Murtaza Bhutto
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Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (; 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of
al-Zulfiqar Al-Zulfiqar was a Pakistani left-wing Insurgency organization. It was formed in 1979 by Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto after their father, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was deposed in a military coup and execute ...
, a Pakistani
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
militant organization. The son of
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...
, the former
Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...
, he earned a bachelor's degree from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and a master's degree from the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. Murtaza founded al-Zulfiqar after his father was overthrown and executed in 1979 by the military regime of General
Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...
. In 1981, he claimed responsibility for the murder of conservative politician
Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi (1917 - 25 September 1981) was a Pakistani politician who rose to prominence from a small town of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi began his career in the police force as a constable but gave it up soon after ...
, and the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airlines airplane from
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, during which a hostage was killed. In exile in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, Murtaza was
sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in absentia by a
military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...
. He returned to Pakistan in 1993 and was arrested for
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
on the orders of his sister, then-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Released on bail, Murtaza successfully contested elections to the
Sindh Provincial Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh ( ur, ) is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of ...
, becoming a vocal critic of Benazir and her husband
Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...
. After increasing tensions between the two, he was shot dead along with six associates in a
police encounter A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...
near his home in Karachi on 20 September 1996. Benazir's government was dismissed a month later by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Farooq Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari ( ur, ; 29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He is the first Baloch to have been elected ...
primarily citing Murtaza's death and corruption. Zardari was arrested and indicted for Murtaza's murder, but acquitted in 2008. Murtaza's own faction of his father's
Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...
Shaheed Bhutto, remains active in politics.


Biography


Early life and education

Born into the Bhutto family in
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
on 18 September 1954, to
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
and
Nusrat Bhutto ''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...
, he received his early education at St. Mary's Academy. He was born in a Satti
Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
Bhutto family The Bhutto family ( ur, بھُٹو خاندان; sd, ڀُٽو خاندان) is a prominent political family and among the most powerful families in Pakistan, based in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The Bhuttos have played a prominent role in Pak ...
, and has three siblings: Benazir, Shahnawaz and Sanam. He later passed his 'O' levels from the
Karachi Grammar School Karachi Grammar School ( ur, ) is an independent, English-medium school located in 3 different campuses across Karachi. The main and oldest campus is located in Saddar, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a highly selective, coeducational day school ...
in 1971. In 1972, Murtaza went off to
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
where he took his bachelor's degree. For a period of time, he was the roommate of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
gubernatorial candidate and former mayor of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, Bill White. In 1976, Bhutto graduated with his thesis entitled "''Modicum of Harmony''". His thesis dealt with the spread of
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s in general, and the implications of India's nuclear weapons on Pakistan in particular. Murtaza went on to attend Christ Church
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, his father's alma mater, for a three-year Master of Letters (MLitt) degree course. Bhutto submitted his master thesis, containing a vast argumentative work on Nuclear strategic studies, where he advocated for Pakistan's right to develop its nuclear deterrence programme to counter
Indian nuclear programme India possesses List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons and previously developed Chemical weapon, chemical weapons. Although India has not released any official statements about the size of its nuclear arsenal, recent estimates su ...
. While in Europe studying for his PhD studies, his sister, Benazir Bhutto, had notified Murtaza Bhutto about the ''coup d'état'' led by General
Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...
. Murtaza, along with his siblings, returned to Pakistan immediately. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto advised his children to leave the country in the shortest time possible. Murtaza was on the verge of rushing home when he received a message from his father asking him to remain abroad where he could mobilise an international campaign for his release. Murtaza had been in Pakistan until Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government was overthrown on 5  July 1977. Along with other family members, Murtaza had returned to Al-Murtaza,
Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site M ...
, and at the time was busy helping in the preparations for the elections scheduled for October 1977. But on 16 September 1977 when Ali Bhutto was arrested at Al-Murtaza, he asked his son to leave the country. After Ali Bhutto was sentenced, Murtaza joined hands with his brother, Shahnawaz Bhutto, to initiate a campaign to muster international support to revoke the death penalty looming over his father's head. Leaders from Syria, Libya, and the PLO were particularly supportive. Mercy appeals were sent by several heads of state to General
Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...
; however, all these appeals were disregarded and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was executed. Murtaza and Shahnawaz both cut short their respective courses of study and decided to devote themselves to avenge their father's death. Eventually they resorted to taking up arms, their main target being Zia-ul-Haq. This marked the beginning of a new and more controversial era in Murtaza's life.


Al-Zulfiqar

Like his elder sister, Benazir, Murtaza Bhutto was a novice to active politics until 1978 when his father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court. In the span of 15 years, however, Murtaza managed to gain considerable notoriety for a brand of politics that has moved in a direction that was diametrically opposed to Benazir's.
Al-Zulfiqar Al-Zulfiqar was a Pakistani left-wing Insurgency organization. It was formed in 1979 by Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto after their father, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was deposed in a military coup and execute ...
was a leftist insurgency and militant organisation of Pakistan. It was formed in the late seventies by the sons of former Pakistani Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was also the Chairman of Pakistan's biggest political party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Al-Zulfiqar was formed to avenge the execution of Ali Bhutto by the right-wing military regime of General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1979. Zia had deposed the populist Bhutto regime in a military coup in July 1977. Bhutto was hanged by the Zia regime after a closed military trial. Ali Bhutto's two sons, Murtaza and Shahnawaz went into exile in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
which was at that time controlled by communist revolutionary government of
Babrak Karmal Babrak Karmal (Farsi/ Pashto: , born Sultan Hussein; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was an Afghan revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of General Secretary of the People's Democratic Pa ...
. There the two sons formed Al-Zulfiqar along with hundreds of Pakistan Peoples Party militants who had escaped Zia's persecution. The Al-Zulfiqar Organization (AZO) was born at this point, and disgruntled elements among the younger members of the PPP, disappointed in the party's leadership, flocked to Murtaza's side. The AZO, however, went on to earn the title of terrorist organisation due to its various terrorist activities throughout the country, a label which dogged Murtaza till he died. For his part, Murtaza always denied the charge that he espoused the politics of terrorism.


1981 PIA hijack

Al-Zulfiqar
hijack Hijack may refer to: Films * ''Hijack'' (1973 film), an American made-for-television film * ''Hijack!'', a 1975 British film sponsored by the Children's Film Foundation - see Children's Film Foundation filmography * ''Hijack'' (2008 film), a Bol ...
ed a
Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
flight after and diverted it to
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
in March 1981. From Kabul the journey went on to Damascus, Syria. The hijacking went on for thirteen days, during which Murtaza shot Major Tariq Rahim for being an Army officer. Rahim was executed following Murtaza's conferring with Afghan Intelligence (
KHAD ''Khadamat-e Aetla'at-e Dawlati'' (Pashto/ prs, خدمات اطلاعات دولتی literally "State Intelligence Agency", also known as "State Information Services"https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/482947db2.pdf or "Committee of State Security". U ...
) chief
Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیب‌الله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...
. The Zia government had to accept the demands of the hijackers, releasing dozens of prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails and flying them to Tripoli.


Prosecution of the hijack

In 2003 the case against Murtaza Bhutto and his brother was concluded quietly absolving them from blame relating to the PIA Hijacking, according to Fatima Bhutto's Book – ''Songs of Blood and Sword''. In the book, she indicates that the actual leader of the hijacking was
Salamullah Tipu Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 was hijacked by the militant insurgency group Al-Zulfiqar, led by Murtaza Bhutto, in March 1981. The hijacking went on for thirteen days, starting on the 2nd of March, and ending on the 15th. It was a ...
. Tipu had attempted to join the AZO in Kabul, but was rejected as the AZO supposedly never accepted those that came to them (in what was to be a futile effort to prevent infiltration). Murtaza Bhutto was supposedly only to hear about the hijacking when Tipu called him in Afghanistan from the hijacked aircraft. Contrary to this, Raja Anwar in his book ''The Terrorist Prince'' paints a negative picture of Murtaza Bhutto. He writes that the idea to hijack a plane came from Murtaza Bhutto himself, who was 'obsessed' about the tactic after the Palestinians resorted to it in the seventies and eighties. Anwar tells of an excited Murtaza who, while he had early advised Tipu on taking the aircraft to Damascus or Tripoli went into pragmatic overdrive once the plane landed in Kabul due to a shortage of fuel. Anwar, after detailed conversations with Salamullah Tipu, which he recounts in his book tells of the role Najibullah played along with Murtaza in directing the hijack from the Kabul airport control tower. Raja says that while the hijackers had arrived into Kabul with only revolvers, they were soon furnished with semi-automatic weapons after Murtaza's successive meetings with Tipu under the 'belly of the PIA aircraft'. The most compelling account from 'The Terrorist Prince' tell of the treatment meted out to Major Tariq Rahim, who was ADC to Murtaza's father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Raja Anwar recounts the successive pleas (in the form of notes written on torn pieces of newspaper) Tariq Rahim made to Murtaza and Shahnawaz (Murtaza's younger brother) on account of his association with Zulfiqar Bhutto. These pleas according to one of the hijackers were delivered to Murtaza Bhutto, who not only discarded them, but instead instructed Salamullah Tipu to execute Tariq Rahim. The books tells of countless stories of many activists who became fodder for Murtaza Bhutto in his quest to seek revenge for his father's judicial murder at the hands of General Zia-ul-Haq.


Rift with Asif Ali Zardari

After returning to Pakistan from exile , Bhutto offered his sister, Benazir Bhutto, the chance to revive the manifesto of PPP which his father championed. However, he was not happy with the ways of Benazir's husband
Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...
and wanted him removed from influence in the PPP. When Benazir decided to side with her husband, Murtaza became a strong critic of the PPP government and the ongoing corruption. It is widely believed in Pakistan that this incident drove Zardari to rage and he used police machinery to assassinate Murtaza Bhutto. Benazir became highly unpopular after this incident and her limo was stoned by PPP workers when she tried to visit Murtaza's funeral ceremonies. After Benazir's government was dismissed in 1996, Zardari was detained for having a part in Murtaza's assassination. However, no charges were ever proven due to lack of evidence.


Personal life

Bhutto fell in love with a
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
girl named, Fauzia Fasihuddin Bhutto, in Afghanistan. He married Fauzaia in 1980, and his brother Shahnawaz married her sister Rehana Fasihuddin. They had a daughter
Fatima Bhutto Fatima Bhutto ( ur, ; , born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in Kabul, she is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and gran ...
. However, the marriage ended in divorce, and Bhutto along with his daughter moved to Syria, where he married the Lebanese dancer
Ghinwa Bhutto Ghinwa Bhutto ( ur, غنویٰ بھٹو, sd, غنوا ڀٽو, ar, غنوة بوتو; born Ghinwa Itaoui) is a Lebanese-Pakistani politician and the chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto). She is the widow of Murtaza Bhutto, and th ...
in 1989. Bhutto, with his wife Ghinwa and daughter Fatima, later moved to Karachi in 1990, where the couple's son
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr. ( ur, , sd, ذُوالفِقّارعلِي ڀُٽو; born 1 August 1990), is a Pakistani visual artist, performance artist and curator. He is a member of the prominent political Bhutto family, and is the grandson of fo ...
was born.


Death

Just before his death, Bhutto, 42, had verbally attacked the government. "There would be trouble if the Police tries to arrest me without a warrant," he had declared. Bhutto was sought by the police on the charge of inciting attacks on two CIA centres the previous Tuesday where it was thought that his party activist Ali Sunara was detained. On Thursday, 20 September 1996 at 6:35 p.m., Bhutto, along with six other party activists, was killed in an encounter with police near his residence in
Clifton, Karachi Clifton is an upscale and historic seaside locality in Karachi, Pakistan. It is one of the most affluent parts of the city, home to some of Karachi's most expensive real estates. It is home to several foreign consulates, while its commercial cent ...
. Among the dead was Aashiq Jatoi, the acting provincial chief of the
Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...
(Shaheed Bhutto Group). Jatoi was a brother in-law of
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi Ghulam Mustafa ‘Joseph’Jatoi (Sindhi:غلام مصطفا جتوئي) ( ur, ) (14 August 1931 – 20 November 2009) was a Pakistani politician who served as the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan for three months, from 6 August 1990 to ...
, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. The injured list included six activists of Murtaza Bhutto's party and three policemen, including Superintendent of Police of Saddar area of
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and two other station house officers (SHOs).


Official explanation

A Sindh government handout issued late the night of Bhutto's death said that Bhutto's vehicle was allowed to proceed to his residence by SHO Clifton after it was stopped. Bhutto's gunmen, sitting on the land cruiser vehicle, resorted to indiscriminate firing injuring Area Superintendent of Police (ASP) Saddar, SHO Clifton and a person in a nearby taxi. Other gunmen sitting in Bhutto's vehicle also started firing straight at the police. The police, under the command of ASP Drakshan and ASP Saddar, returned fire in self-defence, and after an encounter of 20 to 25 minutes, took control of the situation. The police claimed that they reached the Bhutto's residence at number 70 Clifton, at 8:30 p.m., to arrest him. The policemen alleged that security guards, belonging to Bhutto and stationed at his house, opened fire, injuring several policemen. Return fire by the police party caused fatal injuries to Bhutto and his supporters. Police said Bhutto's followers, who were in three cars returning from a party, fired first when asked to stop. Police returned fire, killing six people, all members of Murtaza Bhutto's faction. This was confirmed by the Deputy Inspector General of police Shoaib Suddle. Suddle further said that the police had insisted on checking the vehicles because of tightened security after two bomb blasts in Karachi on Wednesday, 18 September 1996, in which one person was killed and at least four others were wounded. The party activists who were wounded were identified as Dr. Mazhar Memon, Siraj Hyder, Ismail, Ayaz, Asghar and Bachhal. The policemen who were shot were ASP Saddar Shahid Hayat, SHO Clifton Haq Nawaz Sayyal, and SHO Napier Junaid. Two injured policemen remained unidentified. The injured were moved to the Aga Khan Hospital and Civil Hospital. Those who were killed with Bhutto were identified as Ashiq Jatoi, Rehman Brohi, Sajjad Hyder, Abdul Sattar Rajpur, Yar Mohammed Baloch and Wajahat Jokhio. The bodies reached JPMC Hospital at about 3:30 a.m. The police arrested 12 supporters of Bhutto and seized about a dozen
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
rifles from their possession. Some policemen who had stopped Bhutto's vehicle later claimed that they did not know whose car they had stopped. They said that they would not have opened fire on the motorcade had they known that it was Bhutto's. Others said that they had fired in panic and self-defence. Senior police officials were tight-lipped about the tragedy. Sources said that after the incident the Rangers again cordoned off the area and searched the house.


Narrative of the Pakistan People's Party of Shaheed Bhutto

Dr. Mazhar Memon, Senior Vice-President of the party's Hyderabad Division, blamed the police for opening fire on Bhutto without any provocation. "We were returning from a public meeting at Surjani Town, District West of Karachi, when the police and Rangers stopped near the 70 Clifton," Dr. Memon stated at the JPMC Casualty Department. He said that Bhutto had exited the car to talk with the official. The policemen suddenly opened fire on Bhutto, seriously injuring him. Dr Memon said, "I also came out of the vehicle to help my injured leader who was on the ground and I received a bullet in my leg." Dr Memon added that when Bhutto's guards saw him on the ground in a pool of blood, they rushed out and opened fire on the police. The policemen ignored Bhutto and continued firing. Memon added that when the firing died down, the Rangers who were on the spot jumped from their vehicles. Some eyewitnesses said that Bhutto, after getting out of his car, challenged the policemen to shoot him. A man was seen struggling for his life after being hit by police fire in front of the DIG police residence. The firing continued for half an hour, causing great panic in the area. Soon after the incident, when newsmen rushed to the hospital, they were beaten by highly emotionally charged policemen. The personnel of the law enforcement agencies cocked their guns and confiscated the cameras of photographers. One of the police officers ordered his force to open fire at journalists should they ignore his orders and advance.


Aftermath

Sources said that when Murtaza Bhutto arrived at the Mideast hospital in an official car, blood was oozing from his mouth. He tried to take off the oxygen mask but the doctors kept replacing it. Bhutto then collapsed and lost consciousness. At this time Bhutto's wife Ghinva and daughter
Fatimah Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, ...
, both of them crying, reached the hospital. They were ordered out of the ICU, where the only official present was the Deputy Commissioner South, Arif Elahi. Soon the specialist doctors from Jinnah Hospital reached the Mideast Hospital. No anesthetist was available at the hospital, which normally does not treat medico-legal cases. Murtaza was shot in his collarbone, chest, leg and abdomen. His body refused to accept a blood transfusion while he was being operated upon. Doctors revived his heart once when it stopped but failed to do so the second time. Murtaza Bhutto died at 11:45 p.m. but his death was not announced by the hospital authorities until 12:25 a.m. On Saturday, the body was taken for burial by helicopter to Larkana, Sindh. The pilot of one of the helicopters which carried the body had difficulty in lifting the chopper as a number of supporters of Bhutto from
Lyari Lyari (Urdu: ; sd, لیاري) is a historic locality in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the most densely-populated part of Karachi, and is one of its earliest settled areas.Sarwat Viqar (2014) Constructing Lyari: place, governance and identity in a Kar ...
, Karachi clung to the skids in a bid to board the aircraft. While the helicopter managed to lift off, many of the visibly moved supporters fell down. One, however, clung to the helicopter. The helicopter flew up to sea side and then returned and landed at Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim where the youth clinging to the helicopter's skid fell down and the chopper flew away. Bhutto was laid to rest at the Bhutto family mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh near
Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site M ...
, Sindh, Pakistan.


Police trial

On 3 December 2009, a sessions court in Karachi acquitted of murder twenty policemen in the Murtaza Bhutto case pertaining to an armed attack on a police team in which two officials were wounded and a taxi driver was also killed. The same court also pardoned six workers of the Pakistan People's Party Shaheed Bhutto in the same case. During the 13 years that the trial dragged on, a number of judges were appointed to hear the murder case. The change of judges is one of the many reasons behind the delay in disposal of the present case. Other reasons include a lack of interest of the prosecution witnesses and long adjournments sought by the counsel for President Asif Ali. The acquitted included Mazhar Memon, Asghar Ali, Asif Ali Jatoi, Mehmood Bhallai, Ghulam Mustafa Chandio and Akhter Ali Mirani. The police personnel acquitted include Shoaib Suddle, Wajid Durrani, Masood Sharif, Rai Tahir and others who were prosecution witnesses in this case.


See also

* Pakistan Peoples Party *
Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) The Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) ''( sd, پيپلزپارٽي شهيدڀٽو)'' (abbreviated as PPP-SB) is a political party in Pakistan and one of three breakaway factions of the old Pakistan Peoples Party. The party is currently hea ...


Further reading

* *


References


External links


Interview with FatimaBhutto
Radio France Internationale in English * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutto, Murtaza 1954 births 1996 deaths Assassinated Pakistani politicians
Murtaza Murtaza or Morteza or Mortaza, a Persianate form of the Arabic Murtada or Murtadha ( ar, مرتضى, translit=Murtaḍā, lit=One Pleasing to God, label=none), is a common Muslim name. Pronunciation varies with accent, from native Arabic speakers ...
Harvard University alumni Karachi Grammar School alumni Sindhi people Pakistani people of Iranian descent Pakistani democracy activists People murdered in Pakistan Pakistan People's Party politicians Al-Zulfiqar Pakistani expatriates in Syria Pakistani exiles Pakistani expatriates in Afghanistan Hijackers Pakistani dissidents People from Clifton, Karachi Pakistani socialists People of the Soviet–Afghan War Children of national leaders Pakistani people of Kurdish descent Children of prime ministers of Pakistan Children of presidents of Pakistan People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Pakistan Deaths by firearm in Sindh