Senator Rehman Malik Sitara -e -Shujat, Nashan-e-Imtiaz
We are celebrating today the day of ZAB’s birthday through out in the country. God gifted us this leader who emerged in the world as the leader of the masses.
He was the best diplomat and a a strategist. He became the darling of the Muslim Ummah and he is still remembered with respect.
He became the victim of International conspiracy and the world witnessed the judicial murder of great charismatic public leader Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979.
The judicial murder of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on this day by a dictator was actually the death of humanity and the voice of masses. He was eliminated physically but he is still alive in the hearts of people.
History will neither forgive nor forget the murder of a leader who wanted to make us the leading nation, progressive, peaceful and prosperity by empowering the masses and by making Pakistan the first Muslim Nuclear Power in the world.
He had feared that Pakistan will be exposed to external danger by neighbouring India therefore announced “We (Pakistan) will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own (Atom bomb), we have no other choice!”.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed was the leader who had the vision to foresee the disintegration of Soviet Union & predicted new world order in making.
He refused to succumb to the international pressure to roll back on Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
Gerald Feuerstein, who was a witness to the meeting between the then Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and then US secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Lahore in August 1976, had admitted in an interview that Bhutto rejected the warning to roll back or compromise over Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had love in his heart for his people, country and Muslim Ummah and he made the history by bringing the Muslim Ummah on one platform during Islamic Summit held in Lahore in 1974.
He was not only a distinguished national leader but also an unparalleled statesman who reenergised the broken nation after the disaster of the fall of Dhaka.
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had judged well the Indian mindset, which was to never allow the basic rights of Kashmiris of self-determination but he emphasised at all international forums that the settlement of the Kashmir dispute depends on the right of self-determination. He dealt the local & international issues logically and pragmatically with result oriented approach.
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto laid down the foundations of strong friendship with China, which always supported Pakistan against all odds.
This relationship is getting stronger and stronger, which is reflected in the form of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The west decided his elimination after he announced to development of nuclear and then refused the rollback of the nuclear programme despite the numerous pressures and threats of making him a ‘horrible example’.
I had a chance as director FIA to look into the old files of the judicial murder of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto where I had found some tampered documents.
I appreciate the honesty of the then director law of FIA who had clearly stated the shells of the bullets were replaced, witnesses were tempered, accused were assured to go escort free home and Masood Mahmood was tutored under duress and in fact the first statement of Masood Mahmood was recorded by Magistrate Ghazanfar Zia under Section 164 of Cr. P.C., who never implicated Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
he magistrate had recorded the statement by observing the legal procedure and I interacted with Mr Ghanzfer during my personal interaction with him. He is presently living in his village in Kharian.
Having failed with Ghazanfar Zia, Magistrate, to change the statement of Masood Mahmood, the file was transferred to Lahore and yet a second statement under Section 164 Cr. P.C. was recorded by another Magistrate Qureshi who converted a tutored statement by into confessional statement of Masood Mahmood.
This was the beginning of the foundation to kill Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The files in the FIA are testimony of the innocence of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but deep buried files need to make to speak and justice Nasim Hasan Shah had also admitted about this judicial murder .
The reference filed by the the then President Asif Ali Zardari is still pending in Supreme court of Pakistan .
Bhutto’s ideology was popular throughout the world and he laid down his life but didn’t let Pakistan’s nuclear programme rolled back and didn’t compromise on his towering principles.
He could have saved his life if had compromised with a dictator, which was an impossible act for a leader of the people – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The writer is Former Interior Minister of Pakistan, author of 7 books, Ex-Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Chairman Institute of Research & Reforms (IRR) Islamabad. He can be reached at: [email protected], Twitter @Senrehmanmalik
