Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan (1973–77) and its fourth President (1971–73). Revered as Quaid-i-Awam, he founded the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and served as its chairman until his execution in 1979.
Educated at USC, UC Berkeley and Oxford, Bhutto trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London. His political career began as a member of President Iskander Mirza's cabinet, before being assigned several ministries during the presidency of Field Marsha lAyub Khan from 1958. Appointed as Foreign Minister in 1963, Bhutto was a proponent of covert infiltration in Indian Kashmir, leading to war with India in 1965. An agreement brokered by the Soviet Union ended hostilities, but Bhutto fell out with Ayub and was dismissed from the government. After uniting the left-wing mass, Bhutto founded the PPP in 1967, and contested 1970 general election held by President Yahya Khan– Ayub's successor. The East Pakistani party, the Awami League, surprisingly won a plurality of seats, but neither Yahya nor Bhutto were ready to cede power to them. Subsequent uprisings led to the 1971 secession of the East as Bangladesh, as Pakistan were defeated in a war against Bangladesh-allied India. Bhutto was handed thepresidency in December 1971 and an emergency was imposed.
By July 1972, President Bhutto had recovered around 93,000 prisoners of war and 5,000 square miles of Indian-held territory after signing the Simla Agreement with Indian premier Indira Gandhi. In foreign affairs, he strengthened ties with Soviet Union, China and Saudi Arabia, and recognized the sovereignty of Bangladesh. Domestically, Bhutto's reign saw parliament unanimously approve a new constitution in 1973, after which he endorsed Fazal Ilahi's bid for president, and assumed instead the newly empowered office of Prime minister. He also played an integral role in initiating the atomic–bomb program. His economic program was based on the nationalization of much of Pakistan's fledgling industries, healthcare, and educational institutions; this led to severe economic stagnation. In an attempt to restore peace, Bhutto dissolved the Balochistan Assembly which was met with unrest; Bhutto subsequently ordered a military operation in the province in 1973, causing thousands of civilian casualties.
Despite civil disorder, aggravated by incidents of repression by federal forces, the PPP won the 1977 parliamentary elections easily. However, a conservative alliance alleged widespread rigging, and violence escalated across Pakistan. Finally on 5 July 1977, chief of army staff General Zia-ul-Haq deposed Bhutto in a bloodless coup, and had the former Prime Minister controversially tried and executed by the Supreme Court in 1979 for authorizing the murder of a political opponent. While Bhutto's legacy is contentious, his party, the PPP, remains one of the largest in Pakistan and continues to be dominated by members of his family.
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