ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s former prime minister Zulfikar All Bhutto was hanged in April 1979 at Rawalpindi Jail, where he was kept on‐ charges of conspiring to murder a political rival, and now shocking claims surfaced 45 years after his death.
The PPP founder was executed in the presence of officials of the military government led by President Zia ul-Haq.
As Bhutto’s legacy remains in the country, assistant jail superintendent Majeed Qureshi made shocking revelations in first interview aired on local TV channel.
Recalling horrific incidents from 1979, jail superintendent Majeed Qureshi said Bhutto told the jail authorities that he had never instructed anyone to commit murder, and he believed the case against him was fabricated.
Bhutto decried murder charges for his efforts to unite Muslim countries, not because of any wrongdoing at ground level, calling it foreign conspiracy.
The jailer recalled the emotional final meeting between Z.A Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto, and Benazir Bhutto. He remembered a heart-wrenching scene of Benazir kissing her father’s hands and forehead while he sat behind bars. Bhutto also kissed his daughter’s forehead, and they exchanged whispered words, creating a deeply moving moment.
On the day of execution, the jailer said Bhutto asked jail officials to remove cloth in his last words.
After the hanging, pictures were taken of Bhutto’s body without clothes as per the administration’s protocol.
‘Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get fair trial,’ says Supreme Court in its opinion
