th, according to a TI press release
In 2007, according to Transparency International, Pakistan is clearly ranked 138th out of 179 countries. That places Pakistan as the 41st most corrupt country in 2007
Suspension and reinstatement of the Chief Justice
On 9 March 2007, Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, pressing corruption charges against him and filed a reference against the Chief Justice, in the Supreme Judicial Council according to Article 209(2) and Article 209(5)(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan. Thus on 13 March 2007, when the Supreme Judicial Council met, it was headed by Acting Chief Justice Javed Iqbal.
Text of presidential reference against Chief Justice included:
1- There are complaints of orders being verbally announced in open court in favour of one party and subsequently a written order at variance from the order announced in court being delivered. Two such cases have acquired particular notoriety. In one of these two cases it is alleged that amounts as large as Rs.55million may have been involved.
2- Chief Justice had intimidated civil servants, including pressuring an administrator, to influence by his position to gain undue advantage by "insisting" on an increase and enhancement in his entitlements or in securing the relaxation of the rules in that respect.
3- Chief Justice influenced government offices to promote his son's career. On 22 June 2005 Dr. Arsalan Iftikhar was appointed as Medical Officer/Demonstrator in the Institute of Public Health, Quetta.
4- Chief Justice Chaudhry had received hundreds of thousands of rupees for reimbursement of gasoline for his car. The receipts he submitted were for a pump that only sold diesel fuel. Chief Justice had claimed reimbursement for airfare for his wife and children when he was not entitled to claim it.
5- Chief Justice had arranged for the allotment of a plot of land in Karachi to which he was not entitled.
Musharraf's moves sparked protests among Pakistani lawyers. On 12 March 2007, lawyers started Judicial Activism across Pakistan and began boycotting all court procedures in protest against the suspension. In Islamabad, as well as other cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, hundreds of lawyers dressed in black suits attended rallies, condemning the suspension as unconstitutional. Slowly the expressions of support for the ousted Chief Justice gathered momentum and by May, protesters and opposition parties took out huge rallies against Musharraf and his tenure as army chief was also challenged in the courts.
On 20 July, the Supreme Court reinstated Chaudhry. Delivering the court's verdict, presiding Judge Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said: "The reference [against Mr Chaudhry] has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated."
"The president respects the decision of the Supreme Court," Gen Musharraf's spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. "The president has stated earlier that any judgement the Supreme Court arrives at will be honoured, respected and adhered to," the spokesman said.
“I would like to emphasise that we must all accept the verdict with grace and dignity reflective of a mature nation" Shaukat Aziz accepted Supreme Court verdict.All Federal ministers and senior Pakistan Muslim League leaders said the government had accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict to reinstate the chief justice of Pakistan.
PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also has reportedly refused to reinstate the sacked chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, apparently due to the fear that the latter, if reinstated, might reopen for adjudication cases on the National Reconciliation Order. During a meeting of leaders of the ruling coalition in Lahore on 23 July 2008, Zardari repeatedly insisted on not reinstating Chaudhry, reported the Daily Times.
Lal Masjid siege
The Musharraf government was forced to act against the Lal Masjid militants, after they formally announced the establishment of a parallel judicial system. The pro-Taliban Lal Masjid administration vowed to enforce Islamic laws in the federal capital and threatened to unleash a wave of suicide bombers if the government took any action to counter it. “Our youth will commit suicide attacks, if the government impedes the enforcement of the Sharia and attacks Lal Masjid and its sister seminaries,” Maulana Abdul Aziz, the in-charge of the mosque said in his Friday sermon.
The standoff between the Pakistani government and the clerics of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad finally broke down on the morning of 8 July 2007, when the official government delegation led by Shujaat Hussain declared that the negotiations with the militants holed up in the mosque have reached an agreement. However, the clerics refused to release the hostages as promised by them in the agreement. Musharraf had given the militants some six months to lay down arms and abide the law of country.
The government managed to recover 1,300 men, women and children during the operation. Some of these women, who were recovered safely on the last day of the operation, had their written death wishes with them. Six hundred suicide bombers are present in Karachi revealed Qasim Toori and Danish alias Talha during interrogations by law-enforcement agencies. Most of the suicide bombers are also former students of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid. Relations with Benazir Bhutto
Also on 8 August 2007, Benazir Bhutto spoke about her secret meeting with Musharraf on 27 July, in an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
On 14 September 2007, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim stated that Bhutto won't be deported, but must face corruption suits against her. He clarified Sharif's and Bhutto's right to return to Pakistan: "Nawaz Sharif's case was different. He went back to Saudi Arabia because of an undertaking he had with the Saudi government; She (Bhutto) was always allowed to come back." Pakistan People's Party Farhatullah Babar said that Benazir Bhutto will forthwith declare the exact date of her return: "We are announcing the date of the return for Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan at 5:00 p.m. (1200 GMT)" (Makhdoom Amin Fahim will publish it at a news conference in Islamabad." Musharraf faced a rising militant violence, with a suicide bombing killing 15 elite commandos on 13 September.Bhutto declared her return from eight years exile on 18 October. Makhdoom Amin Faheem, vice chair of Pakistan Peoples Party said that "Benazir Bhutto will be landing in Karachi on 18 October."
On 17 September 2007, Bhutto accused Musharraf's allies of pushing Pakistan to crisis by refusal to restore democracy and share power. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed stated that officials had agreed to grant Benazir Bhutto amnesty in pending corruption charges.
Musharraf called for a three day mourning period after Bhutto's assassination on 27 December 2007
Resignation from the Army
On 2 October 2007, Musharraf named Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani as vice chief of the army starting 8 October. When Musharraf resigned from military on 28 November 2007, Kayani became Chief of Army Staff.
Return of Nawaz Sharif
Sharif returned to Pakistan in September 2007, and was immediately arrested and taken into custody at the airport.
Saudi intelligence chief Muqran bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Lebanese politician Saad Hariri arrived separately in Islamabad on 8 September 2007, the former with a message from Saudi King Abdullah and the latter after a meeting with Nawaz Sharif in London. After meeting President General Pervez Musharraf for two-and-a-half hours, Prince Muqrin and Hariri addressed an unprecedented joint press conference at Army House, telling journalists that "Nawaz was bound under the agreement not to return to Pakistan before ten years in exile. We sincerely hope that Nawaz Sharif honours this agreement,” Prince Muqrin said. Asked about the details of the agreement, Prince Muqrin waved a copy of the agreement to the media and said: “It is here and signed.”
On arrival in Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif was received by Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi intelligence chief, who had met Musharraf in Islamabad the previous day. That meeting had been followed by a rare press conference, at which he had warned that Sharif should not violate the terms of King Abdullah's agreement of staying out of politics for 10 years.
2007 presidential elections
In a March 2007 interview, Musharraf said that he intended to stay in the office for another five years.
A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on six petitions (including Jamaat-e-Islami's, Pakistan's largest Islamic group) for disqualification of Musharraf as presidential candidate. Bhutto stated that her party may join other opposition groups, including Sharif's. Attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum stated that, pendente lite, the Election Commission was "reluctant" to announce the schedule for the presidential vote.
On 24 September 2007, the president of the Supreme Court bar association, Munir Malik, announced that former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed would challenge Musharraf in Pakistan's October presidential election. Ahmad had little chance of defeating Musharraf (since the president is elected by parliament and provincial assemblies).
On 28 September 2007, in a 6-3 vote, the court presided by Judge Rana Bhagwandas ruled: "These petitions are held to be non-maintainable." The judgment removed obstacles to Musharraf's election bid.
1- PML-Q government passed a constitutional amendment in National Assembly, with 2/3 majority, also approved by Senate that allowed President Musharraf to hold dual offices.
2- Constitution of Pakistan - Article 63 clause (1) paragraph (d), read with proviso to Article 41 clause (7) paragraph (b), allows the President to hold dual office.
3- Supreme Court of Pakistan on 28 September 2007, allowed President Musharraf to stand for elections in October 2007.
4- President Musharraf was elected President of Pakistan, on 6 October 2007, by a combined electoral of the Senate, National Assembly and the FOUR Provincial Assembles.
5- President Musharraf won by 58% votes declared in November 2007, as the constitutional President of Pakistan!
Emergency declared in Pakistan
On 3 November 2007 Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the chief justice of the Supreme Court. While addressing the nation on State Television, Musharraf declared that the state of emergency was imposed in the country. In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court building, arrested the judges and kept them under detention in their homes. Troops were deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels went off air.
Pakistani general election, 2008
On 23 March 2008, President Musharraf said an "era of democracy" has begun in Pakistan. He has put the country "on the track of development and progress." On 22 March, the Pakistan Peoples Party named former parliament speaker Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani as its candidate for the country's next prime minister, to lead a coalition government united against him. A confirmation vote is scheduled for 24 March 2008 in parliament, and the prime minister would be sworn in by Musharraf 25 March 2008.
The statistics of the Election Commission, showed party position as follows, in the February 2008 elecions.
The PML-Q and its allies: 10,844,233 votes. (40%)
The PPP-P: 10,055,491 votes. (37%)
PML-N: 6,240,343 votes. (23%)
Total votes cast: 27.14 million [44]
Impeachment movement and resignation
On 7 August 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) agreed to force Musharraf to step down and begin his impeachment. Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif announced sending a formal request or joint charge sheet that he step down, and impeach him through parliamentary process upon refusal. Musharraf, however, said: “I will defeat those who try to push me to the wall. If they use their right to oust me, I have the right to defend myself."Musharraf, accordingly delayed his departure for the Beijing Olympics, by a day.A senior coalition official told Reuters: "Yes, we have agreed in principle to impeach him." The draft of the ruling coalition’s joint statement had been finalized by the draft Committee, and Musharraf would have to obtain vote of confidence from the National Assembly and 4 provincial assemblies. The government summoned the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, to sit on 11 August. Capt. Wasif Syed, spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party—confirmed: "A decision has been made that he has to go now, and all the parties have agreed on this point.". It is speculated that Pervez Musharraf would have had to face corruption and even murder charges if he had kept refusing a graceful exit from the president house.
On Monday, 18 August 2008, in a speech defending his record, Musharraf announced that he had resigned.Video of Resignation Speech
When announcing his resignation, Musharraf, 65, said: "After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and political allies, with their advice I have decided to resign. I leave my future in the hands of people. Not a single charge in the impeachment can stand against me. No charge can be proved against me because I never did anything for myself, it was all for Pakistan. On the map of the world, Pakistan is now an important country, by the grace of Allah. Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose. They don’t realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable damage. My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today.” In an emotional one-hour speech, Musharraf raised his clenched fists to chest height, and said, “Long live Pakistan!” Text of Musharraf's speech and Musharraf's Last speech
"Nonetheless, despite his mistakes, he has been that rare phenomenon in Pakistani politics — an honest man with good intentions who tried to serve his country to the best of his abilities. In a country that has suffered so much over the years from corrupt and self-serving politicians, there have been too few figures like him" Honorable act by Musharraf - Arab News Editorial
Approval ratings
In early 2007, Musharraf was extremely popular. According to a US survey, IRI President General Pervez Musharraf was more popular in Pakistan than opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Around 37 percent of the respondents were of the view that Musharraf's supported PML-Q deserved to be re-elected.
However, by August 2007, after the lawyers Judicial Activism started, Musharraf became slightly unpopular in Pakistan due to persistent media efforts and anti-Musharraf talk shows. An International Republican Institute survey, taken of 3000 people, showed that 64 percent of the population did not want another term to be granted to Musharraf as the president of Pakistan.
Musharraf's popularity grew after his resignation and several pro-Musharraf websites and groups on Facebook emerged.
In the most recent interview with Musharraf, Daphne Barak admits that she receives mails and people have started missing Musharraf: "Many emails are relatively flattering to you. I even have emails from PPP members who say that they never thought they will miss you, but they do. Especially young people!"
Life after Presidency
After resignation, Musharraf went for an expected pilgrimage to Mecca. He may also continue his travelling on a lucrative speaking tour through Middle East, Europe and United States. Chicago-based Embark LLC is one of the international public-relations firms trying to land Musharraf as a highly paid keynote speaker.According to Embark President David B. Wheeler, the speaking fee for Musharraf would be in the $150,000-200,000 range for a day plus jet and other V.I.P. arrangements on the ground.
Musharraf disclosed that he has planned to jump back into full time politics but not until he moves into his newly constructed house in Chak Shahzad in Rawalpindi/Islamabad as he does not want to misuse the army house for political purposes.
His speech at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in January 2009 marked his first U.S. appearance since he left office last year, as he embarks on a international speaking tour. The former president of Pakistan pleaded for understanding in his country's fight against terrorism, in a region deemed central to the outcome of that battle. "Pakistan has confronted terrorism and extremism for more than two decades now," Pervez Musharraf said in a speech to about 500 people at the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan event.
Regarding the Lahore attack on Sri Lankan players, Musharraf criticized the police commandos' inability to kill any of the gunmen, saying "If this was the elite force I would expect them to have shot down those people who attacked them, the reaction, their training should be on a level that if anyone shoots toward the company they are guarding, in less than three seconds they should shoot the man down."
Article 6 trial
The PML Nawaz have tried to get Pervez Musharraf to stand trial in an article 6 trial for treason in relation to the emergency on November 3, 2007, which Musharraf signed as Chief of Army Staff instead of in his position as President of Pakistan[, yet revoked it as the President of Pakistan, also revoking the PCO of 3 November.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani has said a consensus resolution is required in national assembly for an article 6 trial of Pervez Musharraf “I have no love lost for Musharraf ... if parliament decides to try him, I will be with parliament. Article 6 cannot be applied to one individual ... those who supported him are today in my cabinet and some of them have also joined the PML-N ... the MMA, the MQM and the PML-Q supported him ... this is why I have said that it is not doable,” said the Prime Minister while informally talking to editors and also replying to questions by journalists at an Iftar-dinner he had hosted for them.
Meanwhile, Proclamation of Emergency and Revocation is the constitutional right of the President of Pakistan, according to the constitution of Pakistan, Article 232 and Article 236.On 15 February 2008, the Supreme Court has delivered detailed judgement to validate the Proclamation of Emergency on 3 November 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order No 1 of 2007 and the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007.
Saudi Arabia have agreements in place to stop any article 6 trial in Pakistan in relation to Pervez Musharraf according to the newspapers due to Saudi Arabia's long standing friendship with all of the political parties in Pakistan. Sharif is under tremendous pressure from Saudi Arabia to shun his demand for Musharraf’s trial under the Article Six of the Constitution
The President of PML-Q, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that those vying for article 6 against Musharraf to suffer and would themselves get embroiled in trouble. Secretary General of PML-Q Mushahid Hussain Sayed, also ruled out Musharraf’s trial under Article-6 of the Constitution.
Cases
Abbottabad's district and sessions judge in a missing person's case passed judgment asking the authorities to declare Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed offender.
Launch of All Pakistan Muslim League
Despite being in self-exile, Musharraf launched his own political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, in June 2010.
This section requires expansion.

Legacy

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (May 2009)

Musharraf characterizes himself as a moderate leader with liberal, progressive ideas, and has expressed admiration for Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.[118] President Musharraf led a team of economists and professionals along with ex-PM Shaukat Aziz, to mark their achievements. The Economic Achievements caused Pakistan to emerge as a geo-strategic important country with a 100% better economy. In 2006, Pakistan was the 3rd fastest growing economy of the world and world’s preferred destination for Investment. His vision and policies helped Pakistan come out of the list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) while setting it on path of prosperity, growth and economic reforms. His era ushered in Multi-National Corporations.
President Musharraf moved aggressively to privatize the economy, reduce poverty and Pakistan's foreign debt, and allow the press more freedom.Statements issued by the government suggest significant improvement in the economy. Pakistan's Economy boomed from a mere worth of $75 billion in 1999 to become $170 billion in 2008. Debt servicing in ratio to GDP also decreased significantly.
The business and finance side thrived under his strong-armed stewardship. Pakistan won approval of global capital markets, with highlights being the $800 million Regulation S Rule 144A sovereign bond, including a 30 year tranche, and a ground breaking GDR from Muslim Commercial Bank
It was under Musharraf's liberal policies that led to freedom of media and from one state run television PTV, above 50 channels List of Pakistani television stations were given license to operate. Pakistan saw an era of huge influx of television and radio channels.
Dr. Mahjabeen Islam says, "The vibrancy of Pakistan’s press is proven by the fact that many an expatriate obtains their news from Pakistan’s news sources rather than the post-9/11 throttled and slanted media bytes that one gets in the United States. And to give credit where it’s due, media freedom will remain as General Musharraf’s positive legacy".
Xenia Dormandy, Executive Director for Research at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, says Pervez Musharraf is in a difficult situation, given Pakistan's political turmoil, its war on terror and its relations with its neighbors and the United States. "He is squeezed between his relationship with the U.S. and our desires, the improving relationship with India, the historical relationship with Afghanistan and, at the same time, domestic political constraints, and the long-term tribal interests of much of his population," says Dormandy. Some experts who view the General in a sympathetic light agree. Among them is analyst Michael Krepon, co-founder of the non-profit Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, who adds that the complexities of Pakistani society must be taken into account when looking at Pervez Musharraf.
Dr Shirin M Mazari, an Islamabad-based analyst says, "Musharraf has done a lot for women. He has increased their representation in Parliament. He has given a wider public space to women. He will not leave behind the negative legacy that Zia left."
The Brookings Institution's Steven Cohen says, "He's going to have a difficult time leaving a permanent imprint on Pakistan, partly because the material he is dealing with is so intractable. He'd like to get an agreement on Kashmir. But India is not into compromising much more, if at all, even though Musharraf has come a long way in terms of Pakistan's position. He'd like to reform Pakistani politics and the Pakistan economy. But that's very, very hard to do, in part, because politics can't be reformed from the top and, in part, because the economy has been so badly abused over the decades and it's in a really serious shape." Even those who would like to see Pervez Musharraf's "enlightened" vision for Pakistan succeed warn that there is no telling what next year's election may bring.He's a man who has a very high opinion of himself based on his performance in the Army and his professional education and his training. He believes - - and I think others would agree - - because Pakistan has a shortage of civilian leaders, that's why the military has to be involved. He once compared himself to Atatürk [i.e., Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey] and said Atatürk was his role model. But clearly, he's a man who has a larger vision of things and believes that he can do great things for Pakistan and for the world," says Cohen.
After Musharraf left office of the President, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered "deep gratitude" for his original decision to join the U.S.-led fight against extremists. She called Musharraf "one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism."[121]
By most accounts, General Pervez Musharraf had a grand vision for Pakistan, one that sought to put it on a path of what he called "Enlightened Moderation."

Military offices
Preceded by Jehangir Karamat	Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 1998–2001	Succeeded by Aziz Khan
Preceded by Jehangir Karamat	Chief of Army Staff 1998–2007	Succeeded by Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Political offices
Preceded by Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister of Pakistan	Chief Executive of Pakistan 1999–2002	Succeeded by Zafarullah Khan Jamali as Prime Minister of Pakistan
Preceded by Nawaz Sharif	Minister of Defence 1999–2002	Succeeded by Rao Sikandar Iqbal
Preceded by Muhammad Rafiq Tarar	President of Pakistan 2001–2008	Succeeded by Muhammad Mian Soomro Acting

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

2010-06-14T18:39:00.000+05:00

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Punjabi, Urdu: محمد ضیاء الحق ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988. Distinguished by his role in the Black September in Jordan military operation in 1970, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976. After widespread civil disorder, he overthrew ruling Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a bloodless coup d'état on 5 July 1977 and became the state's third ruler to impose martial law. He initially ruled as Chief Martial Law Administrator, but later installed himself as the President of Pakistan in September 1978.

Zia's major domestic initiatives included the consolidation of the fledgling nuclear program, which was initiated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, denationalization and deregulation and the state's Islamization. His tenure saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency. His endorsement of the Pakistan Muslim League (the founding party of Pakistan) initiated its mainstream revival[citation needed]. However, he is most remembered for his foreign policy; the subsidizing of the Mujahideen movement during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which led to the Soviet Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan. He was described by some as a "fundamentalist Sunni dictator".

Zia died along with several of his top generals and then-United States Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel in a suspicious aircraft crash near Bahawalpur (Punjab) on 17 August 1988.

Early life

Zia was born in Jalandhar, British India, in 1924 as the second child of an Arain,[2] Muhammad Akbar, who worked as a senior clerk in the Army GHQ in Delhi and Simla pre-partition.
After graduation from St Stephen's College in Delhi, Zia joined the British Indian Army in 1943. He married Shafiq Jahan in 1951. One of his sons went into politics (Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq) becoming a cabinet minister in the government of Nawaz Sharif. He completed his initial education in Simla and then at St. Stephen's College, Delhi.
Army career
He was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on 12 May 1943 and served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. After Pakistan gained its independence, Zia joined the newly formed Pakistan Army as a major. His regiment was now the Guides Cavalry Frontier Force Regiment. He trained in the United States in 1962–1964 at the US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After that, he returned to take over as Directing Staff (DS) at Command and Staff College, Quetta.[3] During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Zia was a tank commander.
Zia was stationed in Jordan from 1967 to 1970 as a Brigadier, helping in the training of Jordanian soldiers, as well as leading the training mission into battle during the Black September operations as commander of Jordanian 2nd Division, a strategy that proved crucial to King Hussein's remaining in power. By 1973, then Maj Gen Zia was commanding the 1st Armoured Division at Multan.

He was then promoted as Lt Gen and was appointed commander of the II Strike Corps at Multan in 1975. It was during this time when General Zia invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. After the function, General Zia met Bhutto, placed his hand on the Quran and said, "You are the saviour of Pakistan and we owe it to you to be totally loyal to you."

On 1 March 1976, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto approved Zia-ul-Haq as Chief of Army, ahead of a number of more senior officers [citation needed]. At the time of his nominating the successor to the outgoing chief General Tikka Khan, the Lieutenant Generals in order of seniority were, Muhammad Shariff, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmed Khan, Azmat Baksh Awan, Agha Ibrahim Akram, Abdul Majeed Malik, Ghulam Jilani Khan, and Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. But, Bhutto chose the most junior, superseding seven more senior generals. However, the senior most at that time, Lt Gen Mohammad Shariff, though promoted to General, was made the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a constitutional post akin to President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry.

Coup and martial law
Prime Minister Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed.Initially targeting leader of the opposition Khan Abdul Wali Khan and his opposition Awami National Party (ANP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties, the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce, starting with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of a close lieutenant of Bhutto's, Hayat Sherpao, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.

Dissidence also increased within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the murder of a leading dissident Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended, and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of abusing human rights and killing large numbers of civilians.

On 8 January 1977 a large number of opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto called fresh elections, and PNA participated in those elections in full force. They managed to contest the elections jointly even though there were grave splits on opinions and views within the party. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, alleging that the election was rigged. First, they claimed rigging for 14 seats and, finally, for 40 seats in the National Assembly. They proceeded to boycott the provincial elections. Despite this, there was high voter turn out in national elections; however, as provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, the PNA declared the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. Firebrand Islamic leaders such as Abul Ala Maududi called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Political and civil disorder intensified, which led to more unrest. Nevertheless, a compromise agreement between Bhutto and opposition was ultimately reported. Yet on 5 July 1977, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia.
Postponement of elections and call for accountability

After assuming power as Chief Martial Law Administrator, General Zia promised to hold National and Provincial Assembly elections in the next 90 days[citation needed] and to hand over power to the representatives of the nation[citation needed]. He also stated that the Constitution of Pakistan had not been abrogated whatsoever, but had been temporarily suspended[citation needed]. However, in October 1977, he announced the postponement of the electoral plan and decided to start an accountability process for the politicians. Zia said that he changed his decision due to the strong public demand for the scrutiny of political leaders who had engaged in malpractice in the past (a large number of both PNA and PPP members had asked General Zia to postpone the elections). Thus the "retribution first, elections later" PNA policy was adopted. This severely tainted his credibility as many saw the broken promise as malacious.

Reign as Chief Martial Law Administrator

Nusrat Bhutto, the wife of the deposed Prime Minister, filed a suit against General Zia's military regime, challenging the validity of the July 1977 military coup. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled, in what would later be known as the Doctrine of Necessity (not to be confused with the 1954 Doctrine of necessity) that, given the dangerously unstable political situation of the time, General Zia's overthrowing of the Bhutto government was legal on the grounds of necessity. The judgement tightened the general's hold on the government.

Assumption of the post of President of Pakistan

Despite the dismissal of most of the Bhutto government, President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was persuaded to continue in office as a figurehead. After completing his term, and despite General Zia's insistence to accept an extension as President, Mr Chaudhry resigned, and General Zia also assumed the office of President of Pakistan on 16 September 1978. Thus his position was cemented as the undisputed ruler of the country.

Over the next six years, Zia issued several decrees which amended the constitution and greatly expanded his power. Most significantly, the Revival of Constitution of 1973 Order granted Zia the power to dissolve the National Assembly virtually at will.

The trial of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

On 4 April 1979, the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence as passed by the Lahore High Court. The Supreme Court ruled four to three in favour of execution. The High Court had given him the death sentence on charges of the murder of the father of Ahmed Raza Kasuri, a dissident PPP politician. Despite many clemency appeals from foreign leaders requesting Zia to commute Bhutto's death sentence, Zia dismissed the appeals as "trade union activity"[citation needed] and upheld the death sentence. The hanging of an elected prime minister by a military man was condemned by the international community and by lawyers and jurists across Pakistan[citation needed]. Today it is widely accepted as a politically motivated judicial murder[citation needed]. Despite the case whereby Bhutto was held behind the murder of Ahmed Raza Kasuri, the trial is considered to have been biased against Bhutto who it is generally believed to have been framed in the case.

Appointment of Martial Law Governors

The Zia regime largely made use of installing high-profile military generals to carte blanche provincial administration under martial law. Zia's Guides Cavalry comrade Lieutenant General Fazle Haq was appointed Governor of North West Frontier Province. Haq's tenure saw the influx of heroin[citation needed], sophisticated weaponry, and countless refugees in from neighbouring Afghanistan. Lieutenant General S.M. Abbasi was appointed Governor of Sindh; his tenure too saw civil disorder amid student riots. By contrast, martial law governor General Jilani of Punjab made much headway in beautifying Lahore, extending infrastructure, and muting political opposition. The ascent of Nawaz Sharif to Chief Minister of Punjab was largely due to General Jilani's sponsorship. Perhaps most crucially, General Rahimuddin Khan's appointment to the post of martial law Governor of Balochistan saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency, the containment of Afghan mujahideen, as well as the construction of nuclear test sites in the Chagai District.
Reign as President of Pakistan

In the absence of a parliament, General Zia decided to set up an alternative system, Majlis-e-Shoora, in 1980. Most of the members of the Shoora were intellectuals, scholars, ulema, journalists, economists, and professionals belonging to different fields of life. The Shoora was to act as a board of advisors to the President. All 284 members of the Shoora were to be nominated by the President, also known as a technocracy or government of technocrats.

Referendum of 1984

General Zia eventually decided to hold elections in the country. But before handing over the power to the public representatives, he decided to secure his position as the head of state. A referendum was held on 1 December 1984, and the option was to elect or reject the General as the future President. The question asked in the referendum was whether the people of Pakistan wanted Islamic Sharia law enforced in the country[citation needed]. According to the official result, more than 95% of the votes were cast in favour of Zia-ul-Haq, thus he was elected as President for the next five years. However, they were marred by allegations of widespread irregularities and technical violations of the laws and ethics of democratic elections[citation needed]. Also, despite pressure from the government to vote, only 10% of those eligible to vote did so[citation needed]. Zia had the overwhelming majority of the votes cast, but in reality the referendum was an embarrassing failure.

The Eighth Amendment and elections of 1985

After being elected President, Zia-ul-Haq decided to hold elections in the country in February 1985 on a non-party basis. Most of the opposing political parties decided to boycott the elections but election results showed that many victors belonged to one party or the other. To make things easier for himself, the General nominated the Prime Minister from amongst the Members of the Assembly. To many, his nomination of Muhammad Khan Junejo as the Prime Minister was because he wanted a simple person at the post who would act as a puppet in his hands[citation needed]. Before handing over the power to the new Government and lifting martial law, Zia got the new legislature to retroactively accept all of Zia's actions of the past eight years, including his coup of 1977[citation needed]. He also managed to get several amendments passed, most notably the Eighth Amendment, which granted "reserve powers" to the president to dissolve the National Assembly. However, this amendment considerably reduced the power he'd previously granted himself to dissolve the legislature, at least on paper. The text of the amendment permitted Zia to dissolve the Assembly only if 1 the Cabinet had been toppled by a vote of no confidence and it was obvious that no one could form a government or 2) the government could not function in a constitutional manner.

Involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War

On 25 December 1979, the Soviet Union (USSR) invaded Afghanistan. General Zia, as President of neighbouring Pakistan, was asked by several cabinet members to refrain from interfering in the war, owing to the vastly superior military power of the USSR. General Zia, however, was ideologically opposed to the idea of communism taking over a neighbouring country, and made no secret about his intentions of monetarily and militarily aiding the Afghan resistance (the Mujahideen) with major assistance from the United States.

Economic reform

Under Zia, the previous ruler Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's nationalisation policies were slowly reversed[citation needed], and gradual privatisation took place[citation needed]. General Zia greatly favoured egalitarianism and industrialisation. Between 1977 and 1986, the country experienced an average annual growth in the GNP of 6.8%, one of the highest in the world at that time.

Consolidation of Pakistan's nuclear programme

Zia contributed to attaining nuclear capability for Pakistan, a program started by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The country was made a subject of attack by international organisations for not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Zia deftly neutralised international pressure by tagging Pakistan's nuclear programme to the nuclear designs of neighbouring India. He then drew a five-point proposal as a practical rejoinder to world pressure on Pakistan to sign the NPT; the points including the renouncing of the use of nuclear weapons. He also funded a uranium enrichment plant based at the Kahuta Research Laboratories in Kahuta under Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. During General Zia's rule the nuclear plan was considered an important national issue and international pressure was difficult to counter unless several other pro-Pakistan nations were also groomed to become nuclear capable. Dr. Khan was assigned this task and given free hand to work with some like minded nations like North Korea, Iran and Libya who also wanted to pursue their nuclear ambitions for a variety of reasons. It was envisaged that this would deflect international pressure on these countries and Pakistan would be spared the international community's wrath.Dr. Khan's dismissal from the nuclear programme in 2004 was considered a face saving exercise by the Pakistani military and political establishment under the then President Pervez Musharraf.

Zia also supported the nuclear program being run in PAEC by Munir Ahmad Khan and sanctioned the launch of the 50 MW heavy water plutonium production reactor at Khushab in 1985. PAEC also carried out the first cold test of a nuclear device on 11 March 1983 which was followed by several cold tests throughout the 1980s.

International standing enhancement and resumption of aid

Zia's international standing greatly rose after his declaration to fight the Soviet invaders, as he went from being portrayed as just another military dictator to a champion of the free world by the Western media[citation needed]. Pakistan–United States relations took a much more positive turn. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, cut off U.S. aid to Pakistan on the grounds that Pakistan had not made sufficient progress on the nuclear issue. Then, on 25 December 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and Carter offered Pakistan $325 million in aid over three years. Zia rejected this as "peanuts."[citation needed] Carter also signed the finding in 1980 that allowed less than $50 million a year to go to the Mujahideen. After Ronald Reagan came to office, defeating Carter for the US Presidency in 1980, all this changed, due to President Reagan's new priorities and the unlikely and remarkably effective effort by Congressman Charles Wilson (D-TX), aided by Joanne Herring, and CIA Afghan Desk Chief Gust Avrakotos to increase the funding for Operation Cyclone. Aid to the Afghan resistance, and to Pakistan, increased substantially, finally reaching $1 billion. The United States, faced with a rival superpower looking as if it were to create another Communist bloc, now engaged Zia to fight a US-aided war by proxy in Afghanistan against the Soviets.

Fighting the war by proxy

Zia now found himself in a position to demand billions of dollars in aid for the Mujahideen from the Western states, famously dismissing a United States proposed $325 million aid package as "peanuts". Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and Special Service Group now became actively involved in the conflict, and in cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Army Special Forces supported the armed struggle against the Soviets.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan succeeded Jimmy Carter as President of the United States. Reagan was completely against the Soviet Union and its Communist satellites, dubbing it "the evil empire". Reagan now increased financial aid heading for Pakistan. In 1981, the Reagan Administration sent the first of 40 F-16 jet fighters to the Pakistanis. But the Soviets kept control of the Afghan skies until the Mujahideen received Stinger missiles in 1986. From that moment on, the Mujahideen's strategic position steadily improved.

The Soviets declared a policy of national reconciliation. In January they announced that a Soviet withdrawal was no longer linked to the makeup of the Afghan government remaining behind. Pakistan, with the massive extra-governmental and covert backing from the largest operation ever mounted by the CIA and financial support of Saudi Arabia, therefore, played a large part in the eventual withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988.

The war legacy

The war left deep scars to the Pakistani society with the menace of Kalashnikov (AK-47 assault rifle) culture spreading all over the country.It is estimated that there are currently 20 million firearms in Pakistan, which has a population of 160 million i.e., every eighth person has a firearm, most likely an automatic one.The rise of the illicit drug trade and its spread through Pakistan to the rest of the world increased tremendously during the Soviet-Afghan war. Afghanistan's drug industry began to take off after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Desperate for cash with which to buy weapons, various elements in the anti-Communist resistance turned to the drug trade. This was tolerated if not condoned by their American sponsors such as the CIA.

Two Afghan Mujahideen groups later morphed into Jihadist outfits in the shape of Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the early 1990s. The Pakistan and US trained Arab and Afghan fighters later in 2001 initiated a 'Jihad' against US. The links of the spectacular and deadly events of September 11 were deeply rooted in the Soviet-Afghan war. Osama bin Laden invested his inherited money into the Soviet-Afghan war to fight the 'infidel communist power' and was abetted by CIA, ISI, US and Pakistani military establishments for over 10 years.

General Zia-ul-Haq's 'Islamisation'
On 2 December 1978, on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra to enforce the Islamic system in Pakistan in a nationwide address, Zia accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam: "Many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam."[citation needed]

After assuming power, the government began a program of public commitment to enforce Nizam-e-Mustafa (Islamic System), a significant turn from Pakistan's predominantly Anglo-Saxon law, inherited from the British. As a preliminary measure to establish an Islamic society in Pakistan, General Zia announced the establishment of Sharia Benches.

Under the Offences Against Property (Hudood Ordinance) Ordinance, 1979; the punishment of imprisonment or fine, or both, as provided in the existing Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for theft, was substituted by the amputation of the right hand of the offender from the joint of the wrist by a surgeon. For robbery, the right hand of the offender from the wrist and his left foot from the ankle should be amputated by a surgeon. Hudood (حدود, also transliterated Hadud, Hudud; plural for Hadh, حد, limit, or restriction) is the word often used in Islamic social and legal literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour. Although the punishments were imposed, the due process, witnesses and prosecution system remained un-Islamic Anglo-Saxon. As in Islamic law Hudud can only be given if four witnesses saw the crime happen, in reality hardly anyone can be punished by Islamic Hud laws as very rarely can the conditions for punishment be met.

In legal terms, (Islamic law being usually referred to as Sharia, شريعة) the term is used to describe laws that define a certain level of crime classification[citation needed]. Crimes classified under Hudud are the most severe of crimes, such as murder, theft, and adultery. There are minor differences in views between the four major Sunni madh'habs about sentencing and specifications for these laws. It is often argued that, since Sharia is God's law and states certain punishments for each crime, they are immutable. It has been argued by some, that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanism or human rights. Although the Hud punishment were imposed but the Islamic law of evidence was not implemented and remained British in origin.

Drinking of wine (i.e. all alcoholic drinks) was not a crime under the PPC. In 1977, however, the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims was banned in Pakistan and the sentence of imprisonment of six months or a fine of Rs. 5000/-, or both, was provided in that law.

Under the Zina Ordinance, the provisions relating to adultery were replaced so that the women and the man guilty will be flogged, each of them, with one hundred lashes, if unmarried. And if they are married they shall be stoned to death provided 4 impeccable witnesses can witness the act of penetration.

The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were amended, through ordinances in 1980, 1982 and 1986 to declare anything implying disrespect to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Ahl al-Bayt (family members of Muhammad), Sahaba (companions of Muhammad) and Sha'ar-i-Islam (Islamic symbols), a cognizable offence, punishable with imprisonment or fine, or with both.

Laws against Ahmadiyya community of 1984

Another addition to the laws was Ordinance XX of 1984. Under this, the Ahmadiyya were barred from calling themselves Muslims, or using Islamic terminology or practising Islamic rituals. This effectively resulted in classifying the Ahmadiyya community of Pakistan into a minority group in law. Zia was also considered anti-Shia [citation needed] because during his reign many Shi'a Muslims personalities and politicians were killed, most prominently the judicial killing of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

General Zia-ul-Haq promulgated Ordinance XX on 26 April 1984, banning members of the Ahmadiyya community from performing some of their religious ceremonies and prayers. He declared "This Ordinance may be called the Anti-Islamic Activities of the Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance, 1984". Although before Zia's rule, in 1974 Pakistan's National Assembly under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto it was declared that Ahmadis are classified as non-Muslims for the definition of the law. But it was not sufficient in stopping the missionary activities of the Ahmadiyya community. Article 298-C of the new law states "Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name), who, directly or indirectly, poses himself as Muslim, or calls, or refers to his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine."

Dismissal of the Junejo government and call for new elections

As time passed, the legislature wanted to have more freedom and power and by the beginning of 1988, rumors about the differences between Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and Zia were rife.

On 29 May 1988, General Zia dissolved the Senate and the National Assembly and removed the Prime Minister under article 58(2)b of the amended Constitution. Apart from many other reasons, Prime Minister Junejo's decision to sign the Geneva Accord against the wishes of General Zia, and his open declarations of removing any military personnel found responsible for an explosion at a munitions dump at Ojhri Camp, on the outskirts of army headquarters in Rawalpindi, earlier in the year, proved to be some of the major factors responsible for his removal.

Zia played the Islam card to defend himself and the generals against any accusations of misrule and corruption [citation needed]. Gen Zia-ul-Haq and his generals had made millions from the illicit heroin trade [citation needed] and underhand weapons deals, besides huge embezzlement in funds diverted towards the Afghan war. However since media in Pakistan was brutally gagged in his days, none of his corruption could be documented and brought to lime light by the print media. When accused of trying to cover-up the Ojari camp incident, on 29 May 1988, he invoked an amendment that he had recently added to the Pakistani Constitution that allowed him to dismiss the Prime Minister, dissolve the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies - basically, the entire legislative portions of the government outside of the Presidency. Zia's loyalists in the military were called to form an interim government. Zia justified his actions and diverted attention from his corruption by focusing on how the further Islamization of Pakistan had been negligently delayed by Junejo and his government.

General Zia-ul-Haq promised to hold elections in 1988 after the dismissal of Junejo government. He said that he would hold elections within the next 90 days. The late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir Bhutto had returned from exile earlier in 1986, and had announced that she would be contesting the elections. With Bhutto's popularity somewhat growing, and a decrease in international aid following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Zia was in a repetitively difficult political situation.

Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD)
Main article: Oppression under the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq In 1983, as a reaction to Zia's policies, the populist Movement for the Restoration of Democracy was born and soon gained popularity in Pakistan's smaller, poorer provinces, especially in Bhutto's home province, Sindh. Zia's response to MRD was brutal with up to 45000 troops deployed in Sindh alone to crush the movement [citation needed], besides thousands others sent to te remaining provinces. Thousands of civilians were killed [citation needed]. Zia's attack on MRD was perceived as a further assault, along with Bhutto's overthrow, on the Sindhi population[citation needed]. Mrs Gandhi, Indian PM raised concerns over this brutality and violation of human rights at the hands of Pakistan's military dictatorship (Dawn 14 August 1983).

Death

General Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash on 17 August 1988. After witnessing a US M1 Abrams tank demonstration in Bahawalpur, Zia had left the small town in the Punjab province by C-130 Hercules aircraft. Shortly after a smooth take-off, the control tower lost contact with the aircraft. Witnesses who saw the plane in the air afterward claim it was flying erratically, then nosedived and exploded on impact. In addition to Zia, 31 others died in the plane crash, including Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Akhtar Abdur Rehman, close associate of General Zia Brigadier Siddique Salik, the American Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel and General Herbert M. Wassom, the head of the U.S. Military aid mission to Pakistan.Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the Senate Chairman announced Zia's death on radio and TV. The manner of his death has given rise to many conspiracy theories.There is speculation that America, India, the Soviet Union (as retaliation for US-Pakistani supported attacks in Afghanistan) or an alliance of them and internal groups were behind the attack.

A board of inquiry was set up to investigate the crash. It concluded the most probable cause of the crash was a criminal act of sabotage perpetrated in the aircraft. It also suggested that poisonous gases were released which incapacitated the passengers and crew, which would explain why no Mayday signal was given.

Funeral and burial

His funeral was held on 19 August 1988 in Islamabad. Also in attendance was his successor President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who had earlier officially announced Zia's death in a nationwide address. Zia's body was buried in a small tomb outside the Faisal Mosque.

Books about Haq's time period

* Breaking the Curfew by Emma Duncan (1989) ISBN 0-7181-2989-X
* Working with Zia by General Khalid Mahmud Arif
* Khaki Shadows by General Khalid Mahmud Arif
* Desperately Seeking Paradise by Ziauddin Sardar
* Waiting for Allah by Christina Lamb
* Ayub, Bhutto, and Zia by Hassan Iftikhar
* Journey to Disillusionment by Sherbaz Khan Mazari
* Ghost Wars by Steven Coll
* General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed: A Compilation by various authors
* Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile
* The Bear Trap: Afghanistan's Untold Story by Mohammed Yousaf, Mark Adkin (1992) ISBN
0-85052-267-6
* A case of Exploding Mangos by Mohammed Hanif

Portrayals in popular culture

Zia has been portrayed in English language popular culture a number of times including:

* In the comic Shattered Visage, it is implied that Zia's death was orchestrated by the same
intelligence agency that ran The Village from the show The Prisoner.
* Zia was portrayed by Indian actor Om Puri in the 2007 film Charlie Wilson's War.
* Zia is caricatured as one of the main protagonists in Mohammed Hanif's 2008 satirical novel
A Case of Exploding Mangoes which is loosely based around the events of his death.
* Zia is the basis for the character General Hyder in controversial Salman Rushdie's novel
Shame (1983), which describes Zia's long-lasting relationship with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (here
known as Iskander Harrapa), the president whom he would later overthrow and "put to
death".

President of Pakistan
In office 16 September 1978 – 17 August 1988
Prime Minister	Muhammad Khan Junejo
Preceded by	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Succeeded by	Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 9 June 1988 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by	Muhammad Khan Junejo
Succeeded by	Benazir Bhutto
In office 5 July 1977 – 24 March 1985
President	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Preceded by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Succeeded by	Muhammad Khan Junejo
Chief of Army Staff
In office 11 October 1976 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by	Tikka Khan
Succeeded by	Mirza Aslam Beg

Born	12 August 1924(1924-08-12) Jalandhar, British Raj (now India)
Died	17 August 1988 (aged 64) Bahawalpur, Pakistan
Alma mater	United States Army Command and General Staff College
Religion	Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service/branch	Pakistan Army (PA – 1810)
Years of service	1943–1988
Rank	General
Unit	Armoured Corps (Guides Cavalry FF)
Commands	2nd Independent Armoured Brigade, Jordan 1st Armoured Division, Multan II Corps, Multan Chief of Army Staff
Battles/wars	World War II Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Black September in Jordan Soviet war in Afghanistan

Military offices
Preceded by Tikka Khan	Chief of Army Staff 1976–1988	Succeeded by Mirza Aslam Beg
Political offices
Preceded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto	Prime Minister of Pakistan 1977–1985	Succeeded by Muhammad Khan Junejo
Preceded by Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry	President of Pakistan 1978–1988	Succeeded by Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Preceded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto	Minister of Defence 1978	Succeeded by Ali Ahmad Talpur
Preceded by Ali Ahmad Talpur	Minister of Defence 1985	Succeeded by Muhammad Khan Junejo
Preceded by Muhammad Khan Junejo	Prime Minister of Pakistan 1988	Succeeded by Benazir Bhutto

Chief Martial Law Administrator Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

2010-06-14T18:28:00.000+05:00

Chief Martial Law Administrator

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی بھٹو, Sindhi: ذوالفقار علي ڀُٽو, IPA: [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto](January 5, 1928–April 4, 1979) was a Pakistani politician who served as the fourth President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. He was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan. His daughter Benazir Bhutto also served twice as prime minister; she was assassinated on December 27, 2007.

Chief Martial Law Administrator

The office of the Chief martial law administrator was a senior government post created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforce martial law in the country. This office has been used mostly by military officers staging a coup d'etat. On some occasions, the office has been under a civilian head of state.

General Agha Muhammed Yahya Khan

2010-06-14T17:50:00.000+05:00

General Agha Muhammed Yahya Khan

Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc (February 4, 1917 – August 10, 1980) was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan. He had one son, Ali Yahya and one daughter, Yasmeen Khan.
Early life
Yahya Khan was born in Chakwal, Pakistan, in 1917 and traces his ancestry to Persia by way of antiquarian knowledge.His family descended from the elite soldier class of Nader Shah, the Persian ruler who conquered Delhi in the 18th century.[4] According to a number of sources, including Time magazine, Yahya Khan was an ethnic Pashtun (Pathan).
Four Pashtuns have accupied the important senior army post of Chief of Staff since 1958 — Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan,Mehtab Ali Shah.
Few Pakistanis knew anything about Yahya Khan when he was vaulted into the presidency two years ago. The stocky, bushy-browed Pathan had been army chief of staff since 1966.
Time Magazine

Army career

Yahya Khan, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc joined the British Army, and served in World War II as an officer in the 4th Infantry Division (India). He served in Iraq, Italy, and North Africa.
Yahya Khan was commissioned from Indian Military Academy Dehra Dun on 15 July 1939. An infantry officer from the 4/10 Baluch Regiment, Yahya saw action during World War II in North Africa where he was captured by the Axis Forces in June 1942 and interned in a prisoner of war camp in Italy from where he escaped in the third attempt.

Career before becoming commander-in-chief

In 1947 he was instrumental in not letting the Indian officers shift books from the famous library of the British Indian Staff College at Quetta, where Yahya was posted as the only Muslim instructor at the time of partition of India.[citation needed]
Yahya became a brigadier at the age of 34 due to extensive bending over for the British and Americans and commanded the 105 Independent Brigade, which was deployed on the ceasefire line in Kashmir in 1951-52. Later Yahya, as Deputy Chief of General Staff, was selected to head the army’s planning board set up by Ayub to modernise the Pakistan Army in 1954-57. Yahya also performed the duties of Chief of General Staff from 1958 to 1962 from where he went on to command an infantry division from 1962 to 1965.

Upon the formation of Pakistan, Khan helped set up an officer's school in Quetta, and commanded an infantry division during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Immediately after the 1965 war Major General Yahya Khan who had commanded the 7th Division in Operation Grand Slam was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, appointed Deputy Army Commander in Chief and Commander in Chief designate in March 1966. At promotion, Yahya Khan superseded two of his seniors, Lt Gen Altaf Qadir and Lt Gen Bakhtiar Rana.

As commander-in-chief

Yahya energetically started reorganising the Pakistan Army in 1965. The post 1965 situation saw major organisational as well as technical changes in the Pakistan Army. Till 1965 it was thought that divisions could function effectively while getting orders directly from the army’s GHQ. This idea failed miserably in the 1965 war and the need to have intermediate corps headquarters in between the GHQ and the fighting combat divisions was recognised as a foremost operational necessity after the 1965 war. In 1965 war the Pakistan Army had only one corps headquarter (i.e. the 1st Corps Headquarters).
Soon after the war had started the U.S. had imposed an embargo on military aid on both India and Pakistan. This embargo did not affect the Indian Army but produced major changes in the Pakistan Army’s technical composition. US Secretary of State Dean Rusk well summed it up when he said, "Well if you are going to fight, go ahead and fight, but we’re not going to pay for it".
Pakistan now turned to China for military aid and the Chinese tank T-59 started replacing the US M-47/48 tanks as the Pakistan Army’s MBT (Main Battle Tank) from 1966. 80 tanks, the first batch of T-59s, a low-grade version of the Russian T-54/55 series were delivered to Pakistan in 1965-66. The first batch was displayed in the Joint Services Day Parade on 23 March 1966. The 1965 War had proved that Pakistan Army’s tank infantry ratio was lopsided and more infantry was required. Three more infantry divisions (9, 16 and 17 Divisions) largely equipped with Chinese equipment and popularly referred to by the rank and file as "The China Divisions" were raised by the beginning of 1968. Two more corps headquarters i.e. 2nd Corps Headquarters (Jhelum-Ravi Corridor) and 4th Corps Headquarters (Ravi-Sutlej Corridor) were raised.

President of Pakistan

Ayub Khan was President of Pakistan for most of the 1960s, but by the end of the decade, popular resentment had boiled over against him. Pakistan had fallen into a state of disarray, and he handed over power to Yahya Khan, who immediately imposed martial law. Once Ayub handed over power to Yahya Khan on 25 March 1969 Yahya inherited a two-decade constitutional problem of inter-provincial ethnic rivalry between the Punjabi-Pashtun-Mohajir dominated West Pakistan province and the ethnically Bengali Muslim East Pakistan province. In addition Yahya also inherited an 11 year old problem of transforming an essentially one man ruled country to a democratic country, which was the ideological basis of the anti-Ayub movement of 1968-69. As an Army Chief Yahya had all the capabilities, qualifications and potential. But Yahya inherited an extremely complex problem and was forced to perform the multiple roles of caretaker head of the country, drafter of a provisional constitution, resolving the One Unit question, satisfying the frustrations and the sense of exploitation and discrimination successively created in the East Wing by a series of government policies since 1948. All these were complex problems and the seeds of Pakistan Army’s defeat and humiliation in December 1971 lay in the fact that Yahya Khan blundered unwittingly into the thankless task of fixing the problems of Pakistan’s political and administrative system which had been accumulating for 20 years and had their actual origins in the pre-1947 British policies towards the Bengali Muslims.

The American author Ziring observed that, "Yahya Khan has been widely portrayed as a ruthless uncompromising insensitive and grossly inept leader...While Yahya cannot escape responsibility for these tragic events, it is also on record that he did not act alone...All the major actors of the period were creatures of a historic legacy and a psycho-political milieu which did not lend itself to accommodation and compromise, to bargaining and a reasonable settlement. Nurtured on conspiracy theories, they were all conditioned to act in a manner that neglected agreeable solutions and promoted violent judgements”.

Yahya Khan attempted to solve Pakistan’s constitutional and inter-provincial/regional rivalry problems once he took over power from Ayub Khan in March 1969. The tragedy of the whole affair was the fact that all actions that Yahya took, although correct in principle, were too late in timing, and served only to further intensify the political polarisation between the East and West wings.

* He dissolved the one unit restoring the pre-1955 provinces of West Pakistan
* Promised free direct, one man one vote, fair elections on adult franchise, a basic human right which had been denied to the Pakistani people since the pre-independence 1946 elections by political inefficiency, double play and intrigue, by civilian governments, from 1947 to 1958 and by Ayub’s one man rule from 1958 to 1969.

However dissolution of one unit did not lead to the positive results that it might have led to in case "One Unit" was dissolved earlier. Yahya also made an attempt to accommodate the East Pakistanis by abolishing the principle of parity, thereby hoping that greater share in the assembly would redress their wounded ethnic regional pride and ensure the integrity of Pakistan. Instead of satisfying the Bengalis it intensified their separatism, since they felt that the west wing had politically suppressed them since 1958. Thus the rise of anti West Wing sentiment in the East Wing.

The last days of Pakistani East Bengal

Yahya announced in his broadcast to the nation on 28 July 1969, his firm intention to redress Bengali grievances, the first major step in this direction being, the doubling of Bengali quota in the defence services.[12] At this time there were just Seven infantry battalions of the East Pakistanis. Yahya’s announcement was late by about twenty years. Yahya’s intention to raise more pure Bengali battalions was opposed by Major General Khadim Hussain Raja, the General Officer Commanding 14 Division in East Pakistan suggesting that the Bengalis were "too meek", which was a racist and false perception among the West Pakistanis inherited from the colonial politics of oppression.

Within a year he had set up a framework for elections that were held in December 1970. In East Pakistan, the Awami League (led by Mujibur Rahman) held almost all of the seats, but none in West Pakistan. In West Pakistan, the Pakistan Peoples Party (led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) won the lion's share of the seats, but none in East Pakistan. Though AL had 162 seats in the National Assembly against 88 of PPP, this led to a situation where Bhutto would have to give up power and allow Sheikh Mujib to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The situation also increased agitation, especially in East Pakistan as it became apparent that Sheikh Mujib was being denied of his legitimate claim to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Yahya Khan could not reach a compromise, and instead cracked down on the political agitation in East Pakistan with a massive campaign of genocide named by "Operation Searchlight" which began on 25 March 1971, aimed at the eradication of mostly Hindus and other groups including Muslims, Bengali intellectuals, students and political activists. In one of the largest genocidal acts since the Holocaust a total of 3 million people in east Pakistan were wiped out and another 400,000 women were brutally raped. On the genocide Yahya Khan is quoted as saying: "Kill three million of them (Bengalis), and the rest will eat out of our hands" [13] Khan also arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman upon Bhutto's insistence and appointed Brigadier Rahimuddin Khan (later General) to preside over a special tribunal dealing with Mujib's case. Rahimuddin awarded Mujib the death sentence,[citation needed] and President Yahya put the verdict into abeyance. Yahya's crackdown, however, had led to a Bangladesh Liberation War within Pakistan, and eventually drew India into what would extend into the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The end result was the establishment of Bangladesh as an independent republic, and this was to lead Khan to step down. After Pakistan was defeated in 1971, most of the blame was heaped on Yahya. Despite overlooking and ordering numerous acts of genocide against the Bengali people, General Khan was never tried for crimes against humanity.

As President Khan helped to establish the communication channel between the United States and the People's Republic of China, which would be used to set up the Nixon trip in 1972.[14]

Fall from power

Later overwhelming public anger over Pakistan's defeat by India and the division of Pakistan into two parts boiled into street demonstrations throughout Pakistan, rumours of an impending coup d'état by younger army officers against the government of President Mohammed Agha Yahya Khan swept the country. Yahya became the highest-ranking casualty of the war: to forestall further unrest, on December 20, 1971 he surrendered to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, age 43, the ambitious leader of West Pakistan's powerful People's Party.

Shortly after Yahya stepped down, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reversed Rahimuddin Khan's verdict, released Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and saw him off to London. Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in a supreme irony, ordered the house arrest of his predecessor, Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan, the man who imprisoned Mujib in the first place. Both actions produced headlines round the world.

Death

Yahya Khan died in August 1980, in Rawalpindi. He died from over-indulgence from alcohol.

President of Pakistan
In office 25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971
Prime Minister	Nurul Amin
Preceded by	Ayub Khan
Succeeded by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Born	4 February 1917(1917-02-04) Chakwal, British Raj (now Pakistan)
Died	10 August 1980 (aged 63) Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Alma mater	Indian Military Academy
Religion	Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service/branch	Pakistan Army (PA – 98)
Years of service	1939–1971
Rank	General
Unit	Infantry (4/10th Baloch Regiment)
Commands	105 Independent Brigade Deputy Chief of General Staff (DCGS) Chief of General Staff (CGS) 14th Infantry Division, Dhaka 15th Infantry Division, Sialkot 7th Infantry Division, Peshawar Deputy Commander-in-Chief Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army
Battles/wars	World War II Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
Awards	Sitara-e-Pakistan Hilal-e-Jurat Hilal-e-Pakistan

Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan

2010-06-14T17:38:00.000+05:00

Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan

Muhammad Ayub Khan (Urdu: محمد ایوب خان), N.Pk., H.Pk., HJ, psc, (May 14, 1907 – April 19, 1974) was the first military ruler of Pakistan, serving as the second President of Pakistan (1958–1969). He became the Pakistan Army's first native Commander in Chief in 1951, and was the youngest full general and self-appointed Field Marshal in Pakistan's military history.
Early years and personal life

Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907, in Haripur[1] British India, in the village of Rehana near the Haripur District of North-West Frontier Province.[2] He was a Pashtun (Pathan[1]) of the Tareen tribe.[3] He was the first child of the second wife of Mir Dad Khan Tareen, who was a Risaldar-Major (the senior most non-commissioned rank) in Hodson's Horse, a cavalry regiment of the pre-independence Indian Army. For his basic education, he was enrolled in a school in Sarai Saleh, which was about four miles from his village and used to go to school on a mule's back. Later he was moved to a school in Haripur, where he started living with his grandmother. He enrolled at Aligarh Muslim University in 1922, but did not complete his studies there, as he was accepted into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Khan’s son Gohar Ayub Khan was Pakistan’s Foreign Minister in the Nawaz Sharif government. Gohar’s son and Ayub’s grandson Omar Ayub Khan was Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance. Gohar Ayub Khan and Omar Ayub Khan are politicians of Hazara.

Military career

Muhammad Ali Jinnah with GOC East Pakistan Ayub Khan in 1948.

Ayub Khan did well at Sandhurst and was given an officer's commission in the British Indian Army on 2 February, 1928 and then joined the 1st Battalion of the 14th Punjab Regiment (Sherdils), later known as 5th Punjab Regiment. During World War II, he served as a captain and later as a major on the Burma front. Following the war, he joined the fledgling Pakistani Army as the 10th ranking senior officer (his Pakistan Army number was 10). He was promoted to Brigadier and commanded a brigade in Waziristan and then in 1948 was sent with the local rank of Major General to East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) as General Officer Commanding of 14th Infantry division responsible for the whole East Wing of Pakistan, for which non-combatant service he was awarded the Hilal-i-Jurat (HJ). He returned to West Pakistan in November 1949 as Adjutant General of the Army and then was briefly Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

Chief of Army Staff

Further information: Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)

General Ayub Khan arriving to take command of the Pakistan Army in 1951.

Ayub Khan was made Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army on January 17, 1951, succeeding General Sir Douglas Gracey, thus becoming the first native Pakistani general to hold that position. Therefore, he superseded two of his seniors, Maj Gen Muhammed Akbar Khan and Maj Gen N.A.M. Raza.[5] Ayub Khan was promoted to C-in-C only due to the death of Maj Gen Iftikhar Khan, who was nominated as the first native C-in-C, but unfortunately died in an air-crash enroute to his C-in-C training in the UK. Iskandar Mirza, Secretary of Defence, was instrumental in Ayub's promotion, commencing a relationship in which Mirza became Governor General of the Dominion of Pakistan and later President of Pakistan, when it became a republic on March 23, 1956. The events surrounding his appointment set the precedent for a Pakistani general being promoted out of turn, ostensibly because he was the least ambitious of the Generals and the most loyal.[6] It was only 3 months before the end of his tenure as Commander-in-Chief that Ayub Khan deposed his mentor, Iskandar Mirza, Pakistan's President, in a military coup, after Mirza had declared Martial Law and made Ayub Martial Law commander.

Defence Minister

He would later go on to serve in the second cabinet (1954) of Muhammad Ali Bogra as Defence Minister, and when Iskander Mirza declared martial law on October 7, 1958, Ayub Khan was made its chief martial law administrator. Both Nawab Amir Mohammad Khan and Sandhurst trained General Wajid Ali Khan Burki were instrumental in Ayub Khan's Rise to power, until today the three families retain adjoining houses in Islamabad. This would be the first of many instances in the history of Pakistan of the military becoming directly involved in politics.

President of Pakistan (1958–1969)

President Ayub Khan and Nawab of Kalabagh with Principal Khan Anwar Sikander Khan.

As a result of his having control of the Pakistan Army, Ayub deposed Mirza on October 27 in a bloodless coup, sending Generals Wajid Burki, Azam, and Sheikh in the middle of the night to pack Mirza off to exile in England. This was actually welcomed in Pakistan, since the nation had experienced a very unstable political climate since independence.
In 1960, he held an indirect referendum of his term in power. Functioning as a kind of electoral college, close to 80,000 recently elected village councilmen were allowed to vote yes or no to the question: "Have you confidence in the President, Field Marshal Mohammed Ayub Khan?" Winning 95.6% of the vote, he used the confirmation as impetus to formalise his new system.

Ayub Khan with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, wife of then U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Ayub moved to have a constitution created, and this was completed in 1961. A fairly secular person by nature, Ayub Khan's constitution reflected his personal views of politicians and the use of religion in politics.
In 1962, he pushed through a new constitution that while it did give due respect to Islam, it did not declare Islam the state religion of the country. It also provided for election of the President by 80,000 (later raised to 120,000) Basic Democrats—men who could theoretically make their own choice but who were essentially under his control. He justified this as analogous to the Electoral College in the United States and cited Thomas Jefferson as his inspiration. The government "guided" the press and, while Ayub permitted a National Assembly, it had only limited powers.

Legal reforms

Ayub Khan introduced the Muslim Family Laws through an Ordinance on March 2, 1961 under which unmitigated polygamy was abolished, consent of the current wife was made mandatory for a second marriage, brakes were also placed on the practice of instant divorce where men would divorce women by saying "I divorce you" three times. The Arbitration Councils set up under the law in the urban and rural areas were to deal with cases of (a) grant of sanction to a person to contract a second marriage during the subsistence of a marriage; (b) reconciliation of a dispute between a husband and a wife; (c) grant maintenance to the wife and children.[8]

Presidential election of 1965

In 1964, Ayub confident in his apparent popularity and seeing deep divisions within the political opposition, called for Presidential elections.
He was however taken by surprise when despite a brief disagreement between the five main opposition parties ( a preference for a former close associate of Ayub Khan General Azam Khan as candidate was dropped), the joint opposition agreed on supporting the respected and popular Fatima Jinnah, the sister of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Despite Jinnah's considerable popularity and public disaffection with Ayub's government,[9] Ayub won with 64% of the vote in a bitterly contested election on January 2, 1965. The election did not conform to international standards and journalists. It is widely held, as subsequent historians and analysts almost uniformly say, that the elections were rigged in favour of Ayub Khan.

Foreign policy

Ayub Khan in Germany on January 22, 1961.

As President, Ayub Khan allied Pakistan with the global U.S. military alliance against the Soviet Union. This in turn led to major economic aid from the U.S. and European nations, and the industrial sector of Pakistan grew very rapidly, improving the economy, but the consequences of cartelization included increased inequality in the distribution of wealth. It was under Ayub Khan that the capital was moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi, in anticipation of the construction of a new capital: Islamabad. In 1960, Khan's government signed the Indus Waters Treaty with archrival India to resolve disputes regarding the sharing of the waters of the six rivers in the Punjab Doab that flow between the two countries. Khan's administration also built a major network of irrigation canals, high-water dams and thermal and hydroelectric power stations.[10]

Despite the Indus Waters Treaty, Ayub maintained icy relations with India. He established close political and military ties with Communist China, exploiting its differences with Soviet Russia and its 1962 war with India. To this day, China remains a strong economic, political and military ally of Pakistan.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

The turning point in his rule was the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, D and it ended in a settlement reached by Ayub at Tashkent, called the Tashkent Declaration. The settlement was perceived negatively by many Pakistanis and led Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to resign his post and take up opposition to Khan.[11] According to Morrice James, "For them [Pakistanis] Ayub had betrayed the nation and had inexcusably lost face before the Indians."[12] The war also increased opposition in East Pakistan [Now Bangladesh] where the Awami League headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sought more autonomy for the province.
General Ayub Khan, who had assumed office of the commander in chief in 1951, supported Governor General Ghulam Muhammad when he dismissed the first constituent assembly on the grounds "The constituent assembly being power hungry and having a tendency of being corrupt." Moulvi Tamizuddin, the first speaker of the assembly, challenged the dismissal (he had to take a rickshaw, wear a burka and go through Sindh court backdoor to seek justice for a nation). Sindh court accepted the appeal but the Federal Court dismissed the Sindh court judgment as the "Doctrine of necessity". Later on the decision has been the basis of all autocratic adjustments in Pakistan.
These were the years when Pakistan allowed the US to establish a USAF communications monitoring facility near Peshawar at Badaber and use its air space and air bases to conduct high-altitude spy-flights over the USSR. Due to this, and the soon-to-follow U2 incident led Pakistan into an open hostility with the USSR.

Refusing to start nuclear programme

Pakistani civilian nuclear programme started in 1956 under the government of Prime Minister of Pakistan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. When Ayub Khan imposed martial law in Pakistan, Pakistani Civilian Nuclear Programme was freezed until 1972. On December 11, 1965, President Ayub Khan had a brief meeting with Pakistani nuclear engineer Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan (late) at the Dorchester Hotel in London. The meeting was arranged by Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In this meeting Munir Ahmad Khan told President Ayub Khan that Pakistan must acquire the necessary facilities that would give the country a nuclear deterrent capability, which were available free of safeguards and at an affordable cost. Munir Ahmad Khan also told President Ayub Khan that there were no restrictions on nuclear technology, that it was freely available, and that India and Israel were moving forward in deploying it.
Munir Ahmad Khan estimated the cost of nuclear technology at that time. Because things were less expensive, were not more than 150 million dollars. President Ayub Khan listened to him very patiently, but at the end of the meeting, Ayub Khan was remained unconvinced. Ayub Khan clearly refused it to Munir Ahmad Khan's offer and said that Pakistan was too poor to spend that much money. Moreover, if we ever need the bomb, we will buy it off the shelf.[13]

Pakistani space program

President Ayub Khan, who was very close to Dr. Abdus Salam, established Pakistan's National Space Agency, Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on September 16, 1961. Ayub Khan also appointed Dr. Abdus Salam as its head. It was Ayub Khan's administration when National Aeronautics and Space Administration began training of Pakistani scientists and engineers in the NASA's headquarters. President Ayub Khan was eager to make Pakistan as space power, that is why he appointed a noted aeronautical engineer and military scientist, Air Mar. Gen. W. J. M. Turowicz as Pakistan's Rocket Program head. Gen. W. J. M. Turowicz efforts led Pakistan to developed ballistic missiles series by its own in the future. General W. J. M. Turowicz had led a series of Rehbar Sounding Rockets fired from Pakistani soil. However, after Ayub Khan's removal from office the Space Programme was frozen for more than 2 decades.

Final years in office

In 1969, he opened up negotiations with the opposition alliance, except for Maulana Bhashani and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. However under increasing pressure from Bhutto and Bhashani who were allegedly encouraged to continue the agitation by elements within the Army and in violation of his own constitution which required him to transfer power to the speaker of the assembly. Ayub turned over control of Pakistan to Commander in Chief General Yahya Khan on 25 March 1969, He was the President's most loyal lieutenant, and was promoted over seven more senior generals in 1966 to the army's top post.
Legacy
Ayub Khan's legacy is mixed, he was opposed to democracy believing like any other dictator that parliamentary democracy was not suited for the people of his country. Like many subsequent military dictators he was contemptuous of politicians and political parties. However, during his early years in office, he sided with the Americans against the Soviets, and in return received billions of dollars in aid[citation needed], which resulted in enormous economic growth.

He subsidized fertilizers and modernized agriculture through irrigation development, spurred industrial growth with liberal tax benefits. In the decade of his rule, gross national product rose by 45% and manufactured goods began to overtake such traditional exports as jute and cotton. It is alleged that his policies were tailored to reward the elite families and the feudal lords. During the fall of his dictatorship, just when the government was celebrating the so-called "Decade of Development", mass protests erupted due an increasingly greater divide between the rich and the poor.
He shunned prestige projects and stressed birth control in a country that has the seventh largest population in the world: 115 million. He dismissed criticism with the comment that if there was no family planning, the time would surely come when "Pakistanis eat Pakistanis." In foreign affairs, he retained his ties to the West and to the United States in particular, allowing the United States to use the Badaber and Peshawar airbase for U-2 flights over the then Soviet Union.

Criticisms and death

Government corruption and nepotism, in addition to an environment of repression of free speech and political freedoms increased unrest. Criticisms of his sons and family's personal wealth increased, especially his son's actions after his father's election in the allegedly rigged 1965 Presidential elections against Fatima Jinnah is a subject of criticism by many writers. Gohar Ayub, it is said led a victory parade right into the heartland of Opposition territory in Karachi, in a blatantly provocative move and the civil administrations failure to stop the rally led to a fierce clashes between opposing groups with many locals being killed.[14] Gohar Ayub also faced criticisms during that time on questions of family corruption and cronyism through his business links with his father-in-law retired Lt. General Habibullah Khan Khattak. One Western commentator in 1969 estimated Gohar Ayub's personal wealth at the time at $4 million dollars, while his family's wealth was put in the range of $10–$20 million dollars.
Ayub began to lose both power and popularity. On one occasion, while visiting East Pakistan, there was a failed attempt to assassinate him, though this was not reported in the press of the day.
Ayub was persuaded by underlings to award himself the Nishan-e-Pakistan, Pakistan's highest civil award, on the grounds that to award it to other heads of state he should have it himself and also promoted himself to the rank of Field Marshal. He was to be Pakistan's second Field Marshal, if the first is regarded as Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (1884–1981), supreme commander of military forces in India and Pakistan in the lead-up to independence in 1947.

Aggravating an already bad situation, with increasing economic disparity in the country under his rule, hoarding and manipulation by major sugar manufacturers resulted in the controlled price of 1 kg sugar to be increased by 1 rupee and the whole population took to the streets.
As Ayub's popularity plummeted, he decided to give up rule.
In 1971 when war broke out, Ayub Khan was in West Pakistan and did not comment on the events of the war. He died in 1974.

President of Pakistan
In office 27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969
Preceded by	Iskander Mirza
Succeeded by	Yahya Khan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 7 October 1958 – 27 October 1958
President	Iskander Mirza
Preceded by	Feroz Khan Noon
Succeeded by	Nurul Amin

Born	14 May 1907(1907-05-14) Haripur, British Raj (now Pakistan)
Died	19 April 1974 (aged 66) Islamabad, Pakistan
Political party	Muslim League
Alma mater	Aligarh Muslim University (Incomplete) Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Religion	Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service/branch	Pakistan Army (PA – 10)
Years of service	1928–1958
Rank	Field Marshal
Unit	Infantry (1/14th Punjab Regiment)
Commands	Brigade in Waziristan 14th Infantry Division, Dhaka Adjutant General (AG) Deputy Commander-in-Chief Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army
Battles/wars	Burma Campaign World War II
Awards	Hilal-e-Jurat Hilal-e-Pakistan Nishan-e-Pakistan

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

2010-06-13T19:46:00.000+05:00

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی بھٹو, Sindhi: ذوالفقار علي ڀُٽو, IPA: [zʊlfɪqɑːɾ ɑli bʱʊʈːoː]) (January 5, 1928–April 4, 1979) was a Pakistani politician who served as the fourth President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. He was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan. His daughter Benazir Bhutto also served twice as prime minister; she was assassinated on December 27, 2007.

Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States and University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his economic initiatives and authoring Pakistan's nuclear programme. He was executed in 1979 after the Supreme Court of Pakistan sentenced him to death for authorizing the murder of a political opponent,^[4]^[5] in a move that many believe was done under the directives of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.^[6]^[7]

Early life

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born to Khursheed Begum née Lakhi Bai and Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. He was born in a prominent Sindhi Shia Muslim family.^[8] Bhutto's father was a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. Bhutto was born in his parent's residence near Larkana in what later became the province of Sindh. He was their third child — their first one, Sikandar Ali, died from pneumonia at age seven in 1914 and the second child, Imdad Ali, died of cirrhosis at the age of 39 in 1953.^[9] His father was a wealthy landlord, a zamindar, and a prominent politician in Sindh, who enjoyed an influential relationship with the officials of the British Raj. As a young boy, Bhutto moved to Worli Seaface in Bombay (now Mumbai) to study at the Cathedral and John Connon School. During this period, he also became a student activist in the League's Pakistan Movement. In 1943, his marriage was arranged with Shireen Amir Begum (died January 19, 2003 in Karachi). He later left her, however, in order to remarry. In 1947, Bhutto was admitted to the University of Southern California.

During this time, Bhutto's father, Sir Shahnawaz, played a controversial role in the affairs of the state of Junagadh (now in Gujarat). Coming to power in a palace coup as the dewan, he secured the accession of the state to Pakistan, which was ultimately negated by Indian intervention in December, 1947.^[10] In 1949, Bhutto transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an honours degree in political science. Here he would become interested in the theories of socialism, delivering a series of lectures on the feasibility of socialism in Islamic countries. In June, 1950 Bhutto travelled to England to study law at Christ Church, Oxford. Upon finishing his studies, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 (the same school at which Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied law) .

Bhutto married his second wife, the Iranian-Kurdish Begum Nusrat Ispahani who was also a Shi'a Muslim,^[2] in Karachi on September 8, 1951. Their first child, his daughter Benazir, was born in 1953. She was followed by Murtaza in 1954, a second daughter, Sanam, in 1957, and the youngest child, Shahnawaz Bhutto, in 1958. He accepted the post of lecturer at the Sindh Muslim College, from where he was also awarded an honorary law degree by the then college President, Mr. Hassanally A. Rahman before establishing himself in a legal practice in Karachi. He also took over the management of his family's estate and business interests after his father's death.

Political career

In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations. 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 the same year, Bhutto became the youngest Pakistani cabinet minister when he was given charge of the energy ministry by President Muhammad Ayub Khan, who had seized power and declared martial law. He was subsequently promoted to head the ministries of commerce, information and industries. Bhutto became a close and trusted advisor to Ayub, rising in influence and power despite his youth and relative inexperience in politics. Bhutto aided Ayub in negotiating the Indus Water Treaty with India in 1960. In 1961, Bhutto negotiated an oil exploration agreement with the Soviet Union, which also agreed to provide economic and technical aid to Pakistan.

Foreign Minister

Sheikh Abdullah with Ayub Khan and Z.A.Bhutto 1964.

In 1962, he was appointed Pakistan's foreign minister. His swift rise to power also brought him national prominence and popularity.

As foreign minister, Bhutto significantly transformed Pakistan's hitherto pro-Western foreign policy. While maintaining a prominent role for Pakistan within the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization and the Central Treaty Organization, Bhutto began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent of U.S. influence. Bhutto criticised the U.S. for providing military aid to India during and after the Sino-Indian War of 1962, which was seen as an abrogation of Pakistan's alliance with the U.S. Bhutto worked to establish stronger relations with the People's Republic of China.^[11] Bhutto visited Beijing and helped Ayub negotiate trade and military agreements with the Chinese regime, which agreed to help Pakistan in a large number of military and industrial projects. Bhutto also signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement on March 2, 1963 that transferred 750 square kilometres of territory from Pakistan-administered Kashmir to Chinese control. Bhutto asserted his belief in non-alignment, making Pakistan an influential member in non-aligned organisations. Believing in pan-Islamic unity, Bhutto developed closer relations with nations such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.

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. This war was an aftermath of brief skirmishes that took place between March and August 1965 on the international boundaries in the Rann of Kutch, Kashmir and Punjab. Bhutto joined Ayub in Tashkent to negotiate a peace treaty with the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Ayub and Shastri agreed to exchange prisoners of war and withdraw respective forces to pre-war boundaries. This agreement was deeply unpopular in Pakistan, causing major political unrest against Ayub's regime. Bhutto's criticism of the final agreement caused a major rift between him and Ayub Khan. Initially denying the rumours, Bhutto resigned in June, 1966 and expressed strong opposition to Ayub's regime.^[11]

Pakistan Peoples Party

Following his resignation, large crowds gathered to listen to Bhutto's speech upon his arrival in Lahore on June 21, 1967. Tapping a wave of anger and opposition against Ayub, Bhutto began travelling across the country to deliver political speeches. In a speech in October, 1966 Bhutto declared the PPP's beliefs, "Islam is our faith, democracy is our policy, socialism is our economy. All power to the people."^[12] On November 30, 1967 Bhutto founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore, establishing a strong base of political support in Punjab, Sindh and amongst the Muhajir communities. Bhutto's party became a part of the pro-democracy movement involving diverse political parties from all across Pakistan. PPP activists staged large protests and strikes in different parts of the country, increasing pressure on Ayub to resign. Bhutto's arrest on November 12, 1968 sparked greater political unrest. After his release, Bhutto attended the Round Table Conference called by Ayub in Rawalpindi, but refused to accept Ayub's continuation in office and the East Pakistani politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six point movement for regional autonomy.

Following Ayub's resignation, the new president Gen. Yahya Khan promised to hold parliamentary elections on December 7, 1970. Bhutto's party won a large number of seats from constituencies in West Pakistan.^[12] However, Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won an outright majority from the constituencies located in East Pakistan. Bhutto refused to accept an Awami League government and famously promised to "break the legs" of any elected PPP member who dared to attend the inaugural session of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Capitalising on West Pakistani fears of East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded that Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPP.^[12] Under substantial pressure from Bhutto and other West Pakistani political parties, Yahya postponed the inaugural session of the National Assembly after talks with Sheikh Mujib failed.^[12] Amidst popular outrage in East Pakistan, Major Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of "Bangladesh" on March 26, 1971 after Mujibur was arrested by the Pakistani Army, which had been ordered by Yahya to suppress political activities. .^[13] While supportive of the army's actions and working to rally international support, Bhutto distanced himself from the Yahya regime. He refused to accept Yahya's scheme to appoint Bengali politician Nurul Amin as prime minister, with Bhutto as deputy prime minister. Indian intervention in East Pakistan led to the very bitter defeat of Pakistani forces, who surrendered on December 16, 1971. Bhutto and others condemned Yahya for failing to protect Pakistan's unity. Isolated, Yahya resigned on December 20 and transferred power to Bhutto, who became the president, army commander-in-chief as well as the first civilian chief martial law administrator.^[12]

Leader of Pakistan

Bhutto speaking in Simla.

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. We have to pick up the pieces, very small pieces, but we will make a new Pakistan, a prosperous and progressive Pakistan." He placed Yahya under house arrest, brokered a ceasefire and ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the army. To implement this, Bhutto reversed the verdict of Mujib's court trial that had taken place earlier, in which the presiding Brigadier Rahimuddin Khan (later General) had sentenced Mujib to death. Appointing a new cabinet, Bhutto appointed Gen. Gul Hasan as Chief of Army Staff. On January 2, 1972 Bhutto announced the nationalisation of all major industries, including iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electricals, petrochemicals, cement and public utilities.^[14] A new labour policy was announced increasing workers rights and the power of trade unions. Although he came from a feudal background himself, Bhutto announced reforms limiting land ownership and a government take-over of over a million acres (4,000 km²) to distribute to landless peasants. More than 2,000 civil servants were dismissed on charges of corruption.^[14] Bhutto also dismissed the military chiefs on March 3 after they refused orders to suppress a major police strike in Punjab. He appointed Gen. Tikka Khan as the new Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972 as he felt the General would not interfere in political matters and would concentrate on rehabilitating the Pakistan Army. Bhutto convened the National Assembly on April 14, rescinded martial law on April 21 and charged the legislators with writing a new constitution.

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. The two leaders signed the Shimla Agreement, which committed both nations to establish a new yet temporaliy Cease-fire Line in Kashmir and obligated them to resolve disputes peacefully through bilateral talks.^[14]^[15] Bhutto also promised to hold a future summit for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and pledged to recognise Bangladesh.^[15] Although he secured the release of Pakistani soldiers held by India, Bhutto was criticised by many in Pakistan for allegedly making too many concessions to India. It is theorised that Bhutto feared his downfall if he could not secure the release of Pakistani soldiers and the return of territory occupied by Indian forces.^[16] Bhutto established an atomic power development programme and inaugurated the first Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with Canada in Karachi on November 28. On March 30, 59 military officers were arrested by army troops for allegedly plotting a coup against Bhutto, who appointed then-Brigadier Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to head a military tribunal to investigate and try the suspects. The National Assembly approved the new constitution, which Bhutto signed into effect on April 12. The constitution proclaimed an "Islamic Republic" in Pakistan with a parliamentary form of government.^[17] On August 10, Bhutto turned over the post of president to Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, assuming the office of prime minister instead.^[14]

Bhutto officially recognized Bangladesh in July. Making an official visit to Bangladesh, Bhutto was criticized in Pakistan for laying flowers at a memorial for Bangladeshi "freedom fighters." Bhutto continued to develop closer relations with China as well as Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations. Bhutto hosted the Second Islamic Summit of Muslim nations in Lahore between February 22 and February 24 in 1974.

Bhutto, however, faced considerable pressure from Islamic religious leaders to declare the Ahmadiya communities as non-Muslims. Failing to restrain sectarian violence and rioting, Bhutto and the National Assembly amended the constitution to that effect. Bhutto intensified his nationalisation programme, extending government control over agricultural processing and consumer industries. Bhutto also, with advice from Admiral S.M. Ahsan, inaugurated Port Qasim, designed to expand harbour facilities near Karachi. However, the performance of the Pakistani economy declined amidst increasing bureaucracy and a decline in private sector confidence. In a surprise move in 1976, Bhutto appointed Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to replace Gen. Tikka Khan, surpassing five generals senior to Zia.^[18]

President of Pakistan

Richard Nixon and Bhutto in 1973

A Pakistan International Airlines flight was sent to fetch Bhutto from New York, who at that time was presenting Pakistan's case before the United Nations Security Council on the East Pakistan Crises. Bhutto returned home on December 18, 1971. On December 20, he was taken to the President House in Rawalpindi where he took over two positions from Yahya Khan, one as President and the other as Chief Martial Law Administrator. Thus he was the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator of the dismembered Pakistan.

The new President inherited a disheartened war-weary nation. In this dark hour, he addressed the nation and promised to fight back. He vowed to build a new Pakistan. Bhutto's intentions to restore national confidence were in several shapes. He spoke about democracy, a new Constitution, and a modified federal and parliamentary system. He took steps to stabilize the situation by successfully negotiating the return of the 93,000 prisoners of war and a peaceful settlement with India. He took steps to ameliorate poverty and to revitalize the economy, industry and agriculture. He gave the third Constitution to the country and established civilian authority over the armed forces in the political setup. In early 1972, Bhutto nationalized ten categories of major industries and withdrew Pakistan from the Commonwealth of Nations and S. E. A. T. O. On March 1, he introduced extensive land reforms. On July 2, 1972, he signed the Simla Agreement with India for exchange of the occupied territories and release of Prisoners of War.

After the 1973 Constitution was promulgated, Bhutto was elected by the House to be the Prime Minister, and he was sworn in on August 14, 1973.

Father of the Nuclear program

Further information: Project-706

Zulifikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme. In October, 1965, the then-Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited Vienna when Munir Ahmad Khan informed him of the status of India's nuclear program and the options Pakistan had to develop its own nuclear capability. Both agreed on the need for Pakistan to develop a nuclear deterrent to meet India's nuclear threat.

After India's nuclear test on May 1974. Bhutto sensed a great danger for Pakistan. In a press conference held on May, 1974, shortly after India's nuclear test. Prime Minister Bhutto said "even if we have to eat grass, we will make nuclear bombs". On the January 20 of 1972, Prime Minister Bhutto rallied a conference of nuclear scientists and nuclear engineers at Multan. At the Multan Conference, where 283 scientists attended, Prime Minister Bhutto said:" Look, we're going to have the bomb. He asked them "Can you give it to me? And how long will it take it to make a bomb?". The scientists replied: "Oh, yes, yes, You can have it." There was a lively debate on the time needed to make the bomb, and finally one scientist dared to say that maybe it could be done in five years. Prime Minister Bhutto smiled, lifted his hand, and dramatically thrust forward three fingers and said: "Three years, I want it in three years". The atmosphere suddenly became electric. It was then that one of the junior scientist-dr. S.A.Butt (a nuclear chemist), who under Munir Ahmad Khan's guiding hand would come to play a major role in making the bomb possible - jumped to his feet and clamoured for his leader's attention. Dr. S.A Butt Replied: "It can be done in three years". Prime Minister Bhutto was very much amused and he said: "Well, much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, this is a very serious political decision, which Pakistan must make, and perhaps all Third World countries must make one day, because it is coming. So can you do it?" And the scientist replied, "Yes, we can do it, given the resources and given the facilities". ”Bhutto's answer was simple, "I shall find you the resources and I shall find you the facilities".^[19]

Its militarisation was initiated in January 1972 and, in its initial years, was implemented by General Tikka Khan. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant was inaugurated by Bhutto during his role as President of Pakistan at the end of 1972. Long before, as Minister for Fuel, Power and National Resources, he has played a key role in setting up of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. Wanting a capable administrator, Bhutto sought Lieutenant General Rahimuddin Khan to chair the commission, which Rahimuddin declined.^[20] Instead Prime Minister Bhutto chose a U.S trained nuclear engineer Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan as chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Munir Ahmad Khan was a close friend of his. The Kahuta facility was also established by the Bhutto Administration, and brought under nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan and the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers' Lieutenant General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan.

A book written by Maulana Kausar Niazi, a close confidant of Bhutto, gives a somewhat different perspective. The Atomic Energy commission officials had misguided Bhutto and he sought on a along journey to try to get Nuclear fuel reprocessing plant from France. It was on a later advice of A.Q.Khan that no fuel existed to reprocess, Bhutto tried to show he was still interested in that expensive route and was relieved when kissinger persuaded the French to cancel the deal. By the time Bhutto was ousted little had been done and Pakistani nukes were actually made under Zia's era, under the watchful eyes of several generals including Ishaq Khan.

It has been speculated recently in the press that Qadeer Khan's uranium enrichment designs were used by the Chinese in exchange for Uranium Hexafluoride and some weapons grade uranium . Later on this weapons grade uranium was offered back to the Chinese as the Pakistanis used their own materials.

Ordering military operation in Balochistan

Main article: Baloch insurgency and Rahimuddin's stabilization

Following the secession of East Pakistan, calls for the independence of Balochistan by Baloch nationalists grew. Surveying the political instability, Bhutto's central government sacked two provincial governments within six months, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four MNAs and MPAs, obtained an order from the Supreme Court banning the National Awami Party on the recommendation of Akbar Bugti, and charged everyone with high treason to be tried by a specially constituted Hyderabad tribunal of handpicked judges. In January 1973, Bhutto ordered the army to suppress a rising insurgency in the province of Balochistan and dismissed the governments in Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province once more.^[14] Following the alleged discovery of Iraqi arms in Islamabad in February 1973, Bhutto dissolved the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan. The operation, under General Tikka Khan, soon took shape in a five-year conflict with the Baloch separatists. The sporadic fighting between the insurgency and the army started in 1973 with the largest confrontation taking place in September 1974. The Iranian military, fearing a spread of the greater Baloch resistance in Iran, also aided the Pakistani military.^[21]Among Iran's contribution were 30 Huey cobra attack helicopters and $200 million in aid. ^[22]

Prime Minister of Pakistan

Prime Minister Bhutto with General Zia.

After the promulgation of the 1973 Constitution, the elections for the President, Prime Minister, Chairman of Senate, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly were to be undertaken. The 1973 Constitution had adopted a federal parliamentary system for the country in which the President was only a figurehead and the real power lay with the Prime Minister. Z. A. Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the country on August 14, 1973, after he had secured 108 votes in a house of 146 members. Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was elected as the President under the new Constitution. During his period, six amendments were carried out in the 1973 Constitution. The First Amendment led to Pakistan's recognition and diplomatic ties with Bangladesh. The Second Amendment in the constitution declared the Ahmadis as non-Muslims, and defined the term non-Muslim.^[23] The rights of the detained were limited under the Third Amendment while the powers and jurisdiction of the courts for providing relief to political opponents were curtailed under the Fourth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment passed on September 15, 1976, focused on curtailing the power and jurisdiction of the Judiciary. This amendment was highly criticized by lawyers and political leaders. The main provision of the Sixth Amendment extended the term of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the High Courts beyond the age of retirement. This Amendment was made in the Constitution to favor the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who was supposed to be a friend of Bhutto. The Bhutto Government carried out a number of reforms in the industrial sector. His reforms were twofold; nationalization, and the improvement of workers' rights. In the first phase, basic industries like steel, chemical and cement were nationalized. This was done in 1972. The next major step in nationalization took place on January 1, 1974, when Bhutto nationalized all banks. The last step in the series was the most shocking; it was the nationalization of all flour, rice and cotton mills throughout the country. This nationalization process was not as successful as Bhutto expected. Most of the nationalized units were small businesses that could not be described as industrial units, hence making no sense for the step that was taken. Consequently, a considerable number of small businessmen and traders were ruined, displaced or rendered unemployed. In the concluding analysis, nationalization caused colossal loss not only to the national treasury but also to the people of Pakistan. During his period as the Prime Minister, a number of land reforms were also introduced. The important land reforms included the reduction of land ceilings and introducing the security of tenancy to tenant farmers. The land ceiling was fixed to 150 acres of irrigated land and 300 acres of non-irrigated land. Another step that Bhutto took was to democratize Pakistan's Civil Service.

Popular unrest and military coup

Main article: Hyderabad tribunal

Further information: Federal Security Force

Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed.^[24] Initially targeting leader of the opposition Abdul Wali Khan and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce and started with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities^[25] and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of Hayat Khan Sherpao, a close lieutenant of Bhutto, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.

Dissidence also increased within the PPP and the murder of dissident leader Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of human rights abuses and killing large numbers of civilians.^[14]

On January 8, 1977 many opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA).^[14] Bhutto called fresh elections and the PNA participated in those elections with full force and managed to contest the elections jointly even though they had grave differences in their opinions and views. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, accusing their opponents of rigging the election. They first claimed rigging on 14 seats and finally on 40 seats in the national assembly and boycotted provisional elections turn out in national elections was of highest degree. Provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, violent PNA declare the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. Muslim leaders such as Maulana Maududi called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime.^[24] Intensifying political and civil disorder prompted Bhutto to hold talks with PNA leaders, which culminated in an agreement for the dissolution of the assemblies and fresh elections under a form of government of national unity.^[26] However on July 5, 1977 Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia.^[14]

General Zia's coup was well received in public. Five months of unrest, closure of educational institutions, shooting of more than 1,000 demonstrators with live fire, imposition of martial law in three cities by army on Bhutto's behest had not cooled things down. When Bhutto left industrial growth was negative 2 percent.

General Zia announced that martial law had been imposed, the constitution suspended and all assemblies dissolved. Zia also ordered the arrest of senior PPP and PNA leaders but promised elections in October. Bhutto was released on July 29 and was received by a large crowd of supporters in his hometown of Larkana. He immediately began touring across Pakistan, delivering speeches to large crowds and planning his political comeback. Bhutto was arrested again on September 3 before being released on bail on September 13. Fearing yet another arrest, Bhutto named his wife, Nusrat, president of the Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto was imprisoned on September 17 and a large number of PPP leaders and activists arrested and disqualified from contesting in elections.

Trial of the Prime Minister

Bhutto's trial began on October 24 on charges of "conspiracy to murder" Ahmed Raza Kasuri.^[27] On July 5, 1977 the military, led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, staged a coup. Zia relieved prime minister Bhutto of power, holding him in detention for a month. Zia pledged that new elections would be held in 90 days. He kept postponing the elections and publicly retorted during successive press conferences that if the elections were held in the presence of Bhutto his party would not return to power again.^[28]

Upon his release, Bhutto traveled the country amid adulatory crowds of PPP supporters. He used to take the train traveling from the south to the north and on the way, would address public meetings at different stations. Several of these trains were late, some by days, in reaching their respective destinations and as a result Bhutto was banned from traveling by train. The last visit he made to the city of Multan in the province of Punjab marked the turning point in Bhutto's political career and ultimately, his life. In spite of the administration's efforts to block the gathering, the crowd was so large that it became disorderly, providing an opportunity for the administration to declare that Bhutto had been taken into custody because the people were against him and it had become necessary to protect him from the masses for his own safety.

Re-arrest and trial

On September 3 the Army arrested Bhutto again on charges of authorizing the murder of a political opponent in March 1974. A 35-year-old politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri tried to run as a PPP candidate in elections, despite having previously left the party. The Pakistan Peoples Party rebuffed him. Three years earlier, Kasuri and his family had been ambushed, leaving Kasuri's father, Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan, dead. Kasuri claimed that he was the actual target, accusing Bhutto of being the mastermind. Kasuri later claimed that he had been the victim of 15 assassination attempts.

Bhutto was released 10 days after his arrest due to a judge, Justice KMA Samadani, finding the evidence "contradictory and incomplete." Justice Samadani had to pay for this; he was immediately removed from the court and placed at the disposal of the law ministry. Three days later Zia arrested Bhutto again on the same charges, this time under "martial law." When the PPP organized demonstrations among Bhutto's supporters, Zia cancelled the upcoming elections.

Bhutto was arraigned before the High Court of Lahore instead of in a lower court, thus automatically depriving him of one level of appeal. The judge who had granted him bail was removed. Five new judges were appointed, headed by Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Maulvi Mushtaq Ali, who denied bail. The trial lasted five months, and Bhutto appeared in court in a dock specially built for the trial.

Proceedings began on October 24, 1977. Masood Mahmood, the director general of the Federal Security Force (since renamed the Federal Investigation Agency), testified against Bhutto. Mahmood had been arrested immediately after Zia's coup and had been imprisoned for two months prior to taking the stand. In his testimony, he claimed Bhutto had ordered Kasuri's assassination and that four members of the Federal Security Force had organized the ambush on Bhutto's orders.

The four alleged assassins were arrested and later confessed. They were brought into court as "co-accused" but one of them recanted his testimony, declaring that it had been extracted from him under torture. The following day, the witness was not present in court; the prosecution claimed that he had suddenly "fallen ill".

Bhutto's defense challenged the prosecution with proof from an army logbook the prosecution had submitted. It showed that the jeep allegedly driven during the attack on Kasuri was not even in Lahore at the time. The prosecution had the logbook disregarded as "incorrect." During the defense's cross-examination of witnesses, the bench often interrupted questioning. The 706-page official transcript contained none of the objections or inconsistencies in the evidence pointed out by the defense. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who attended the trial, wrote:

The prosecution's case was based entirely on several witnesses who were detained until they confessed, who changed and expanded their confessions and testimony with each reiteration, who contradicted themselves and each other, who, except for Masood Mahmood... were relating what others said, whose testimony led to four different theories of what happened, absolutely uncorroborated by an eyewitness, direct evidence, or physical evidence.^{[citation needed]}

When Bhutto began his testimony on January 25, 1978, Chief Justice Maulvi Mustaq closed the courtroom to all observers. Bhutto responded by refusing to say any more. Bhutto demanded a retrial, accusing the Chief Justice of bias, after Mustaq allegedly insulted Bhutto's home province. The court refused his demand.

Death sentence and appeal

Funeral prayer for Z.A Bhutto

On March 18, 1978, Bhutto wasn't declared guilty of murder but was sentenced to death. Bhutto did not seek an appeal. While he was transferred to a cell in Rawalpindi central jail, his family appealed on his behalf, and a hearing before the Supreme Court commenced in May. Bhutto was given one week to prepare. Bhutto issued a thorough rejoinder to the charges, although Zia blocked its publication. Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq adjourned the court until the end of July 1978, supposedly because five of the nine appeals court judges were willing to overrule the Lahore verdict. One of the pro-Bhutto judges was due to retire in July.

Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq presided over the trial, despite being close to Zia, even serving as Acting President when Zia was out of the country. Bhutto's lawyers managed to secure Bhutto the right to conduct his own defense before the Supreme Court. On December 18, 1978, Bhutto made his appearance in public before a packed courtroom in Rawalpindi. By this time he had been on death row for 9 months and had gone without fresh water for the previous 25 days. He addressed the court for four days, speaking without notes.

The appeal was completed on December 23, 1978. On February 6, 1979, the Supreme Court issued a guilty verdict, a decision reached by a bare 4-to-3 majority. The Bhutto family had seven days in which to appeal. The court granted a stay of execution while it studied the petition. By February 24, 1979 when the next court hearing began, appeals for clemency arrived from many heads of state. Zia said that the appeals amounted to "trade union activity" among politicians.

On March 24, 1979 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. Zia upheld the death sentence. Bhutto was hanged at Central jail, Rawalpindi, on 4 April 1979,^[29] and is buried in Village Cemetery at Garhi Khuda Baksh.^[30]

Criticism and legacy

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto remains a controversial figure in Pakistan. While he was hailed for being a nationalist, Bhutto was roundly criticised for opportunism and intimidating his political opponents. He gave Pakistan its third constitution, oversaw Pakistan's nuclear programme, held peace talks with neighbour India and was more of an Internationalist with a secular image.^[14] His socialist policies are blamed for slowing down Pakistan's economic progress owing to poor productivity and high costs. Bhutto is also criticised for human rights abuses perpetrated by the army in Balochistan.^[14] Many in Pakistan's military, notably the former president Gen. Pervez Musharaf condemn Bhutto for having caused the crisis that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. In spite of all the criticism—and subsequent media trials—Bhutto still remains the most popular leader of the country.^[14]^[31] Bhutto's action against the insurgency in Balochistan is blamed for causing widespread civil dissent and calls for secession.^[32] Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology is named for him; his daughter was chairman of its board of trustees.^[33] His family remained active in politics, with first his wife and then his daughter becoming leader of the PPP political party. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto, was twice prime minister of Pakistan, and was assassinated on December 27, 2007, while campaigning for 2008 elections.

Works

Peace-Keeping by the United Nations, Pakistan Publishing House, Karachi, 1967
Political Situation in Pakistan, Veshasher Prakashan, New Delhi, 1968
The Myth of Independence, Oxford University Press, Karachi and Lahore, 1969
The Great Tragedy, Pakistan People's Party, Karachi, 1971
Marching Towards Democracy, (collections of speeches), 1972
Politics of the People (speeches, statements and articles), 1948–1971
The Third World: New Directions, Quartet Books, London, 1977
My Pakistan, Biswin Sadi Publications, New Delhi, 1979
If I am Assassinated, Vikas, New Delhi, 1979
My Execution, Musawaat Weekly International, London, 1980
New Directions, Narmara Publishers, London, 1980

Books on Bhutto

Leopard and the Fox, Tariq Ali
Pakistan Under Bhutto, S. J. Burki (1980)
Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan, Stanley Wolpert (1993)
Interview with History, Oriana Fallaci (1988)
Zulfi My friend, Piloo Mody
The Mirage of Power, Dr Mubashir Hasan
Bhutto, Trial and Execution, Victoria Schofield
The Great Tragedy, Jang Publishers Press (1993)
Zulfi My inspiration, Syed Mehdi Raza (2003)
The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future, Vali Nasr (2006)
Mera Lahoo, Mr. Farrukh Sohail Goindi
Bhutto Key Akhri 323 Din, Colonel Rafi

Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 14 August 1973 – 5 July 1977
President	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Preceded by	Nurul Amin
Succeeded by	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
President of Pakistan
In office 20 December 1971 – 13 August 1973
Prime Minister	Nurul Amin
Preceded by	Yahya Khan
Succeeded by	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 20 December 1971 – 28 March 1977
President	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Preceded by	Yahya Khan
Succeeded by	Aziz Ahmed
In office 15 June 1963 – 12 September 1966
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Muhammad Ali Bogra
Succeeded by	Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada

Born	5 January 1928(1928-01-05) Larkana, British Raj (now Pakistan)
Died	4 April 1979 (aged 51) Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Alma mater	University of Southern California University of California, Berkeley Christ Church, Oxford Lincoln's Inn
Religion	Muslim-Shia

Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan

2010-06-13T19:42:00.000+05:00

Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan

Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan (Urdu: رعنا لیاقت علی خان) (née Sheila Irene Pant) (1905 - June 13, 1990) was born in a Kumauni brahmin family at Almora in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. However, her grandfather, a Hindu had converted to Christianity. She was educated at the University of Lucknow where she obtained a first class Masters degree with honours in economics in 1929.

Biography

She began her career as a teacher in the Gokhale Memorial School after completing the Teachers Diploma Course from the Diocesan College, Calcutta. She was later appointed as Professor of Economics in the Indraprastha College, Delhi.

In December 1932, she was married to Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan. After the reorganization of Muslim League, Begum Ra'ana devoted herself to the task of creating political consciousness amongst the Muslim women. Her struggle for emancipation continued till the creation of Pakistan for Muslims of India in 1947.

After the assassination of her husband Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, Begum Ra'ana continued her services for the social and economic benefit of women of Pakistan till her death in 1990.

Initiatives for women

As wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Begum Ra'ana took the lead in starting the women's voluntary service in 1948. Women were encouraged to take up responsibilities in administering first aid, organizing food distribution, dealing with health problems, epidemics and clothing, and above all, in providing moral and emotional support. She also took the initiative of introducing defense training for women. On her own initiative, she formed the Pakistan Women's National Guard (PWNG) and the Pakistan Women Naval Reserve (PWNR) in 1949, and was appointed as the Chief Controller of both, with the rank of a Brigadier. Viewed in the perspective of the partition massacres, where helpless women had been brutally treated, the idea was not entirely unrealistic. The PWNG and PWNR could not survive for long and were disbanded soon after Begum Ra'ana went abroad as Pakistan's Ambassador.

Establishment of APWA

In 1949, Begum Ra'ana arranged a conference of over 100 active women from all over Pakistan. The conference announced the formation of a voluntary and non-political organization for the social, educational and cultural uplift of the women, named as All Pakistan Women's Association (APWA). She was nominated as its first President.

[edit] Career

Begum Liaquat Ali Khan touring New York's Children's Centre

Begum Ra'ana served as Pakistan's ambassador to the Netherlands in the 1950s and as ambassador to Italy in the 1960s. She was the:

First Muslim woman ambassador and Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps (while in the Netherlands),
First Muslim woman Governor (of Sindh province in the mid–1970s),
First Muslim woman Chancellor of a university (all the universities in Sindh)
First Muslim woman delegate to the UN, and
First Muslim woman to win the United Nations Human Rights Award,
First Muslim woman to receive the Woman of Achievement Medal, (1950).

Awards and honours

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands conferred on her the Grand Cross of Orange–Nassau.
Recipient of the International Gimbel Award for service to humanity . (1962)
United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for her outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other United Nations human rights instruments. (1978)

Political offices
Preceded by Mir Rasool Bux Talpur	Governor of Sindh 15 February 1973 – 28 February 1976	Succeeded by Muhammad Dilawar Khanji

Liaquat Ali Khan

2010-06-13T19:36:00.000+05:00

Liaquat Ali Khan

Liaquat Ali Khan (Liāqat Alī Khān) (Urdu: لیاقت علی خان) listen (help·info) (1 October 1896 – 16 October 1951) was a Pakistani politician who became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Foreign Affairs & Commonwealth, Kashmir Affairs and Defence Minister.^[1] He was also the first Finance Minister of India in the interim government of India prior to independence of both India and Pakistan in 1946.^[2] Liaquat rose to political prominence as a member of the All India Muslim League. He played a vital role in the independence of India and Pakistan. In 1947, he became the prime minister of Pakistan. He is regarded as the right-hand man of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League and first governor-general of Pakistan. Liaquat was given the titles of Quaid-e-Millat (Leader of the Nation), and posthumously Shaheed-e-Millat (Martyr of the Nation).

Liaquat was a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University, Oxford University and Middle Temple, London. He rose into prominence within the Muslim League during the 1930s. Significantly, he is credited with persuading Jinnah to return to India, an event which marked the beginning of the Muslim League's ascendancy and paved the way for the Pakistan movement. Following the passage of the Pakistan Resolution in 1940, Liaquat assisted Jinnah in campaigning for the creation of a separate state for Indian Muslims. In 1947, British Raj was divided into the modern-day states of India and Pakistan.

Following independence, India and Pakistan came into conflict over the fate of Kashmir. Khan negotiated extensively with India's then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and pushed for the referral of the problem to the United Nations. During his tenure, Pakistan pursued close ties with the United Kingdom and the United States. The aftermath of Pakistan's independence also saw internal political unrest and even a foiled military coup against his government. After Jinnah's death, Khan assumed a more influential role in the government and passed the Objectives Resolution, a precursor to the Constitution of Pakistan. He was assassinated in 1951.

Early life

Liaquat Ali Khan was born on October 1, 1896 in Karnal, (Haryana)India. His belonged to the Marhal family, who according to some traditions had come from Iran to India approximately 800 years ago during the reign of Muhammad Shahabuddin Ghori. ^[3]

His father Nawab Rustam Ali Khan possessed the title of Ruken-ud-Daulah, Shamsher Jang and Nawab Bahadur, bestowed by the British government. He was one of the few landlords whose property was spread across both the Punjab and the United Provinces.^[4] Liaquat's mother, Mahmoodah Begum, arranged for his lessons in the Qur'an and Ahadith at home before his formal schooling started.

He graduated in 1918 from the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College (later Aligarh Muslim University), Aligarh, and married his cousin, Jehangira Begum, in 1918.^[5] After the death of his father, Khan went to England and was awarded a Master's degree from Oxford University's Exeter College in 1921. While a student at Oxford, he was elected Honorary Treasurer of the Indian Majlis. Thereafter he joined the Inner Temple, one of the Inns of Court in London. He was called to the Bar in 1922.^[4]

Political career

On his return from Britain in 1923, Khan entered politics. In his early life, Liaquat believed in Indian nationalism. His views gradually changed. The Congress leaders asked him to join their party, but he refused and joined the Muslim League in 1923. Under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslim League held its annual session in May 1924 in Lahore. The aim of this session was to revive the League. Khan was among those who attended this conference.

Khan began his parliamentary career as an elected member of the United Provinces Legislative Council from the rural Muslim constituency of Muzzaffarnagar in 1926. In 1932, he was unanimously elected Deputy President of UP Legislative Council.^[4] He remained a member of the UP Legislative Council until 1940, when he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. He participated actively in legislative affairs. He was one of the members of the Muslim League delegation that attended the National Convention held at Calcutta to discuss the Nehru Report in December 1928.^[6]

Khan's second marriage was in December 1932. His wife, Begum Ra'ana, was a prominent economist and an educator. She, too, was an influential figure in the Pakistan movement.^[7]

Following the failure of the Round Table Conferences, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had settled in London and was practicing law before the Privy Council.^[4]

Pakistan movement

When Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned to India, he started to reorganise the Muslim League. In 1936, the annual session of the All India Muslim league met in Bombay. In the open session on 12 April 1936, Jinnah moved a resolution proposing Khan as the Honorary General Secretary. The resolution was unanimously adopted and he held the office till the establishment of Pakistan in 1947.^[8] In 1940, Khan was made the deputy leader of the Muslim League Parliamentary party. Jinnah was not able to take active part in the proceedings of the Assembly on account of his heavy political work. It was Khan who stood in his place. During this period, Khan was also the Honorary General Secretary of the Muslim League, the deputy leader of their party, Convenor of the Action Committee of the Muslim League, Chairman of the Central Parliamentary Board and the managing director of the newspaper Dawn.^[9]

The Pakistan Resolution was adopted in 1940 at the Lahore session of the Muslim League. The same year elections were held for the central legislative assembly which were contested by Khan from the Barielly constituency. He was elected without contest. When the twenty-eighth session of the League met in Madras on 12 April 1941, Jinnah told party members that the ultimate aim was to obtain Pakistan. In this session, Khan moved a resolution incorporating the objectives of the Pakistan Resolution in the aims and objectives of the Muslim League. The resolution was seconded and passed unanimously.^[9]

In 1945-46, mass elections were held in India and Khan won the Central Legislature election from the Meerut Constituency in the United Provinces. He was also elected Chairman of the League's Central Parliamentary Board. The Muslim League won 87% of seats reserved for Muslims of the South Asia.^[10] He assisted Jinnah in his negotiations with the members of the Cabinet Mission and the leaders of the Congress during the final phases of the Freedom Movement and it was decided that an interim government would be formed consisting of members of the Congress, the Muslim League and minority leaders. When the Government asked the Muslim League to send five nominees for representation in the interim government, Khan was asked to lead the League group in the cabinet. He was given the portfolio of finance.^[11] The other four men nominated by the League were Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Abdur Rab Nishtar, and Jogendra Nath Mandal.^[12] By this point, the British government and the Indian National Congress had both accepted the idea of Pakistan and therefore on 14 August 1947, Pakistan came into existence.^[6]

Prime Minister

Liaquat Ali Khan meeting President Truman

After independence, Khan was appointed the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. Pakistan faced a number of difficulties in its early days. Liaquat and Jinnah were determined to stop the riots and refugee problems and to set up an effective administrative system for the country. Liaquat established the groundwork for Pakistan's foreign policy. He also took steps towards the formulation of the constitution. He presented The Objectives Resolution, a prelude to future constitutions, in the Legislative Assembly. The house passed it on 12 March 1949. It has been described as the "Magna Carta" of Pakistan's constitutional history.^[13] Khan called it "the most important occasion in the life of this country, next in importance, only to the achievement of independence". Under his leadership a team also drafted the first report of the Basic Principle Committee and work began on the second report.

Liaqat Ali Khan with The Last ruling Mir of Khayrpur, H.H George Ali Murad Khan

During his tenure, India and Pakistan agreed to resolve the dispute of Kashmir in a peaceful manner through the efforts of the United Nations. According to this agreement a ceasefire was effected in Kashmir on January 1, 1949. It was decided that a free and impartial plebiscite would be held under the supervision of the UN.^[14]

After the death of Jinnah, the problem of religious minorities flared during late 1949 and early 1950, and observers feared that India and Pakistan were about to fight their second war in the first three years of their independence. At this time, Khan met Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to sign the Liaquat-Nehru Pact in 1950. The pact was an effort to improve relations and reduce tension between India and Pakistan, and to protect the religious minorities on both sides of the border.^[15] In May 1950, Liaquat visited the United States after being persuaded to snap ties with the Soviet Union and set the course of Pakistan's foreign policy towards closer ties with the West.^[16] An important event during his premiership was the establishment of National Bank of Pakistan in November 1949, and the installation of a paper currency mill in Karachi.^[17]

In January 1951, Liaquat appointed Ayub Khan as the first Pakistani commander-in-chief of the army with the retirement of the British commander, Douglas Gracey. In the same year, an attempted coup was launched against the government by senior military leaders and prominent socialist. Akbar Khan, chief of general staff, was arrested along with 14 other army officers for plotting the coup. The Rawalpindi Conspiracy, as it became known, was the first attempted coup in Pakistan's history. The arrested conspirators were tried in secret and given lengthy jail sentences.^[18]

Assassination and Death

On 16 October 1951, Khan was shot twice in the chest during a public meeting of the Muslim City League at Company Bagh (Company Gardens), Rawalpindi. The police immediately shot the assassin who was later identified as Said Akbar. Khan was rushed to a hospital and given a blood transfusion, but he succumbed to his injuries. The exact motive behind the assassination has never been fully revealed.^[19] However, Khan was an ardent supporter of independence, which involved absorbing Pushtun land into Pakistan. He did not believe Pushtun land east of the Durand Line deserved to be reunited with Afghanistan after its annexation into British India in 1893. Afghans, as well as the Pushtuns living in the disputed territory, including those of Babraks Zadran tribe, held political animosity toward Liaquat Ali Khan because of this, and he is believed to have killed Khan after he made inflammatory statements about Afghanistan.

Said Akbar was an Afghan national and a professional assassin from Hazara.^[20]^[21] He was known to police prior to assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan.

Upon his death, Khan was given the honorific title of "Shaheed-e-Millat", or "Martyr of the Nation". He was buried in the same manner (tomb) as Jinnah.^[22] The Municipal Park, where he was assassinated, was renamed Liaquat Bagh (Bagh means park) in his honour. It is the same location where Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007.^[23]

Criticism and legacy

Khan has received criticism from the left wing in Pakistan for his pro-Western foreign policies and the restrictions placed on the Communist Party of Pakistan. At the time of his death, the extreme leftist press, such as the Communist Swadhinata, stated: "Liaquat's death only reflects inevitable disaster that overtakes policy of playing lackey to Anglo-American Powers."^[24] He was further criticised for not visiting the Soviet Union, whereas he did go the United States. This was perceived as a rebuff to Moscow, and has been traced to profound adverse consequences, including Soviet help to India, most prominently in the 1971 war which ultimately led to the separation of Bangladesh.

Others argue that Khan had wanted Pakistan to remain neutral in the Cold War, as declared three days after Pakistan's independence when he declared that Pakistan would take no sides in the conflict of ideologies between the nations.^[25] Former serviceman Shahid M. Amin has argued that the Soviets themselves could not settle convenient dates for a visit, and that, even during his visit to the United States, Liaquat had declared his intention to visit the Soviet Union.^[26] Amin also notes that "Failure to visit a country in response to its invitations has hardly ever become the cause of long-term estrangement.^[27]

In Pakistan, Khan is regarded as Jinnah's “right hand man” and heir apparent. His role in filling in the vacuum created by Jinnah’s death is seen as decisive in tackling critical problems during Pakistan’s fledgling years and in devising measures for the consolidation of Pakistan. His face is printed on postage stamps across the country.

Khan was portrayed by Pakistani actor Shakeel in the 1998 film Jinnah.^[28]

Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 14 August 1947 – 16 October 1951
Monarch	George VI
Governor General	Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Khawaja Nazimuddin

Born	1 October 1896(1896-10-01) Karnal, British Raj (now India)
Died	16 October 1951 (aged 55) Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Political party	Muslim League
Alma mater	Aligarh Muslim University Exeter College, Oxford Inner Temple
Religion	Islam

Farooq Leghari

2010-06-13T19:28:00.000+05:00

Farooq Leghari

Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (Punjabi, Urdu: سردار فاروق احمد خان لغاری) (born May 29, 1940) was the eighth President of Pakistan from November 14, 1993 until December 2, 1997. He was the first Balouch President of Pakistan.

Early life

Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari was born in Choti Zareen, a village of Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab on May 29, 1940 during the British Raj. He comes from a political family that has been active in politics in this part of the world since the pre-colonial days. His father Sardar Muhammad Khan Leghari and grand father Nawab Sir Muhmammad Jamal Khan Leghari had both been ministers. Leghari is the major landowner who owns about 2500 acres of land.

Education

After his initial schooling at Aitchison College, Lahore where he was the head boy and declared the Best Leaving Student of 1957. He graduated with honours from the Forman Christian College, Lahore, Punjab where again he was amongst the best students, he went on to study PPE at College Oxford University.

After returning to Pakistan he joined the Civil Service and served for some time in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). On the death of his father he resigned from service and came back to his roots to look after the tribal affairs of his tribe. He is the head (Sardar) of the Leghari tribe.

Pakistan Peoples Party

He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party, and was made leader of the party upon the imprisonment of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He was put under house-arrest several times during the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

President of Pakistan

In 1993, with the express support of the Pakistan Peoples Party he ran for the office of President and won the election against Wasim Sajjad. In November 1996, utilizing his powers under Article 58 2(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan,^[1] he dismissed the Peoples' Party Government of Benazir Bhutto on charges of corruption, lawlessness and extra judicial killings.

Following the word of the Constitution of Pakistan he held elections for the National Assembly in 1997. The elections were won by the Pakistan Muslim League and Nawaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister. A decisive majority in the lower house of parliament led the Sharif Government to remove the controversial 8th amendment from the constitution of Pakistan. Leghari saw this as a threat to his power and conspired with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sajjad Ali Shah, to sack the Sharif Government. This led to an uprising against him and Shah, forcing both to resign.

Formation of Millat Party and coalition with PML-Q

Instead of retiring from politics, he went on to create his own political party, the Millat Party, which entered into a coalition of seven parties, known as National Alliance, to participate in the general elections of 2002. The National Alliance, emerged as the 3rd largest group in the parliament and won 13 seats in the National Assembly. He entered in a coalition with the majority party to form the government, and his son Awais Leghari was made a federal minister for Telecom and IT, as a consequence, and another of his deputies Yar Mohammad Rind also was inducted in the Federal cabinet. Later Mohammad Ali Durrani and his niece Sumaira Malik from his party were inducted into the Federal Cabinet.

Part of ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

With National Alliance being merged with ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in May 2004 to form united Pakistan Muslim League, Farooq Leghari also became the member of the newly constituted party, with his son Awais Leghari being one of its senior vice presidents.

His elder son Jamal Leghari has recently been elected to the Senate of Pakistan. His daughter Faryal Leghari is an analyst and researcher in Security & Terrorism Studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai.

President Leghari's Order of November 5, 1996

Whereas during the last three years thousands of persons in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan have been deprived of their right to life in violation of Article 9 of the Constitution.

They have been killed in police encounters and police custody. In the speech to Parliament on 29th October 1995 the President had warned that the law-enforcement agencies must ensure that there was no harassment of innocent citizens in the fight against terrorism and that human and legal rights of all persons were duly protected. This advice was not heeded. The killings continued unabated. The Government's fundamental duty to maintain law and order has to be performed by proceeding in accordance with law. The coalition of political parties which comprise the Government of the Federation are also in power in Sindh, Punjab and NWFP but no meaningful steps have been taken either by the Government of the Federation or, at the instance of the Government of the Federation, by the Provincial Governments to put an end to the crime of extra-judicial killings which is an evil abhorrent to our Islamic faith and all canons of civilised government.

Instead of ensuring proper investigation of these extra-judicial killings, and punishment for those guilty of such crimes, the Government has taken pride that, in this manner, the law and order situation has been controlled. These killings coupled with the fact of widespread interference by the members of the Government, including members of the ruling parties in the National Assembly, in the appointment, transfer and posting of officers and staff of the law-enforcement agencies, both at the Federal and Provincial levels, has destroyed the faith of the public in the integrity and impartiality of the law-enforcement agencies and in their ability to protect the lives, liberties and properties of the average citizen.

And Whereas on Sept 20, 1996, Mir Murtaza Bhutto, the brother of the Prime Minister, was killed at Karachi along with seven of his companions including the brother-in- law of a former Prime Minister, ostensibly in an encounter with the Karachi Police. The Prime Minister and her Government claimed that Mir Murtaza Bhutto has been murdered as a part of a conspiracy. Within days of Mir Murtaza Bhutto's death the Prime Minister appeared on television insinuating that the Presidency and other agencies of State were involved in this conspiracy. These malicious insinuations, which were repeated on different occasions, were made without any factual basis whatsoever.

Although the Prime Minister subsequently denied that the Presidency or the Armed Forces were involved, the institution of the Presidency, which represents the unity of the Republic, was undermined and damage caused to the reputation of the agencies entrusted with the sacred duty of defending Pakistan. In the events that have followed, the widow of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and the friends and supporters of the deceased have accused Ministers of the Government, including the spouse of the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister Sindh, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau and other high officials of involvement in the conspiracy which, the Prime Minister herself alleges led to Mir Murtaza Bhutto's murder.

A situation has thus arisen in which justice, which is a fundamental requirement of our Islamic Society, cannot be ensured because powerful members of the Federal and Provincial Government who are themselves accused of the crime, influence and control the law enforcing agencies entrusted with the duty of investigating the offences and bringing to book the conspirators. And Whereas on 20th March 1996 the Supreme Court of Pakistan delivered its judgement in the case popularly known as the Appointment of Judges case. The Prime Minister ridiculed this judgement in a speech before the National Assembly which was shown more than once on nation-wide television.

The implementation of the judgment was resisted and deliberately delayed in violation of the Constitutional mandate that all executive and judicial authorities throughout Pakistan shall act in aid of the Supreme Court. The directions of the Supreme Court with regard to regularisation and removal of judges of the High Courts were finally implemented on Sept 30, 1996, with a deliberate delay of six months and ten days and only after the President informed the Prime Minister that if advice was not submitted in accordance with the Judgement by end September 1996 then the President would himself proceed further in this matter to fulfil the constitutional requirement. The Government has, in this manner, not only violated Article 190 of the Constitution but also sought to undermine the independence of the judiciary guaranteed by Article 2A of the Constitution read with the Objectives Resolution.

And Whereas the sustained assault on the judicial organ of State has continued under the garb of a Bill moved in Parliament for prevention of corrupt practices. This Bill was approved by the Cabinet and introduced in the National Assembly without informing the President as required under Article 46(c) of the Constitution. The Bill proposes inter alia that on a motion moved by 15 percent of the total membership of the National Assembly, that is any 32 members, a judge of the Supreme Court or High Court can be sent on forced leave. Thereafter, if on reference made by the proposed special committee, the Special Prosecutor appointed by such Committee, forms the opinion that the judge is prima facie guilty of criminal misconduct, the special committee is to refer this opinion to the National Assembly which can, by passing a vote of no confidence, remove the judge from office. The decision of the Cabinet is evidently an attempt to destroy the independence of the judiciary guaranteed by Article 2A of the Constitution and the Objectives Resolution. Further, as the Government does not have a two-thirds majority in Parliament and as the opposition parties have openly and vehemently opposed the Bill approved by the Cabinet, the Government's persistence with the Bill is designed not only to embarrass and humiliate the superior judiciary but also to frustrate and set at naught all efforts made, including the initiative taken by the President, to combat corruption and to commence the accountability process.

And Whereas the judiciary has still not been fully separated from the executive in violation of the provisions of Article 175(3) of the Constitution and the dead-line for such separation fixed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. And Whereas the Prime Minister and her Government have deliberately violated, on a massive scale the fundamental right of privacy guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution. This has been done through illegal phone- tapping and eaves-dropping techniques. The phones which have been tapped and the conversations that have been monitored in this unconstitutional manner includes the phones and conversations of judges of the superior courts, leaders of political parties and high-ranking military and civil officers.

And Whereas corruption, nepotism and violation of rules in the administration of the affairs of the Government and its various bodies, authorities and corporations has become so extensive and wide-spread that the orderly functioning of Government in accordance of the provisions of the Constitution and the law has become impossible and in some cases, national security has been endangered. Public faith in the integrity and honesty of the Government has disappeared. Members of the Government and the ruling parties are either directly or indirectly involved in such corruption, nepotism and rule violations. Innumerable appointments have been made at the instance of members of the National Assembly in violation of the law declared by the Supreme Court that allocation of quotas to MNAs and MPAs for recruitment to various posts was offensive to the Constitution and the law and that all appointments were to be made on merit, honestly and objectively and in the public interest.

The transfers and postings of Government servants have similarly been made, in equally large numbers, at the behest of members of the National Assembly and other members of the ruling parties. The members have violated their oaths of office and the Government has not for three years taken any effective steps to ensure that the legislators do not interfere in the orderly executive functioning of And Whereas the Constitutional requirement that the Cabinet together with the Ministers of State shall be collectively responsible to the National Assembly has been violated by the induction of a Minister against whom criminal cases are pending which the Interior Minister has refused to withdraw. In fact, at an earlier stage, the Interior Minister had announced his intention to resign if the former was inducted into the Cabinet. A Cabinet in which one Minister is responsible for the prosecution of a Cabinet colleague cannot be collectively responsible in any manner whatsoever.

And Whereas in the matter of the sale of Burmah Castrol shares in PPL and BONE/PPL shares in Qadirpur Gas Field involving national assets valued in several billions of rupees, the President required the Prime Minister to place the matter before the Cabinet for consideration/re-consideration of the decisions taken in this matter by the ECC. This has still not been done, despite lapse of over four months, in violation of the provisions of Articles 46 and 48 of the Constitution.

And Whereas for the fore-going reasons, taken individually and collectively, I am satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.

Now Therefore, in exercise of my powers under Article 58(2)(b) of the Constitution I Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to hereby dissolve the National Assembly with immediate effect and the Prime Minister and her Cabinet shall cease to hold office forthwith. Further, in exercise of my powers under Article 48(5) of the Constitution I hereby appoint 3rd February 1997 as the date on which general elections shall be held to the National Assembly.

Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, President

President of Pakistan
In office 14 November 1993 – 2 December 1997
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto Malik Meraj Khalid (Acting) Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by	Wasim Sajjad (Acting)
Succeeded by	Wasim Sajjad (Acting)

Born	29 May 1940 (1940-05-29) (age 70) Choti Zareen, British Raj (now Pakistan)
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (2004–present)
Other political affiliations	Pakistan Peoples Party (Before 2004)
Alma mater	Forman Christian College St Catherine's College, Oxford
Religion	Islam
Website	Presidential library

Political offices
Preceded by Abdul Sattar	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1993	Succeeded by Aseff Ahmad Ali
Preceded by Wasim Sajjad Acting	President of Pakistan 1993–1997	Succeeded by Wasim Sajjad Acting

Sumaira Malik

2010-06-13T19:25:00.000+05:00

Sumaira Malik

Sumaira Malik (Urdu: سمیرا ملک) is a politician from Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan.

Sumaira Malik is a member of Pakistan's National Assembly. she is the daughter of Malik AllahYar Khan. She is the granddaughter of Amir Mohammad Khan, The Nawab of KalaBagh. Sumaira Malik's uncle, Farooq Leghari is a prominent politician and was President of Pakistan.

Sumaira Malik headed the Ministry of Women Development and Ministry of Youth Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Sumaira Malik is currently chairman of the women's wing in the Pakistan Muslim League (Q).

Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq

2010-06-13T19:21:00.000+05:00

Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq

Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq (Urdu: محمد اعجاز الحق) (born 1953) is a prominent Pakistani politician. Originally a Bahrain-based banker, Ijaz entered national politics following the assassination of his father, military president Zia-ul-Haq, in 1988. He rose to prominence in the Pakistan Muslim League as a right-wing opponent of the succeeding Benazir Bhutto government. He was appointed federal minister for labour within the cabinet of Zia's civilian successor Nawaz Sharif as well as the senior president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) during its second tenure in the 1990s. He stepped down from the post following differences with Sharif, who was overthrown shortly afterwards by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

Forming his own PML splinter faction, Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed, Ijaz was elected to the Pakistan National Assembly for a record fourth time in the 2002 general election. Initially allying himself with Musharraf's PML-Q party, he was appointed federal minister for religious affairs. However, he gradually fell out with the government, and regularly sparked controversy. His support for nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and his criticism of the Bush administration all deviated from the government line. However, his remarks concerning the knighthood of Salman Rushdie received international condemnation. He lost for the first time in the 2008 general election, and resigned from the PML-Q in February 2010. His revived PML-Zia upset the Pakistan Peoples Party in Bahawalnagar for Member of the Provincial Assembly in March 2010.^[1]

Early life

Born in Nowshera, North-West Frontier Province, Ijaz received his master's degree in business administration from the University of Punjab. He completed his degree in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, in Carbondale, Illinois. Thereafter he enjoyed a successful career as a Bahrain-based banker from 1978 until 1988. He entered Pakistani politics after the death of his father, the President of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, in a plane crash in August 17, 1988. He allied himself with his late father's endorsed political party, Pakistan Muslim League in 1989 to form the conservative opposition to the country's succeeding ruler, Benazir Bhutto, who was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan shortly after General Zia's death. Initially considered to be spearheading the Benazir-opposed right-wing, Ijaz would ally himself with the more politically experienced Nawaz Sharif, who had served as Chief Minister in the cabinet of General Zia.

1990s political career

An opposition member throughout Benazir's rule, Ijaz was elected to the National Assembly in 1990 and due to his popularity and influence amongst the pro-Zia voting bloc became the Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, following the dismissal of Benazir's government by then-President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and ally Nawaz Sharif's being elected Prime Minister. He held both posts till 1993, when Nawaz Sharif's government was also dismissed by Ghulam Ishaq. Nevertheless, Ijaz was again elected to the National Assembly in the subsequent federal elections held in 1993, in which Benazir was once again elected Prime Minister.

Ijaz returned to power in February 1997, following Benazir's government being dismissed yet again on corruption charges. Nawaz Sharif again succeeded her as Prime Minister. Ijaz-ul-Haq gradually fell out with Nawaz Sharif, however, during Sharif's second tenure. With rumours of the differences between the two men rife, Ijaz stepped down as Senior President of the ruling party. Shortly thereafter, Nawaz Sharif's government was overthrown in a military coup led by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

Musharraf held federal elections in 2002, and Ijaz was elected to the National Assembly, through his newly formed political party Pakistan Muslim League (Z), the fourth consecutive time, with a record number of votes. His party became part of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in 2003. In 2004, he was made Federal Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan with the additional charge of Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Tenure as Religious Affairs Minister

Ijaz was elected to the National Assembly through his newly formed political party Pakistan Muslim League (Z) the fourth consecutive time in 2002, to a record number of votes. His party merged with Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in 2003. In 2004, he was made Federal Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan with the additional charge of Ministry of Minority Affairs. Ijaz's relationship with Musharraf's central government immediately became strained, when he denounced the Blair administration's flawed allegations of Pakistani involvement in the 7/7 London bombings.

Ijaz-ul-Haq speaking about Pakistan's atomic program at the Federal Religious Ministry, Islamabad, May 2007

Support for A.Q. Khan

Among the more controversial ministers in recent memory, Ijaz repeatedly deviated from the government line. His regarding Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the credited to be founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, as a national hero, following the Musharraf government's placing Khan under house arrest on allegations of abetting nuclear proliferation, was met with widespread acclaim despite being against government propagation. At a recent press conference in May 2007, Ijaz stated that Dr. Qadeer had rendered services without parallel concerning Pakistan's nuclear program^[2].

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Minorities
In office January 11, 2004 – November 26, 2007
Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis
In office November 1, 1990 – July 18, 1993

Born	1953 Nowshera, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League (Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed)
Alma mater	Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Profession	Banker
Religion	Sunni Islam

Raja Zafar ul Haq

2010-06-13T19:18:00.000+05:00

Raja Zafar ul Haq

Raja Zafar ul Haq of Matore, Rawalpindi descended of the Raja Kala Khan Janjua clan of Rajput. He is the Chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and he is also Secretary General of the World Muslim Congress since 1992. He has also served as Pakistan's Ambassador to Egypt from 1985, as well as served as Leader of the House (Pakistan Senate). He was a close associate and minister of information and religious affairs of President Zia ul Haq during his reign. He was also member of cabinet of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Rehman Malik

2010-06-13T19:14:00.000+05:00

Rehman Malik

Senator A. Rehman Malik (Urdu: رحمان ملک ) (born 12 December 1951) is a Pakistani politician, a member of the Senate of Pakistan, and the current Interior Minister of Pakistan under Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's administration. He was upgraded to the latter position from Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs and Narcotics Control after he was elected to the Senate of Pakistan.^[1] He took the oath as the federal minister on 27 April 2009.^[2] He has been the interior adviser since 27 March 2008.^[3]

Malik is a former FIA officer who rose to head the Federal Investigation Agency during Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pakistan Peoples Party and was the trusted lieutenant and chief security officer (CSO) of Benazir Bhutto.

Early life

Rehman Malik was born in Sialkot, Pakistan on 12 December 1951.

Federal Investigation Agency career

Rehman Malik began his career as an immigration officer and became the top-man in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the mid 90’s.^[2] During 26 years of active service as an officer of the FIA, he has held the post of Additional Director General of the FIA besides heading various regional offices of the department such as Crime Zone Peshawar, Immigration, Interpol and National Security Cell. He has been associated with anti-terrorism and anti-money launching operations of the FIA which have earned him recognition by the international law enforcement community. He was bestowed with the Sitara-e-Shujaat in 1995.^[4]

Benazir Bhutto appointed Rehman Malik as the additional director-general of the FIA which then launched a secret war against the Islamist elements in Pakistan, which amounted to a direct attack on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).^[5] The Pakistani military was equally dismayed by reports of FIA contacts with the Israeli secret service, Mossad, to investigate Islamist terrorists. The FIA leadership under Bhutto also angered Taliban supporters within the establishment, because they allowed the extradition of Ramzi Yousef to the US for trial on the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.^[5]

One of the first acts of President Leghari after dismissing Benazir Bhutto on 5 November 1996 was to imprison the Ghulam Asghar, head of FIA, suspended on non specified corruption charges, and Rehman Malik, Additional Director General of FIA, was also arrested.^[5]

Accusation against Sharif and exile

In November 1998, Rehman Malik termed the termination of his service by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an "act of retaliation" because of the 200-page report, which he had sent to then President Rafiq Tarar, disclosing large-scale corruption of Sharif family. Rehman Malik then fled to London and made corruption accusation against the Sharif brothers.^[6]

With the dismissal of the government of the PPP, Rehman Malik left the country and settled in the United Kingdom where he started his business and became a business tycoon. He assisted admirably Benazir Bhutto who was in exile during all the years. Rehman Malik was the chief of the security of Benazir Bhutto when she returned home in 2007.^[2] There, he got involved with DM Digital Network with the head office at Manchester, UK. DM Digital announced that he was honourary director with no shares; Malik resigned before his appointment as Advisor/Minister to the Prime Minister for Interior.^{[citation needed]} rehman malik who is also called manna nae is also a former CSP.

Rehman Malik emerged as the deal broker in Benazir-Musharraf reconciliation talks in Abu Dhabi in July 2007, and replaced Makhdoom Amin Fahim as the most trusted political lieutenant of Benazir Bhutto. Fahim was Benazir's aide since 2002, when he formed the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and acted as the leader of PPP in the absence of Benazir and her husband Asif Ali Zardari. It was also reported in The News that after Rehman Malik took over the role of top "adviser and broker" of Benazir on important matters ranging from politics to business, Fahim seemed to have become an "obsolete political commodity."^[7]

Under the amnesty of the National Reconciliation Ordinance, Malik had three cases of corruption allegations against himself dropped.^[8]

Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto there were many accusation against Rehman Malik for lax security and his absence.^[9]

However, he was brought into the limelight for his past service to Asif Ali Zardari^{[citation needed]} and PPP, and was made an adviser on interior affairs and narcotics control to the PPP Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, with the status of Federal Minister. He was later upgraded as Interior Minister of Pakistan. He is the most controversial person regarding Bhutto's assassination.

Political offices
Preceded by Hamid Nawaz Khan	Interior Minister of Pakistan 2008 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent

Farzana Raja

2010-06-13T19:10:00.000+05:00

Farzana Raja

Farzana Raja (born January 2, 1970)^[1] is a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. She is Chairperson of Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), a program which aids impoverished families in Pakistan. Although Farzana Raja was born in Gujrat but she belongs to the Gujar Khan tehsil of Rawalpindi and Chak Rajgan is her village which is situated in Gujar Khan.

Education

Raja was born in Gujrat.^[1] She earned a Bachelors of Arts degree from University of the Punjab.^[1]

Political career

Farzana Raja is affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Farzana Raja has contested the election for the district Rawalpindi assembley in 1998 which she lost with wide margin. She was a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from 2002–2007 in a reserved seat for women.^[1]

In February, 2008, she was elected to the National Assembly in the Pakistani general election, 2008 to a reserve seat.^[2]

In October 2008, she was appointed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani to the position of Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Program.^[3] The BISP, named in honour of the late former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto^[4] is a program which aims to offset the effects of inflation on the poorest people in Pakistan, including families headed by widowed or divorced women, or families with persons with disabilities or chronic disease.^[5]

In June 2009 in her capacity as BISP Chairperson, she attended a ceremony that announced a financial package for the internally displaced who would receive a monthly grant of Rs1,000 as part of the BISP programme.^[6]

In July 2009 she visited New York and met at the United Nations with representatives of the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the World Bank.^[7]

Imran Khan

2010-06-13T06:37:00.000+05:00

Imran Khan

Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی) (born 25 November 1952) is a retired Pakistani cricketer who played international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century and has been a politician since the mid-1990s. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a charity worker and cricket commentator.

Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982-1992. After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.^[1]

In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), a small and marginal political party, of which he is the only member ever elected to Parliament.^[2] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.^[3] Khan, through worldwide fundraising, helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.

Family, education, and personal life

Imran Khan was born to Shaukat Khanum (Burki)^[4] and Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, in Lahore. A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up in a middle-class Niazi Pathan family with four sisters.^[5] Settled in Punjab, Khan's father descended from the Pashtun (Pathan) Niazi Shermankhel tribe of Mianwali in Punjab .^[6] Imran's Mother Shaukat Khanam (Burki's) family includes successful hockey players^[4] and cricketers such as Javed Burki and Majid Khan.^[6] Khan was educated at Aitchison College, the Cathedral School in Lahore, and the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket. In 1972, he enrolled to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a second-class degree in Politics and a third in Economics.^[7]

On 16 May 1995, Khan married English socialite Jemima Goldsmith, a convert to Islam, in a two-minute Islamic ceremony in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office in England, followed by a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.^[8] The marriage, described as "tough" by Khan,^[6] produced two sons, Sulaiman Isa (born 18 November 1996) and Kasim (born 10 April 1999).^[9] As an agreement of his marriage, Khan spent four months a year in England. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the Khans had divorced because it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan".^[10]

Khan now resides in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse with the money he gained from selling his London flat. He grows fruit trees, wheat, and keeps cows, while also maintaining a cricket ground for his two sons, who visit during their holidays.^[6] Khan is also reported to be in regular contact with Tyrian Jade Khan-White, his alleged daughter whom he has never publicly acknowledged.^[11]

Cricket career

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71).^[12] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973-75 seasons.^[7] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975–76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–76 to 1980-81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.^[1]

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976-77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.^[12] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.^[1].His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.^[1]. Khan also achieved a Test Cricket Bowling rating of 922 points against India on 30 January 1983. Highest at the time, the performance ranks third on ICC's All Time Test Bowling Rating.^[13].

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.^[14] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.^[15] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.^[1] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.

Captaincy

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistani cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to them, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."^[16] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.^[1]

In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.^[17] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981-82.^[1] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982-83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.^[12]

A graph showing Imran Khan's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984-85 season.^[1]

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.^[17] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.^[1] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".^[6] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.^[1]

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting lineup, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.^[12] Khan's acceptance of the World Cup trophy on behalf of the Pakistani team, however, drew criticism. It was reported that Khan's decision to not mention his teammates and his country in his acceptance speech, and instead his focus on himself and his upcoming cancer hospital, "annoyed and embarrassed" many citizens. "Imran's 'I' 'Me' and 'My' speech has upset everyone," read an editorial in the Daily Nation newspaper, which labeled the acceptance speech a "jarring note".^[18]

Post-retirement

In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."^[19] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.^[20] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labeled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10-2 majority decision by the jury.^[20]

Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,^[21], the Guardian,^[22] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu^[23] and the Star TV network.^[24] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,^[25] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.^[26] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.^[26]

In November 2009 Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine.^[27]

Social work

For more than four years after retiring from cricket in 1992, Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organization bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavor, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.^[2] Inspired by the memory of his mother, who died of cancer, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care, opened in Lahore on 29 December 1994.^[6] Khan currently serves as the chairman of the hospital and continues to raise funds through charity and public donations.^[28] During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports^[29] and promoted health and immunization programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.^[30]

On 27 April 2008, Khan's brainchild, a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College, was inaugurated. Namal College was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), as chaired by Khan, and was made an associate college of the University of Bradford in December 2005.^[31] Currently, Khan is building another cancer hospital in Karachi, using his successful Lahore institution as a model. While in London, he also works with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket charity.^[2]

Political work

Imran Khan Niazi

Born	November 25, 1952 (1952-11-25) (age 57) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Spouse(s)	Jemima Khan (1995 - 2004)
Children	2
Residence	Lahore
Occupation	Political activist / social worker
Religion	Islam
Website	http://www.insaf.pk/

A few years after the end of his professional career as a cricketer, Khan entered electoral politics while admitting that he had never voted in an election before.^[32] Since then, his most significant political work has been to protest against ruling politicians such as Pervez Musharaff and Asif Ali Zardari and his opposition to the US and UK foreign policy. Khan's "politics are not taken seriously in Pakistan and at best rated as single column news items in most newspapers."^[33] As reported and by his own admission, Khan's most prominent political supporters are women and the youth.^[5] His political foray was influenced by Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, the former Pakistani intelligence chief famous for fueling the Taliban's rise in Afghanistan and for his anti-West viewpoint.^[34] In Pakistan, the reaction to his political work has been reported to be such that, "Mention his name at dinner tables and the reaction is the same: people roll their eyes, chuckle lightly, then exhale a sad sigh."^[35]

On 25 April 1996, Khan founded his own political party called the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with a proposed slogan of "Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem."^[6] Khan, who contested from 7 districts, and members of his party were universally defeated at the polls in the 1997 general elections. Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999, but denounced his presidency a few months before the 2002 general elections. Many political commentators and his opponents termed Khan's change in opinion an opportunistic move. "I regret supporting the referendum. I was made to understand that when he won, the general would begin a clean-up of the corrupt in the system. But really it wasn't the case," he later explained.^[36] During the 2002 election season, he also voiced his opposition to Pakistan's logistical support of US troops in Afghanistan by claiming that their country had become a "servant of America."^[36] PTI won 0.8% of the popular vote and one out of 272 open seats on the 20 October 2002 legislative elections. Khan, who was elected from the NA-71 constituency of Mianwali, was sworn in as an MP on 16 November.^[37] Once in office, Khan voted in favor of the pro-Taliban Islamist candidate for prime minister in 2002, bypassing Musharraf's choice.^[34] As an MP, he was part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts, and expressed legislative interest in Foreign Affairs, Education and Justice.^[38]

On 6 May 2005, Khan became one of the first Muslim figures to criticize a 300-word Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Khan held a press conference to denounce the article and demanded that Gen. Pervez Musharraf secure an apology from American president George W. Bush for the incident.^[34] In 2006, he exclaimed, "Musharraf is sitting here, and he licks George Bush’s shoes!" Criticizing Muslim leaders supportive of the Bush administration, he added, "They are the puppets sitting on the Muslim world. We want a sovereign Pakistan. We do not want a president to be a poodle of George Bush."^[16] During George W. Bush's visit to Pakistan in March 2006, Khan was placed under house arrest in Islamabad after his threats of organizing a protest.^[6] In June 2007, the federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afghan Khan Niazi and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party filed separate ineligibility references against Khan, asking for his disqualification as member of the National Assembly on grounds of immorality. Both references, filed on the basis of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, were rejected on 5 September.^[39]

On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the Presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which General Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief.^[3] On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest at his father's home hours after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Khan had demanded the death penalty for Musharraf after the imposition of emergency rule, which he equated to "committing treason". The next day, on 4 November, Khan escaped and went into peripatetic hiding.^[40] He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab.^[41] At the rally, Khan was captured by students from the Jamaat-i-Islami political party, who claimed that Khan was an uninvited nuisance at the rally, and they handed him over to the police, who charged him under the Anti-terrorism act for allegedly inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience, and for spreading hatred.^[42] Incarcerated in the Dera Ghazi Khan Jail, Khan's relatives had access to him and were able to meet him to deliver goods during his week-long stay in jail. On 19 November, Khan let out the word through PTI members and his family that he had begun a hunger strike but the Deputy Superintendent of Dera Ghazi Khan Jail denied this news, saying that Khan had bread, eggs and fruit for breakfast.^[43] Khan was one of the 3,000 political prisoners released from imprisonment on 21 November 2007.^[44]

His party boycotted the national elections on 18 February 2008 and hence, no member of PTI has served in Parliament since Khan's resignation in 2007. Despite no longer being a member of Parliament, Khan was placed under house arrest in the crackdown by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari of anti-government protests on 15 March 2009.

Ideology

Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include: Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; liberal economics, with the promise of deregulating the economy and creating a welfare state; decreased bureaucracy and anti-corruption laws, to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan.^[15]^[24]^[45]

Khan has credited his decision to enter politics with a spiritual awakening, influenced by his conversations with a mystic from the Sufi sect of Islam that began in the last years of his cricket career. "I never drank or smoked, but I used to do my share of partying. In my spiritual evolution there was a block," he explained to the American Washington Post. As an MP, Khan sometimes voted with a bloc of hard-line religious parties such as the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, whose leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he supported for prime minister over Musharraf's candidate in 2002. Rehman is a pro-Taliban cleric who has called for holy war against the United States.^[24] On religion in Pakistan, Khan has said that, "As time passes by, religious thought has to evolve, but it is not evolving, it is reacting against Western culture and often has nothing to do with faith or religion."

Khan told Britain's Daily Telegraph, "I want Pakistan to be a welfare state and a genuine democracy with a rule of law and an independent judiciary."^[15] Other ideas he has presented include a requirement of all students to spend a year after graduation teaching in the countryside and cutting down the over-staffed bureaucracy in order to send them to teach too.^[36] "We need decentralisation, empowering people at the grass roots," he has said.^[46] In June 2007, Khan publicly deplored Britain for knighting Indian-born author Salman Rushdie. He said, "Western civilisation should have been mindful of the injury the writer had caused to the Muslim community by writing his highly controversial book, The Satanic Verses."^[47]

Criticism

During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan became known as a socialite due to his "non-stop partying" at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp. though he claims to have hated English pubs and never drank alcohol.^[2]^[6]^[24]^[34] He also gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young debutantes such as Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant.^[6] One of these ex-girlfriends, the British heiress Sita White, daughter of Gordon White, Baron White of Hull, became the mother of his alleged illegitimate daughter. A judge in the U.S. ruled him to be the father of Tyrian Jade White, but Khan has denied paternity.^[48]

In 1995, despite a marriage to British socialite Jemima Goldsmith, he denounced the west with "its fat women in miniskirts," and called for Pakistanis to seek home-grown political solutions.^[49] Khan is often dismissed as a political lightweight^[41] and a celebrity outsider in Pakistan,^[16] where national newspapers also refer to him as a "spoiler politician".^[50] Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a political party, has asserted that Khan is "a sick person who has been a total failure in politics and is alive just because of the media coverage".^[51] The Political observers say the crowds he draws are attracted by his cricketing celebrity, and the public has been reported to view him as a figure of entertainment rather than a serious political authority.^[36] His failure to gain political power or build a national support base is ascribed, by commentators and observers, to Khan's lack of political maturity and naivete.^[24] Newspaper columnist Ayaz Amir told the American Washington Post: "[Khan] doesn't have that political thing which sets bellies on fire."

The Guardian newspaper in England described Khan as a "miserable politician," observing that, "Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower... He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next."^[35] The charge constantly raised against Khan is that of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's "playboy to puritan U-turn."^[16] One of Pakistan's most respected political commentators, Najam Sethi, stated that, "A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn’t inspire people."^[16] Khan's political flip-flops consist of his vocal criticism of President Musharraf after having supported his military takeover in 1999. Similarly, Khan was a critic of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when Sharif was in power, having said at the time: "Our current prime minister has a fascist mind-set, and members of parliament cannot go against the ruling party. We think that every day he stays in power, the country is sinking more into anarchy."^[52] Yet, he joined forces with Sharif in 2008 against Musharraf. In a column entitled "Will the Real Imran Please Stand Up," Pakistani columnist Amir Zia quoted one of PTI's Karachi-based leaders as saying, "Even we are finding it difficult to figure out the real Imran. He dons the shalwar-kameez and preaches desi and religious values while in Pakistan, but transforms himself completely while rubbing shoulders with the elite in Britain and elsewhere in the west."^[53]

In 2008, as part of the Hall of Shame awards for 2007, Pakistan's Newsline magazine gave Khan the "Paris Hilton award for being the most undeserving media darling." The 'citation' for Khan read: "He is the leader of a party that is the proud holder of one National Assembly seat (and) gets media coverage inversely proportional to his political influence." The Guardian has described the coverage garnered by Khan's post-retirement activities in England, where he made his name as a cricket star and a night-club regular, as "terrible tosh, with danger attached. It turns a great (and greatly miserable) Third World nation into a gossip-column annex. We may all choke on such frivolity."^[54] After the 2008 general elections, political columnist Azam Khalil addressed Khan, who remains respected as a cricket legend, as one of the "utter failures in Pakistani politics".^[55] Writing in the Frontier Post, Khalil added: "Imran Khan has time and again changed his political course and at present has no political ideology and therefore was not taken seriously by a vast majority of the people."

Awards and honours

In 1992, Khan was given Pakistan's civil award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz. He had received the President’s Pride of Performance Award in 1983. Khan is featured in the University of Oxford's Hall of Fame and has been an honorary fellow of Oxford's Keble College.^[29] On 7 December 2005, Khan was appointed the fifth Chancellor of the University of Bradford, where he is also a patron of the Born in Bradford research project.

In 1976 as well as 1980, Khan was awarded The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket. He was also named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1983, Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year in 1985, and the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1990.^[12] Khan is currently placed at Number 8 on the all-time list of the ESPN Legends of Cricket. On 5 July 2008, he was one of several veteran Asian cricketers presented special silver jubilee awards at the inaugural Asian cricket Council (ACC) award ceremony in Karachi.^[56]

On 8 July 2004, Khan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Asian Jewel Awards in London, for "acting as a figurehead for many international charities and working passionately and extensively in fund-raising activities.^[57] On 13 December 2007, Khan received the Humanitarian Award at the Asian Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur for his efforts in setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan.^[58] In 2009, at International Cricket Council's centennial year celebration, Khan was one of fifty-five cricketers inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.^[59]

Writings by Khan

Khan occasionally contributes opinion editorials on cricket and Pakistani politics to British newspapers. He has also published five works of non-fiction, including an autobiography co-written with Patrick Murphy. It was disclosed in 2008 that Khan did not write his second book, Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan. Instead, his the book's publisher Jeremy Lewis revealed in a memoir that he had to write the book for Khan. Lewis recalls that when he asked Khan to show his writing for publication, "he handed me a leatherbound notebook or diary containing a few jottings and autobiographical snippets. It took me, at most, five minutes to read them; and that, it soon became apparent, was all we had to go on."^[60]

Books

Khan, Imran (1989). Imran Khan's cricket skills. London : Golden Press in association with Hamlyn. ISBN 0600563499.
Khan, Imran & Murphy, Patrick (1983). Imran: The autobiography of Imran Khan. Pelham Books. ISBN 0720714893.
Khan, Imran (1991). Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0701135271.
Khan, Imran (1992). All Round View. Mandarin. ISBN 0749314990.
Khan, Imran (1993). Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans. Chatto Windus. ISBN 0701138904.

Personal information

Full name	Imran Khan Niazi
Born	25 November 1952 (1952-11-25) (age 57) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 65)	3 June 1971 v England
Last Test	7 January 1992 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 12)	31 August 1974 v England
Last ODI	25 March 1992 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1977 – 1988	Sussex
1984/85	New South Wales
1975 – 1981	PIA
1971 – 1976	Worcestershire
1973 – 1975	Oxford University
1969 – 1971	Lahore
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	88	175	382	425
Runs scored	3807	3709	17771	10100
Batting average	37.69	33.41	36.79	33.22
100s/50s	6/18	1/19	30/93	5/66
Top score	136	102*	170	114*
Balls bowled	19458	7461	65224	19122
Wickets	362	182	1287	507
Bowling average	22.81	26.61	22.32	22.31
5 wickets in innings	23	1	70	6
10 wickets in match	6	n/a	13	n/a
Best bowling	8/58	6/14	8/34	6/14
Catches/stumpings	28/–	36/–	117/–	84/–

Benazir Bhutto

2010-06-13T06:17:00.001+05:00

Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto (Sindhi: بينظير ڀٽو; Urdu: بینظیر بھٹو, pronounced [beːnəˈziːr ˈbʱʊʈːoː]; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a centre-left political party in Pakistan. Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state,^[3] having twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988–1990; 1993–1996). She was Pakistan's first and to date only female prime minister. She was the eldest child of former Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto, and was the wife of current Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister for the first time in 1988 at the age of 35, but was removed from office 20 months later under the order of then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan on grounds of alleged corruption. In 1993 she was re-elected but was again removed in 1996 on similar charges, this time by President Farooq Leghari. She went into self-imposed exile in Dubai in 1998.

Bhutto returned to Pakistan on 18 October 2007, after reaching an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf by which she was granted amnesty and all corruption charges were withdrawn. She was assassinated on 27 December 2007, after departing a PPP rally in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled Pakistani general election of 2008 where she was a leading opposition candidate. The following year she was named one of seven winners of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.^[4]

Education and personal life

Benazir Bhutto was born at Pinto Hospital^[5] in Karachi, Dominion of Pakistan on 21 June 1953. She was the eldest child of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani Shia Muslim of Sindhi Rajput^[6] descent, and Begum Nusrat Ispahani, a Shia Muslim Pakistani of Kurdish descent. Her paternal grandfather was Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto.

She attended the Lady Jennings Nursery School and Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi.^[7] After two years of schooling at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she was sent to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. She passed her O-level examinations at the age of 15.^[8] She then went on to complete her A-Levels at the Karachi Grammar School.

After completing her early education in Pakistan, she pursued her higher education in the United States. From 1969 to 1973 she attended Radcliffe College at Harvard University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with cum laude honors in comparative government.^[9] She was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.^[8] Bhutto would later call her time at Harvard "four of the happiest years of my life" and said it formed "the very basis of her belief in democracy". Later in 1995 as Prime Minister, she would arrange a gift from the Pakistani government to Harvard Law School.^[10] On June 2006, she received an Honorary LL.D degree from the University of Toronto.^[11]

The next phase of her education took place in the United Kingdom. Between 1973 and 1977 Bhutto studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, during which time she completed additional courses in International Law and Diplomacy.^[12] After LMH she attend St Catherine's College, Oxford^[13] and in December 1976 she was elected president of the Oxford Union, becoming the first Asian woman to head the prestigious debating society.^[8]

On 18 December 1987, she married Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi. The couple had three children: two daughters, Bakhtawar and Asifa, and a son, Bilawal.

Family

Benazir Bhutto's father, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was removed from office following a military coup in 1977 led by the then chief of army General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who imposed martial law but promised to hold elections within three months. Nevertheless, instead of fulfilling the promise of holding general elections, General Zia charged Mr. Bhutto with conspiring to murder the father of dissident politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri. Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death by the martial law court.

Despite the accusation being "widely doubted by the public",^[14] and many clemency appeals from foreign leaders, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged on 4 April 1979. Appeals for clemency were dismissed by acting President General Zia. Benazir Bhutto and her mother were held in a "police camp" until the end of May, after the execution.^[15]

In 1985, Benazir Bhutto's brother Shahnawaz was killed under suspicious circumstances in France. In 1996, the killing of her other brother, Mir Murtaza, contributed to destabilizing her second term as Prime Minister. Murtaza, who had been outspoken in his accusations of corruption by his sister and her husband Zardari, was gunned down just outside of his home by police. This extrajudicial killing was almost certainly approved at the highest levels and it was widely believed to have been instigated directly by Bhutto's husband Zardari.^[16]

Struggle against martial law of General Zia-ul-Haq

After the overthrow of her father Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government in a bloodless coup Benazir Bhutto spent the next eighteen months in and out of house arrest as she struggled to rally political support to force Zia to drop murder charges against her father. The military dictator ignored worldwide appeals for clemency and had Zulfikar Bhutto hanged in April 1979. Following the hanging of her father Bhutto was arrested repeatedly, however, following PPP's victory in the local elections Zia postponed the national elections indefinitely and moved Bhutto and her mother Nusrat Bhutto from Karachi to Larkana. This was seventh time Benazir had been arrested within two years of the military coup. Repeatedly put under house arrest, the regime finally imprisoned her under solitary confinement in a desert cell in Sindhi province during the summer of 1981. She described the conditions in her wall-less cage in her book "Daughter of Destiny":

"The summer heat turned my cell into an oven. My skin split and peeled, coming off my hands in sheets. Boils erupted on my face. My hair, which had always been thick, began to come out by the handful. Insects crept into the cell like invading armies. Grasshoppers, mosquitoes, stinging flies, bees and bugs came up through the cracks in the floor and through the open bars from the courtyard. Big black ants, cockroaches, seething clumps of little red ants and spiders. I tried pulling the sheet over my head at night to hide from their bites, pushing it back when it got too hot to breathe."

After her six month imprisonment in Sukkur jail, she remained hospitalized for months after which she was shifted to Karachi Central Jail, where she remained imprisoned till 11 December 1981. She was then placed under house arrests in Larkana and Karachi eleven and fourteen months respectively.

Movement for Restoration of Democracy

As restrictions on press and media were intensified and persecution of political activist increased Bhutto realized that only way to fight Zia's regime was to unite with a section of the opposition Pakistan National Alliance. The talks with PNA were successful and Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) was established. The movement was widely supported by people of Pakistan and brutally repressed by the junta. The MRD included sections of Pakistani society that were outside Zia's preview of Islamization of the country, like Shiites, ethnic minorities such as Balochs, Pathans and Sindhis and Bhutto's own PPP. While Benazir spent most of the time under house arrests and imprisonments the MRD movement continued its protests against the regime. An estimated twenty thousand PPP workers were killed and between 40,000 to 150,000 people made political prisoners in crackdown by Zia.

Self-exile in London

In January 1984, after six years of house arrests and imprisonment, Zia succumbed to international pressure and allowed Bhutto to travel abroad for medical reasons. After undergoing a surgery she resumed her political activities and began to raise concerns about the mistreatment of political prisoners in Pakistan at the behest of Zia regime. The intensified pressure forced Zia into holding a referendum to give certain legitimacy to his government. The referendum held on 1 December 1984 proved a farce and due to only ten percent voter turnout despite use of state machinery.

Further pressure from the international community forced Zia into holding elections, for a unicameral legislature on a non-party basis. The PPP thus announced a boycott of the election on the grounds that they were not being held in accordance with the constitution of Pakistan. She continued to raise voice against human rights violations by the regime and addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 1985,

"When the conscience of the world is justly aroused against apartheid and against human rights violations.. then that conscience ought not to close its eyes to the murder by military courts which takes place in a country which receives.. aid from the West itself." The speech was responded by the Zia regime with announcement of death sentences of 54 PPP workers in a military court in Lahore.

Prime minister

First term

At left during Parliamentary session in 1998-1999. From left: Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir, Ajmal Khattak, Aitzaz Ahsan, Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir Bhutto on a visit to Washington, D.C. in 1989

Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan after completing her studies, found herself placed under house arrest in the wake of her father's imprisonment and subsequent execution. Having been allowed in 1984 to return to the United Kingdom, she became a leader in exile of the PPP, her father's party, though she was unable to make her political presence felt in Pakistan until after the death of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. She had succeeded her mother as leader of the PPP and the pro-democracy opposition to the Zia-ul-Haq regime.

The seat from which Benazir contested for the post of Prime Minister, was the same one from which her father had previously contested, namely, NA 207. This seat was first contested in 1926 by the late Sardar Wahid Bux Bhutto, in the first ever elections in Sindh. The elections were for the Central Legislative Assembly of India. Sardar Wahid Bux won, and became not only the first elected representative from Sindh to a democratically elected parliament, but also the youngest member of the Central Legislative Assembly, aged 27. Wahid Bux's achievement was monumental as it was he who was the first Bhutto elected to a government, from a seat which would, thereafter always be contested by his family members. Therefore, it was he who provided the breakthrough and a start to this cycle. Sardar Wahid Bux went on to be elected to the Bombay Council as well. After Wahid Bux's untimely and mysterious death at the age of 33, his younger brother Nawab Nabi Bux Bhutto contested from the same seat and remained undefeated until retirement. It was he who then gave this seat to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to contest.^{[clarification needed]}

On 16 November 1988, in the first open election in more than a decade, Bhutto's PPP won the largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of a coalition government on December 2, becoming at age 35 the youngest person—and the first woman—to head the government of a Muslim-majority state in modern times. In 1989, Benazir was awarded the Prize For Freedom by the Liberal International. Bhutto's accomplishments during this time were in initiatives for nationalist reform and modernization, that some conservatives characterized as Westernization.

Bhutto's government was dismissed in 1990 following charges of corruption, for which she was never tried. Zia's protégé Nawaz Sharif came to power after the October 1990 elections. She served as leader of the opposition while Sharif served as Prime Minister for the next three years.

Second term

In October 1993 elections were held again and her PPP coalition was victorious, her to continue her reform initiatives. According to journalist Shyam Bhatia, Bhutto smuggled CDs containing uranium enrichment data to North Korea on a state visit that same year in return for data on missile technology.^[17] In 1996, amidst various corruption scandals Bhutto was dismissed by then-president Farooq Leghari, who used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers to dissolve the government. The Supreme Court affirmed President Leghari's dismissal in a 6-1 ruling.^[18] Criticism against Bhutto came from the Punjabi elites and powerful landlord families who opposed Bhutto. She blamed this opposition for the destabilization of Pakistan. Musharraf characterized Bhutto's terms as an "era of sham democracy" and others characterized her terms a period of corrupt, failed governments.^[19]

Policies for women

During the election campaigns the Bhutto government voiced its concern for women's social and health issues, including the issue of discrimination against women. Bhutto announced plans to establish women's police stations, courts, and women's development banks. Despite these plans, Bhutto did not propose any legislation to improve welfare services for women. During her election campaigns, she promised to repeal controversial laws (such as Hudood and Zina ordinances) that curtail the rights of women in Pakistan.^[20] Bhutto was pro-life and spoke forcefully against abortion, most notably at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, where she accused the West of "seeking to impose adultery, abortion, intercourse education and other such matters on individuals, societies and religions which have their own social ethos."^[21]

The Zina ordinance was finally repealed by a Presidential Ordinance issued by Pervez Musharraf in July 2006.^[22]

Bhutto was an active and founding member of the Council of Women World Leaders, a network of current and former prime ministers and presidents.^[23]

Policy on Taliban

The Taliban took power in Kabul in September 1996. It was during Bhutto's rule that the Taliban gained prominence in Afghanistan.^[24] She, like many leaders at the time, viewed the Taliban as a group that could stabilize Afghanistan and enable trade access to the Central Asian republics, according to author Stephen Coll.^[25] He claims that like the United States, her government provided military and financial support for the Taliban, even sending a small unit of the Pakistani army into Afghanistan.

More recently, she took an anti-Taliban stance, and condemned terrorist acts allegedly committed by the Taliban and their supporters.^[26]

Charges of corruption

Main article: Corruption charges against Benazir Bhutto

After the dismissal of Bhutto's first government on August 6, 1990 by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on the grounds of corruption government of Pakistan issued directives to its intelligence agencies to investigate the allegations. After fourth national elections, Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister and intensified prosecution proceedings against Bhutto. Pakistani embassies through western Europe, in France, Switzerland, Spain, Poland and Britain were directed to investigate the matter. Bhutto and her husband faced a number of legal proceedings, including a charge of laundering money through Swiss banks. Though never convicted, her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent eight years in prison on similar corruption charges. After being released on bail in 2004, Zardari suggested that his time in prison involved torture; human rights groups have supported his claim that his rights were violated.^[27]

A 1998 New York Times investigative report^[28] claims that Pakistani investigators have documents that uncover a network of bank accounts, all linked to the family's lawyer in Switzerland, with Asif Zardari as the principal shareholder. According to the article, documents released by the French authorities indicated that Zardari offered exclusive rights to Dassault, a French aircraft manufacturer, to replace the air force's fighter jets in exchange for a 5% commission to be paid to a Swiss corporation controlled by Zardari. The article also said a Dubai company received an exclusive license to import gold into Pakistan for which Asif Zardari received payments of more than $10 million into his Dubai-based Citibank accounts. The owner of the company denied that he had made payments to Zardari and claims the documents were forged.

Bhutto maintained that the charges levelled against her and her husband were purely political.^[29]^[30] An Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report supports Bhutto's claim. It presents information suggesting that Benazir Bhutto was ousted from power in 1990 as a result of a witch hunt approved by then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The AGP report says Khan illegally paid legal advisers 28 million rupees to file 19 corruption cases against Bhutto and her husband in 1990–92.^[31]

Yet the assets held by Bhutto and her husband continue to be scrutinized and speculated about. The prosecutors have alleged that their Swiss bank accounts contain £740 million.^[32] Zardari also bought a neo-Tudor mansion and estate worth over £4 million in Surrey, England, UK.^[33]^[34] The Pakistani investigations have tied other overseas properties to Zardari's family. These include a $2.5 million manor in Normandy owned by Zardari's parents, who had modest assets at the time of his marriage.^[28] Bhutto denied holding substantive overseas assets.

Despite numerous cases and charges of corruption registered against Bhutto by Nawaz Sharif between 1996–1999 and Pervez Musharraf from 1999 till 2008, she was yet to be convicted in any case after a lapse of twelve years since their commencement. The cases were withdrawn by the government of Pakistan after the return to power of Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party in 2008.

Early 2000s in exile

In 2002, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf amended Pakistan's constitution to ban prime ministers from serving more than two terms. This disqualified Bhutto from ever holding the office again. This move was widely considered to be a direct attack on former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. On 3 August 2003, Bhutto became a member of Minhaj ul Quran International (an international Muslim educational and welfare organization).^[35]^[36]^[37]

While living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, she cared for her three children and her mother Nusrat, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, traveling to give lectures and keeping in touch with the PPP's supporters. They were reunited with her husband in December 2004 after more than five years.^[38]^[39]^[40]^[41] In 2006, Interpol issued a request for the arrest of Bhutto and her husband on corruption charges, at the request of Pakistan. The Bhuttos questioned the legality of the requests in a letter to Interpol.^[42] On 27 January 2007, she was invited by the United States to speak to President George W. Bush and Congressional and State Department officials.^[43] Bhutto appeared as a panellist on the BBC TV programme Question Time in the UK in March 2007. She has also appeared on BBC current affairs programme Newsnight on several occasions. She rebuffed comments made by Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq in May 2007 regarding the knighthood of Salman Rushdie, citing that he was calling for the assassination of foreign citizens.^[44]^[45]^[46]

Bhutto had declared her intention to return to Pakistan within 2007, which she did, in spite of Musharraf's statements of May 2007 about not allowing her to return ahead of the country's general election, due late 2007 or early 2008. It was speculated that she may have been offered the office of Prime Minister again.^[47]^[48]^[49]

Arthur Herman, a U.S. historian, in a controversial letter published in The Wall Street Journal on 14 June 2007, in response to an article by Bhutto highly critical of the president and his policies, described her as "One of the most incompetent leaders in the history of South Asia," and asserted that she and other elites in Pakistan hate Musharraf because he was a muhajir, the son of one of millions of Indian Muslims who fled to Pakistan during independence in 1947. Herman claimed, "Although it was muhajirs who agitated for the creation of Pakistan in the first place, many native Pakistanis view them with contempt and treat them as third-class citizens."^[50]^[51]^[52]

Nonetheless, by mid-2007, the U.S. appeared to be pushing for a deal in which Musharraf would remain as president but step down as military head, and either Bhutto or one of her nominees would become prime minister.^[49]

On 11 July 2007, the Associated Press, in an article about the possible aftermath of the Red Mosque incident, wrote:

Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and opposition leader expected by many to return from exile and join Musharraf in a power-sharing deal after year-end general elections, praised him for taking a tough line on the Red Mosque. "I'm glad there was no cease-fire with the militants in the mosque because cease-fires simply embolden the militants," she told Britain's Sky TV on Tuesday. "There will be a backlash, but at some time we have to stop appeasing the militants."^[53]

This remark about the Red Mosque was seen with dismay in Pakistan as reportedly hundreds of young students were burned to death and remains are untraceable and cases are being heard in Pakistani supreme court as a missing persons issue. This and subsequent support for Musharraf led Elder Bhutto's comrades like Khar to criticize her publicly.^{[citation needed]}

Bhutto however advised Musharraf in an early phase of the latter's quarrel with the Chief Justice, to restore him. Her PPP did not capitalize on its CEC member, Aitzaz Ahsan, the chief Barrister for the Chief Justice, in successful restoration. Rather he was seen as a rival and was isolated.

2002 election

The Bhutto-led PPP secured the highest number of votes (28.42%) and eighty seats (23.16%) in the national assembly in the October 2002 general elections.^[54] Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) managed to win eighteen seats only. Some of the elected candidates of PPP formed a faction of their own, calling it PPP-Patriots which was being led by Faisal Saleh Hayat, the former leader of Bhutto-led PPP. They later formed a coalition government with Musharraf's party, PML-Q.

Return to Pakistan

Possible deal with the Musharraf Government

Benazir Bhutto's image

In mid-2002 Musharraf implemented a two-term limit on Prime Ministers. Both Bhutto and Musharraf's other chief rival, Nawaz Sharif, have already served two terms as Prime Minister.^[55] Musharraf's allies in parliament, especially the PMLQ, are unlikely to reverse the changes to allow Prime Ministers to seek third terms, nor to make particular exceptions for either Bhutto or Sharif.

In July 2007, some of Bhutto's frozen funds were released.^[56] Bhutto continued to face significant charges of corruption. In an 8 August 2007 interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Bhutto revealed the meeting focused on her desire to return to Pakistan for the 2008 elections, and of Musharraf retaining the Presidency with Bhutto as Prime Minister. On 29 August 2007, Bhutto announced that Musharraf would step down as chief of the army.^[57]^[58] On September 1, 2007, Bhutto vowed to return to Pakistan "very soon", regardless of whether or not she reached a power-sharing deal with Musharraf before then.^[59]

On September 17, 2007, Bhutto accused Musharraf's allies of pushing Pakistan into crisis by their refusal to permit democratic reforms and power-sharing. A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on six petitions (including one from Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's largest Islamic group) asserting that Musharraf be disqualified from contending for the presidency of Pakistan. Bhutto stated that her party could join one of the opposition groups, potentially that of Nawaz Sharif. Attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum stated that, pendente lite, the Election Commission was "reluctant" to announce the schedule for the presidential vote. Bhutto's party's Farhatullah Babar stated that the Constitution of Pakistan could bar Musharraf from being elected again because he was already chief of the army: "As Gen. Musharraf was disqualified from contesting for President, he has prevailed upon the Election Commission to arbitrarily and illegally tamper with the Constitution of Pakistan."^[60]

Musharraf prepared to switch to a strictly civilian role by resigning from his position as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He still faced other legal obstacles to running for re-election. On 2 October 2007, Gen. Musharraf named Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, as vice chief of the army starting October 8 with the intent that if Musharraf won the presidency and resigned his military post, Kayani would become chief of the army. Meanwhile, Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed stated that officials agreed to grant Benazir Bhutto amnesty versus pending corruption charges. She has emphasized the smooth transition and return to civilian rule and has asked Pervez Musharraf to shed uniform.^[61] On 5 October 2007, Musharraf signed the National Reconciliation Ordinance, giving amnesty to Bhutto and other political leaders—except exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif—in all court cases against them, including all corruption charges. The Ordinance came a day before Musharraf faced the crucial presidential poll. Both Bhutto's opposition party, the PPP, and the ruling PMLQ, were involved in negotiations beforehand about the deal.^[62] In return, Bhutto and the PPP agreed not to boycott the Presidential election.^[63] On 6 October 2007, Musharraf won a parliamentary election for President. However, the Supreme Court ruled that no winner can be officially proclaimed until it finishes deciding on whether it was legal for Musharraf to run for President while remaining Army General. Bhutto's PPP party did not join the other opposition parties' boycott of the election, but did abstain from voting.^[64] Later, Bhutto demanded security coverage on-par with the President's. Bhutto also contracted foreign security firms for her protection.

Return

While under house arrest, Benazir Bhutto speaks to supporters outside her house.

Bhutto was well aware of the risk to her own life that might result from her return from exile to campaign for the leadership position. In an interview on September 28, 2007, with reporter Wolf Blitzer of CNN, she readily admitted the possibility of attack on herself.^[65]

After eight years in exile in Dubai and London, Bhutto returned to Karachi on 18 October 2007, to prepare for the 2008 national elections.^[66]^[67]^[68]^[69]

En route to a rally in Karachi on 18 October 2007, two explosions occurred shortly after Bhutto had landed and left Jinnah International Airport. She was not injured but the explosions, later found to be a suicide-bomb attack, killed 136 people and injured at least 450. The dead included at least 50 of the security guards from her PPP who had formed a human chain around her truck to keep potential bombers away, as well as six police officers. A number of senior officials were injured. Bhutto, after nearly ten hours of the parade through Karachi, ducked back down into the steel command center to remove her sandals from her swollen feet, moments before the bomb went off.^[70] She was escorted unharmed from the scene.^[71]

Bhutto later claimed that she had warned the Pakistani government that suicide bomb squads would target her upon her return to Pakistan and that the government had failed to act. She was careful not to blame Pervez Musharraf for the attacks, accusing instead "certain individuals within the government who abuse their positions, who abuse their powers" to advance the cause of Islamic militants. Shortly after the attempt on her life, Bhutto wrote a letter to Musharraf naming four persons whom she suspected of carrying out the attack. Those named included Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a rival PML-Q politician and chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, Hamid Gul, former director of the Inter-Services Intelligence, and Ijaz Shah, the director general of the Intelligence Bureau, another of the country's intelligence agencies. All those named are close associates of General Musharraf. Bhutto has a long history of accusing parts of the government, particularly Pakistan's premier military intelligence agencies, of working against her and her party because they oppose her liberal, secular agenda. Bhutto claimed that the ISI has for decades backed militant Islamic groups in Kashmir and in Afghanistan.^[71] She was protected by her vehicle and a "human cordon" of supporters who had anticipated suicide attacks and formed a chain around her to prevent potential bombers from getting near her. The total number of injured, according to PPP sources, stood at 1000, with at least 160 dead (The New York Times claims 134 dead and about 450 injured).

A few days later, Bhutto's lawyer Senator Farooq H. Naik said he received a letter threatening to kill his client.

2007 State of Emergency and response

Main article: 2007 Pakistani state of emergency

On 3 November 2007, President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, citing actions by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and religious extremism in the nation. Bhutto returned to the country, interrupting a visit to family in Dubai. She was greeted by supporters chanting slogans at the airport. After staying in her plane for several hours she was driven to her home in Lahore, accompanied by hundreds of supporters. While acknowledging that Pakistan faced a political crisis, she noted that Musharraf's declaration of emergency, unless lifted, would make it very difficult to have fair elections. She commented that "The extremists need a dictatorship, and dictatorship needs extremists."^[72]^[73]^[74]

On 8 November 2007, Bhutto was placed under house arrest just a few hours before she was due to lead and address a rally against the state of emergency.

During a telephone interview with National Public Radio in the United States, Ms. Bhutto said "I have freedom of movement within the house. I do not have freedom of movement outside the house. They've got a heavy police force inside the house, and we've got a very heavy police force - 4,000 policemen around the four walls of my house, 1,000 on each. They've even entered the neighbors' house. And I was just telling one of the policemen, I said 'should you be here after us? Should not you be looking for Osama bin Laden?' And he said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am, this is our job. We're just doing what we are told.'"^[75]

The following day, the Pakistani government announced that Bhutto's arrest warrant had been withdrawn and that she would be free to travel and to appear at public rallies. However, leaders of other opposition political parties remained prohibited from speaking in public.

Preparation for 2008 elections

On 2 November 2007, Bhutto participated in an interview with David Frost on Al Jazeera where she claimed Osama Bin Laden had been murdered by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who is also one of the men convicted of kidnapping and killing U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. Frost never asked a follow up question regarding the claim that Bin Laden was dead.^[76]^{[dead link]}

On 24 November 2007, Bhutto filed her nomination papers for January's Parliamentary elections; two days later, she filed papers in the Larkana constituency for two regular seats. She did so as former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, following seven years of exile in Saudi Arabia, made his much-contested return to Pakistan and bid for candidacy.^[77]

When sworn in again on 30 November 2007, this time as a civilian president after relinquishing his post as military chief, Musharraf announced his plan to lift the Pakistan's state of emergency rule on December 16. Bhutto welcomed the announcement and launched a manifesto outlining her party's domestic issues. Bhutto told journalists in Islamabad that her party, the PPP, would focus on "the five E's": employment, education, energy, environment, equality.^[78]^[79]

On 4 December 2007, Bhutto met with Nawaz Sharif to publicize their demand that Musharraf fulfill his promise to lift the state of emergency before January's parliamentary elections, threatening to boycott the vote if he failed to comply. They promised to assemble a committee which would present to Musharraf the list of demands upon which their participation in the election was contingent.^[80]^[81]

On 8 December 2007, three unidentified gunmen stormed Bhutto's PPP office in the southern western province of Baluchistan. Three of Bhutto's supporters were killed.^[82]

Assassination

Building destroyed by rioting

On 27 December 2007, Bhutto was killed while leaving a campaign rally for the PPP at Liaquat National Bagh, where she had given a spirited address to party supporters in the run-up to the January 2008 parliamentary elections. After entering her bulletproof vehicle, Bhutto stood up through its sunroof to wave to the crowds. At this point, a gunman fired shots at her and subsequently explosives were detonated near the vehicle killing approximately 20 people.^[83] Bhutto was critically wounded and was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital. She was taken into surgery at 17:35 local time, and pronounced dead at 18:16.^[84]^[85]^[86]

Bhutto's body was flown to her hometown of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Larkana District, Sindh, and was buried next to her father in the family mausoleum at a ceremony attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners.^[87]^[88]^[89]

There was some disagreement about the exact cause of death. Bhutto's husband refused to permit an autopsy or post-mortem examination to be carried out.^[90] On 28 December 2007, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan stated that "Bhutto was killed when she tried to duck back into the vehicle, and the shock waves from the blast knocked her head into a lever attached to the sunroof, fracturing her skull".^[91] However, a hospital spokesman stated earlier that she had suffered shrapnel wounds to the head and that this was the cause of her death.^[92]^[93] Bhutto's aides have also disputed the Interior Ministry's account.^[94] On December 31, CNN posted the alleged emergency room admission report as a PDF file. The document appears to have been signed by all the admitting physicians and notes that no object was found inside the wound.^[95]

Al-Qaeda commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claimed responsibility for the attack, describing Bhutto as "the most precious American asset."^[96] The Pakistani government also stated that it had proof that al-Qaeda was behind the assassination. A report for CNN stated: "the Interior Ministry also earlier told Pakistan's Geo TV that the suicide bomber belonged to Lashkar i Jhangvi—an al-Qaeda-linked militant group that the government has blamed for hundreds of killings".^[97] The government of Pakistan claimed Baitullah Mehsud was the mastermind behind the assassination.^[98] Lashkar i Jhangvi, a Wahabi Muslim extremist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda that also attempted in 1999 to assassinate former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is alleged to have been responsible for the killing of the 54-year-old Bhutto along with approximately 20 bystanders, however this is vigorously disputed by the Bhutto family, by the PPP that Bhutto had headed and by Baitullah Mehsud.^[99] On 3 January 2008, President Musharraf officially denied participating in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as well as failing to provide her proper security.^[100]

Reaction in Pakistan

After the assassination, there were initially a number of riots resulting in approximately 20 deaths, of which three were of police officers. Around 250 cars were burnt; angry and upset supporters of Bhutto threw rocks outside the hospital where she was being held.^[88] Through December 29, 2007, the Pakistani government said rioters had wrecked nine election offices, 176 banks, 34 gas stations, 72 train cars, 18 rail stations, and hundreds of cars and shops.^[101] President Musharraf decreed a three-day period of mourning.

On 30 December 2007, at a news conference following a meeting of the PPP leadership, Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari and son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced that 19-year-old Bilawal will succeed his mother as titular head of the party, with his father effectively running the party until his son completes his studies at Christ Church, Oxford. "When I return, I promise to lead the party as my mother wanted me to," Bilawal said. The PPP called for parliamentary elections to take place as scheduled on 8 January 2008, and Asif Ali Zardari said that vice-chair Makhdoom Amin Fahim would probably be the party's candidate for prime minister. (Bilawal is not of legal age to stand for parliament.)^[102]

On December 30, Bhutto's political party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), called for the UK Government and the United Nations to help conduct the investigation of her death.^[103] Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been appointed chairman of his late mother's opposition political party in Pakistan. Bilawal is only 19 years old.^[104] On 5 February 2008, the PPP released Mrs. Bhutto's political will which she wrote two weeks before returning to Pakistan and only 12 weeks before she was killed, stating that her husband Asif Ali Zardari would be the leader of the party, until a new leader is elected.

International reaction

Main article: International reaction to the Benazir Bhutto assassination

The international reaction to Bhutto's assassination was of strong condemnation across the international community. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting and unanimously condemned the assassination.^[105] Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa stated that, "We condemn this assassination and terrorist act, and pray for God Almighty to bless her soul."^[106] India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "deeply shocked and horrified to hear of the heinous assassination of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto. ... My heartfelt condolences go to her family and the people of Pakistan who have suffered a grievous blow."^[107] British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated, "Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan and this atrocity strengthens our resolve that terrorists will not win there, here or anywhere in the world."^[108] European Commission President José Manuel Barroso condemned the assassination as "an attack against democracy and against Pakistan," and "hopes that Pakistan will remain firmly on track for return to democratic civilian rule."^[108] US President George W. Bush condemned the assassination as a "cowardly act by murderous extremists," and encouraged Pakistan to "honor Benazir Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life."^[109] Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone expressed the sadness of Pope Benedict XVI, saying that "the Holy Father expresses sentiments of deep sympathy and spiritual closeness to the members of her family and to the entire Pakistani nation."^[108] Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said that China was "shocked at the killing of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto" and "strongly condemns the terrorist attack."^[110]^[111]^[112]

Scotland Yard investigation

British detectives were asked by the Pakistan Government to investigate the assassination. Although expressing reservations as to the difficulty in investigating due to the crime scene having been hosed down and Asif Zardari refusing permission for a post mortem, they announced on 8 February 2008 that Benazir Bhutto had been killed on impact by the knob of the sun roof following the bomb explosion.

UN inquiry

A formal investigation by the UN commenced on July 1, 2009.^[113]

Allegation of giving nuclear secrets to North Korea

B. Bhutto was one of the key political figures of Pakistan's Nuclear Program. Bhutto maintained close and friendly relationships with many prominent Pakistan's nuclear scientists. Benazir Bhutto also carried messages to Munir Ahmad Khan from her father and back in 1979 as Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto had instructed her daughter to remain in touch with the Chairman of PAEC.

Shyam Bhatia, an Indian journalist, alleged in his book Goodbye Shahzadi that in 1993, Bhutto had downloaded secretive information on uranium enrichment to give to North Korea in exchange for information on developing ballistic missiles. Bhatia alleges that Bhutto had asked him to not tell the story during her lifetime. Nuclear expert David Albright of the Institute of Science and International Security said the allegations "made sense" given the timeline of North Korea's nuclear development. George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace called Bhatia a "smart and serious guy." Selig Harrison of the Center for International Policy called Bhatia "credible on Bhutto". The Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C. denied the claims and an United States official dismissed them, insisting that Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had been accused of proliferating secrets before to North Korea (only to later deny them prior to Bhatia's book), was the source.^[114]

Even when Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan's nuclear scandal came into public, Bhutto vowed that if she elected for Prime Minister of Pakistan as a third time she would allowed IAEA inspectors to investigate Dr. Khan. However, when her statement on-aired on Pakistani televisions, Bhutto faced a strong criticism from Pakistani civil society as well as strong response in her own party. A few hours later, she reverted her statement, her spokesperson Nahid Khan said that her statement was misunderstood.

Legacy

Commenting on her legacy, the acclaimed south Asia expert William Dalrymple commented that "It's wrong for the West simply to mourn Benazir Bhutto as a martyred democrat since her legacy was far murkier and more complex".^[115]

The Pakistani government honoured Bhutto on her birth anniversary by renaming the Islamabad International Airport as Benazir Bhutto International Airport after her. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, a member of Bhutto's PPP also asked President Pervez Musharraf to pardon convicts on death row on her birthday in honour of Bhutto.^[116]

The city of Nawabshah in Sindh was renamed Benazirabad in her honor. A university in the Dir Upper district of NWFP is opened in her name.

Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), a program which provides benefits to the poorest Pakistanis, is named after Bhutto.^[117]

Benazir Bhutto's books

Benazir Bhutto, (1983), Pakistan: The gathering storm, Vikas Pub. House, ISBN 0706924959
Benazir Bhutto (1989). Daughter of the East. Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-241-12398-4.

Daughter of the East was also released as:

Benazir Bhutto (1989). Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-66983-4.

At the time of Bhutto's death, the manuscript for her third book, to be called Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West, had been received by HarperCollins. The book, written with Mark Siegel, was published in February 2008.^[118]

Benazir Bhutto (2008). Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-156758-2 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0-06-156758-2 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Benazir Bhutto بينظير ڀٽو بینظیر بھٹو

Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 19 October 1993 – 5 November 1996
President	Wasim Sajjad Farooq Leghari
Preceded by	Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi (Acting)
Succeeded by	Malik Meraj Khalid (Acting)
In office 2 December 1988 – 6 August 1990
President	Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Preceded by	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Succeeded by	Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (Acting)
Minister of Finance
In office 26 January 1994 – 10 October 1996
Preceded by	Babar Ali (Acting)
Succeeded by	Naveed Qamar
In office 4 December 1988 – 6 December 1990
Prime Minister	Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (Acting) Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by	Mahbub ul Haq
Succeeded by	Sartaj Aziz
Minister of Defence
In office 4 December 1988 – 6 August 1990
Preceded by	Mahmoud Haroon
Succeeded by	Ghous Ali Shah
Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party
In office 12 November 1982 – 27 December 2007 Acting until 10 January 1984
Preceded by	Nusrat Bhutto
Succeeded by	Asif Ali Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Born	21 June 1953(1953-06-21) Karachi, Pakistan
Died	27 December 2007 (aged 54) Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse(s)	Asif Ali Zardari (1987–2007)
Children	Bilawal Bakhtawar Asifa
Alma mater	Radcliffe College Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford St Catherine's College, Oxford
Religion	Muslim-Shia^[1]^[2]
Signature
Website	Official website

Awami Muslim League (Pakistan)

2010-06-12T20:54:00.000+05:00

Awami Muslim League (Pakistan)

Awami Muslim League Pakistan (Urdu: عوامی مسلم لیگ پاکستان) is a Pakistani political party formed in June 2008 by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed^{.

NA-55 (Rawalpindi-VI)

This is a national assembly seat fought by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed of the Awami Muslim League Pakistan on February 24, 2010 but lost by a margin of more than 28000 votes. Mr Shakeel Awan from PML-(N) secure the seat.

This is the seat that was formerly held by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as an independent candidate at the 2002 general elections. [3]}

Former party

^{This was also the name of the political party founded by Abul Qasem Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and which later evolved into the Awami League, the party that, under the leadership of Shaikh Mujibur Rahman (himself a former aide to Suharwardy).

The All Pakistan Awami Muslim League was formed as a breakaway faction of the "All Pakistan Muslim League" in 1949, within two years of the formation of Pakistan. The word Muslim was dropped in 1955. Two parties of the same name were created in Pakistan.}

Awami Muslim League Pakistan عوامی مسلم لیگ پاکستان
Subah Khidmat Sham Khidmat
Leader	Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
Founded	2008
Headquarters	Central Secretariat, Lal Havely, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Ideology	Mass politics, Centrism
Political position	Centre
Official colours	Green, White
Website
http://www.aml.org.pk