The Bhutto family is a Pakistani political family of Sindhi background, belonging to the Bhutto clan. The Bhuttos have played a prominent role in

Pakistani politics The Politics of Pakistan ( ; ISO: ''Siyāsiyāt-e-Pākistāna'') takes place within the framework established by the constitution. The country is a federal parliamentary republic in which provincial governments enjoy a high degree of aut ...

and government. The family has held the leadership of the

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a centre-left political position, it is cu ...

(PPP), since its inception in 1967. The Bhuttos have been settled in

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

for over three centuries. Two members of the family,

Zulfikar Zulfiqar or Zulfaqar (, ), also spelled ''Zu al-Faqar'', ''Zulfakar'', ''Dhu al-Faqar'', or ''Dhulfaqar)'', is the sword of Ali, Ali ibn Abi Talib that was distinguished by having a double blade. Middle Eastern weapons are commonly inscribed wi ...

and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

, have been the

Prime Ministers of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, 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 of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, whereas

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

, Benazir's widower, has been the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

twice, from 2008 to 2013 and from 2024 to present.

History

According to James P. Sterba of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Bhutto family traces its origins to

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

community from the region now known as

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India. The family converted to Islam centuries ago and migrated southwest to the area near

Larkana Larkana (; ) 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 Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

, in present-day Pakistan, along with their

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. Mitho Khan Bhutto, an ancestor of the family, was the first to settle in the region. However, it was his descendant, Sardar Pirbuksh Bhutto, who expanded the family's landholdings. As a tribal chief, Sardar Pirbuksh Bhutto accumulated around 40,000 acres of land through various means, including military

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

s, land purchases, and by providing labor for British canal construction projects in return for

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s. According to another account by historian

Stanley Wolpert Stanley Albert Wolpert (December 23, 1927 – February 19, 2019) was an American historian, Indologist, and author on the political and intellectual history of modern India and PakistanDr. Stanley Wolpert's UCLA Faculty homepage and wrote fict ...

, the Bhuttos originally migrated to

in the early 18th century from the neighboring region of Gujratra (now

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). 'Sehto' was the first member of the Bhutto family, who converted to Islam during Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

's reign. Following the conversion to Islam he took the title of ''Khan'', becoming Sehto Khan. In Sindh, the Bhuttos under Sehto Khan first settled at Ratodero, a few miles north of

Shah Nawaz Bhutto Shah Nawaz Bhutto (, , ), 8 March 1888 – 19 November 1957, was a politician and a member of the Bhutto family hailing from Larkana in the Sind region of the Bombay Presidency of British India, which is now Sindh, Pakistan. Early life and ...

, a direct descendant of Sehto Khan, came to prominence during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

as a ''

dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

'' of the princely state of Junagadh in the southwestern part of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

in India. During the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, the Muslim

Nawab of Junagarh Nawab of Junagarh or Junagadh refers to the now defunct ex-lineage of rulers of the princely Junagarh State in British Raj, nowadays Junagadh district in the state of Gujarat in India. There are still several forts and palaces in India which we ...

wanted to accede his state to the newly created Pakistan but faced a rebellion by the Hindu majority population of Junagadh. The

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

thwarted the accession to Pakistan, and the Bhuttos had to flee to Sindh in modern-day Pakistan. Shah Nawaz Bhutto moved to

Larkana District Larkana District ( Sindhi: لاڙڪاڻو ضلعو; ) is a district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Its largest city is Larkana, which sits on the banks of the Indus River. It is the home district of the politically influential Bhutto famil ...

in Sindh, where his land-ownership made him one of the wealthiest and most influential persons in Sindh. Beginning the political dynasty, Shah Nawaz's third son

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

(1928-1979) founded the

(PPP) in 1967 and served as the fourth

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and later the ninth

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. He married an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

origin named Nusrat Ispahani. His daughter, Benazir (1953-2007), also served as Prime Minister, while his two sons,

Shahnawaz Bhutto Shahnawaz Bhutto (21 November 1958 – 18 July 1985; Sindhi: شاھنواز ڀٽو) was the son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1971 to 1977 and Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who was of Persian descent. ...

and Mir

Murtaza Bhutto Murtaza Bhutto (; , 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he earned a ...

, were assassinated. Shahnawaz's daughter, Sassi Bhutto and Murtaza's children, Fatima Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr., are settled abroad along with their aunt Sanam Bhutto (Zulfikar Bhutto's second daughter). After Benazir's assassination on December 27, 2007, her son

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office from 27 April 2022 to 10 August 2023. He became the chairman of Pakistan People's Party in 2007 following ...

became co-chairperson in 2007 along with her widower

Family tree

* Titles

According to other authors, the family migrated from Sarsa to Hissar.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: a memoir, Chakar Ali Junejo, National Commission on History and Culture, 1996, p. 7 * Founding father Doda Khan of Pir Bakhsh Bhutto * Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto, Illahi Bux Bhutto (Honorary Magistrate Larkana District) * Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto, Rasul Bakhsh Bhutto * Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto (Member Bombay Council) * Sardar Wahid Baksh Bhutto (Member, Central Legislative Assembly and Bombay Council, Chief of tribe) * Nawab Nabi Bakhsh Bhutto (Member, Central Legislative Assembly) * Khan Bahadur Ahmad Khan Bhutto

Photos

File:Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Portrait (cropped).jpg,

File:Nusrat Bhutto (cropped).jpg,

Nusrat Bhutto Begum Nusrat Bhutto (; ; ; []; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-born Pakistani public figure who served as the First ladies and gentlemen of Pakistan, First Lady of Pakistan from 1970 Pakistani general election, 1971 to Operat ...

File:Benazir Bhutto.jpg,

File:Fatima bhutto.jpg, Fatima Bhutto File:Z.A Bhutto j.jpg, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr File:Secretary Blinken and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bhutto Zardari Deliver Remarks (52387055806) (cropped).jpg,

File:Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, ca. June 2019.jpg,

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari Aseefa Bhutto Zardari (born 3 February 1993) is a Pakistani politician who is a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. She is the youngest daughter of Asif Ali Zardari, the current President of Pakistan, and Benazir Bhutto, the former Pr ...

File:Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari in Karachi.jpg, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari

History

Family tree

Photos

See also

Notes

References

Further reading