Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
ذُوالفِقار علی بُھٹّو
Official portrait, c. 1971
9th Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 14 August 1973 – 5 July 1977
President	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Preceded by	Himself (as President) Nurul Amin (1971)
Succeeded by	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (as Chief Martial Law Administrator) Muhammad Khan Junejo (1985)
Constituency	Larkana-I
4th President of Pakistan 3rd Chief Martial Law Administrator
In office 20 December 1971 – 14 August 1973
Vice President	Nurul Amin
Preceded by	Yahya Khan
Succeeded by	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Constituency	Larkana-I
1st Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office 7 December 1971 – 20 December 1971
Prime Minister	Nurul Amin
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Nusrat Bhutto (1989) (as Senior Minister)
Constituency	Larkana-I
7th Speaker of the National Assembly
In office 14 April 1972 – 15 August 1972
Deputy	Muhammad Hanif Khan
Preceded by	Abdul Jabbar Khan
Succeeded by	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
8th and 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 20 December 1971 – 28 March 1977
Prime Minister	Himself
Deputy	Sultan Mohammed Khan Iftikhar Ali Mumtaz Ali Alvie Agha Shahi (Foreign Secretary)
Preceded by	Yahya Khan
Succeeded by	Aziz Ahmed
In office 15 June 1963 – 31 August 1966
President	Ayub Khan
Deputy	S. K. Dehlavi Aziz Ahmed S. M. Yusuf (Foreign Secretary)
Preceded by	Muhammad Ali Bogra
Succeeded by	Sharifuddin Pirzada
13th Minister of Defence
In office 20 December 1971 – 5 July 1977
Prime Minister	Himself
Deputy	Ghias Uddin Ahmed Fazal Muqeem Khan Ghulam Ishaq Khan (Defence Secretary)
Preceded by	Yahya Khan
Succeeded by	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
17th and 19th Minister of Interior
In office 13 January 1977 – 28 March 1977
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Abdul Qayyum Khan
Succeeded by	Inamul Haque Khan
In office 24 December 1971 – 1 May 1972
President	Himself
Preceded by	Abdur Rashid Khan
Succeeded by	Abdul Qayyum Khan
12th Minister of Industries
In office 13 May 1972 – 22 October 1974
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	A. K. M. Hafizuddin
Succeeded by	Rafi Raza
1st Minister of Provincial Coordination
In office 24 December 1971 – 6 March 1972
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Abdul Hafeez Pirzada
1st Minister of Fuel, Power and Natural Resources
In office 23 April 1960 – 4 September 1963
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Abdullah al Mahmood
16th and 18th Minister of Works
In office 31 August 1962 – 3 February 1963
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Fazlul Quader Chowdhury
Succeeded by	Rana Abdul Hamid
In office 7 September 1961 – 8 June 1962
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	K. N. Sheikh
Succeeded by	Fazlul Quader Chowdhury
14th and 17th Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 25 November 1960 – 10 April 1961
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Ayub Khan
Succeeded by	Habibur Rahman
In office 16 January 1960 – 1 June 1960
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Habibur Rahman
Succeeded by	Akhter Husain
8th Minister of Minority Affairs
In office 16 January 1960 – 23 April 1960
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Habibur Rahman
Succeeded by	Habibur Rahman
Personal details
Born	(1928-01-05)5 January 1928 Ratodero Taluka, Sind Division, Bombay Presidency
Died	4 April 1979(1979-04-04) (aged 51) Central Jail Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Resting place	Bhutto family mausoleum
Nationality	British Indian (1928–1947) Pakistani (1947–1979)
Political party	Pakistan People's Party
Other political affiliations	Convention Muslim League (1962–1966)[1]
Spouse(s)	Shireen Amir Begum ​ ​ (m. 1943, separated)​ Nusrat Ispahani ​ (m. 1951)​ Husna Sheikh[2]
Children	Benazir Murtaza Sanam Shahnawaz
Parents	Shah Nawaz Bhutto (father) Khursheed Begum (mother)
Relatives	Bhutto family
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley Christ Church, Oxford Lincoln's Inn
Profession	Barrister diplomat politician
Awards	N. Pk
Nickname	Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader")
Chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party
In office 30 November 1967 – 4 April 1979
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Nusrat Bhutto
Head of the Bhutto family
In office 19 November 1957 – 4 April 1979
Preceded by	Shah Nawaz Bhutto
Succeeded by	Mumtaz Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto^[a] (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister, politician, and statesman. He served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth prime minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. Bhutto founded the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and served as its chairman until his execution for murder.

Born in Sindh into a Sindhi Rajput family and educated at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Oxford, Bhutto trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn before entering politics. Initially, he was a cabinet member during president Iskandar Ali Mirza's tenure, holding various ministries during president Ayub Khan's military rule from 1958. Bhutto became the Foreign Minister in 1963, advocating for Operation Gibraltar in Kashmir, leading to the 1965 war with India. Following the Tashkent Declaration, he was dismissed from the government. Bhutto established the PPP in 1967, focusing on an Islamic socialist agenda, and contested the 1970 general election. The Awami League and PPP were unable to agree on power transfer, leading to civil unrest and the creation of Bangladesh. After Pakistan's loss in the 1971 war against Bangladesh, Bhutto assumed the presidency in December 1971, imposing emergency rule.

During his presidency, Bhutto secured the release of 93,000 prisoners of war and reclaimed five thousand square miles (13,000 km²) of Indian-held territory through the Simla Agreement. He strengthened diplomatic ties with China and Saudi Arabia, recognized Bangladesh, and hosted the second Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Lahore in 1974. Bhutto's government drafted the current constitution of Pakistan in 1973, after which he transitioned to the prime minister's office. He played a crucial role in initiating the country's nuclear program. However, his policies, including extensive nationalisation, led to economic stagnation.

Despite winning the 1977 parliamentary elections, Bhutto faced allegations of widespread vote rigging, sparking violence across the country. On 5 July 1977, Bhutto was deposed in a military coup by army chief Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Controversially tried and executed in 1979, Bhutto's legacy remains contentious, praised for nationalism and a secular internationalist agenda, yet criticized for political repression, economic challenges, and human rights abuses. He is often considered one of Pakistan's greatest leaders. His party, the PPP, continues to be a significant political force in Pakistan, with his daughter Benazir Bhutto serving twice as Prime Minister, and his son-in-law, Asif Ali Zardari, becoming president.

This article is part of a series about Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Early life Political career Burial Political views Socialism Elections 1970 1977 Political parties Pakistan People’s Party (1967 onwards) Convention Muslim League (before 1967) Foreign Minister Sino-Pakistan Agreement Operation Gibraltar President of Pakistan Simla Agreement Project-706 1973 Constitution Federal Security Force Utility Stores Corporation Prime Minister of Pakistan 1970s operation in Balochistan 1973 Iraqi embassy raid 1974 Anti-Ahmadiyya riots Amendments to the Constitution of Pakistan I II III IV V VI VII Nationalization process Foreign policy Hyderabad tribunal Downfall 1977 Pakistani military coup Execution Bibliography Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan Gallery: Picture, Sound, Video
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