On April 4, 1979, before the sun had fully risen, a prisoner was escorted out of prison to the execution ground, and a tall and terrifying gallows towered in front of him, facing his final fate, and constantly whispering: "Allah, I am a innocent person."
Amid the sound of his fellow inmates chanting the Quran, the prisoner was sent to the gallows, ropes around his neck, and he looked off into the distance, finally staring at the land until he lost his breath.
This man was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
He single-handedly founded the Pakistan People's Party, but in the end he ended his life and political career in this way.
Family teaching, enlightenment from an early age
In 1928, Ali Bhutto was born into an aristocratic family, and his father was already famous in politics at the time.
Not matching his father's fame, his mother came from a low-income Hindu family.
It was only after marrying his father that his mother converted to Islam, which became a place where Ali Bhutto's political enemies attacked him in the future.
Because of his father's relationship, Ali Bhutto received a good education from an early age, and he was highly expected by his father and sent him abroad to study.
After graduating from the University of California in 1949 with a degree in law, he studied political science at the University of Berkeley, and then went to Oxford University in the United Kingdom to study for a master's degree in law.
After earning his degree in 1952, he qualified as a senior lawyer the following year.
After becoming a solicitor, he also worked as a lecturer at the University of Southampton in the UK.
After completing his studies, he thought about returning home.
But Western society was quite developed, but when Bhutto recalled his country, he was still so poor that he wanted to dedicate everything he had learned to the country.
After returning to China, he did not choose to inherit his father's business, but continued to insist on his career as a lawyer, which paved the way for him to enter politics in the future.
After returning from his studies abroad, he continued to engage in political activities.
The highly educated Bhutto was well aware of his strengths, and he had a close relationship with the young students and some intellectuals in Pakistan at the time, and was regarded as a representative figure.
Bhutto's political activities were also appreciated by the authorities, when Pakistani President Iskander Mirza saw this ambitious young man.
So in 1957, Bhutto attended the Twelfth Session of the United Nations General Assembly as a member of the Pakistani delegation. Bhutto was thrilled, and it was the beginning of his political career.
Make a record
Bhutto's promotion was also very rapid because of his performance in his work, and the following year he became the head of the Pakistani delegation at the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
It was also in this year that he had his chance to enter the core of the government, when the commander of the Pakistani army, General Ayyub Khan, staged a military coup and formed a new cabinet, which Bhutto became a member of.
Bhutto, who was only 30 years old at the time, was the youngest minister in the cabinet and had a very promising future.
In the Ayyubid government, Bhutto was reused and held a number of important positions.
In the early days of the Ayyubid government, Bhutto was still very supportive of Ayyub's policy, and it can be said that he made great contributions to the consolidation of the Ayyubid government.
But the young Bhutto had very lofty ambitions, and this pointed to something contrary to the policies of the authorities. Bhutto soon became aware of the gap, and he tried to influence and change, but in the end there was nothing he could do.
The Ayyubid government's long-term "military rule" has caused dissatisfaction from all walks of life in the country.
In the later period of the reign, although the political situation was stable, Pakistan was still in a poor and backward situation, the domestic economic problems were severe, even agriculture was not developed, and even a large amount of grain was imported from abroad every year.
Bhutto was very anxious to see such a situation, but the change in the domestic situation gave Bhutto another chance.
In 1965, war broke out between Pakistan and India in Kashmir, and after Pakistan's victory, the two sides signed an agreement to withdraw their troops to where they were before the war broke out.
For this result, there was a constant opposition in Pakistan, knowing that Pakistan had won the battle, but why would it agree to such a condition.
Because of this agreement, the political differences between Bhutto and Ayyub also developed to irreconcilable points.
An enraged Bhutto resigned and in 1967 founded the Pakistan People's Party.
After the formation of the People's Party, Bhutto stepped up his pace, echoing the opposition at home and demanding an end to the "military rule" imposed by the Ayyub government.
From the youngest minister in the Central Cabinet to the young revolutionaries standing among the masses, this is a considerable gap.
But Bhutto was always concerned with the most basic issues of food, clothing, shelter and transportation of the masses, and this was where the Ayyub government and Bhutto were at odds.
Bhutto's actions were also suppressed by the government, and Bhutto was even sent to prison.
Overthrow the rule, the ruling party
However, the government's actions have intensified the contradictions, as the spokesman of the public's voice, Bhutto's weight in the hearts of the public has become heavier and heavier, and the country has set off a campaign to rescue Bhutto.
Faced with the tide, the Ayyubid government was forced to release Bhutto in February 1969 and in March announced the transfer of power to Yahya Khan, then commander of the Pakistan Army.
The new government had just been formed, its position was still very weak, and the demand for a general election at home was getting stronger and stronger, and the Government of Yahya Khan was forced to agree.
Unsurprisingly, Bhutto's People's Party won in Siba, but in the election results of the whole of Pakistan, the AFLO from East Pakistan gained more support.
Although East Pakistan did not have independence at that time, the situation in Pakistan was already quite serious.
Because it was the West Pakistani who held state power, the outcome of the Awami League's elections could not be recognized. The People's League also knew that it could not come to power and took the opportunity to propose autonomy for Dongba.
This proposal exacerbated the contradictions between the two sides, and as a result, a civil war broke out and the situation of domestic confrontation intensified, which also gave India an opportunity to take advantage of it.
After the outbreak of the Third Indo-Pakistani War, Bhutto once again took the position of foreign minister and went to New York to attend the United Nations and the Security Council to discuss related issues.
Yahya Khan had wanted Bhutto to unite for support, but Bhutto lobbied as much as he could, but to little success.
At that time, only China explicitly supported Pakistan, while the Soviet Union supported India.
Big countries like the United States, France, and the United Kingdom have always been in a state of left-right oscillation and refuse to make a clear statement.
Bhutto returned to Pakistan with such a result, without international support, and Pakistan was already in chaos.
Dongba took the opportunity to become independent and became Bangladesh, while Siba also had nearly 5,000 square kilometers of land acquired by India.
The powerless Yahya Khan was forced to step down, and Bhutto became president of Pakistan's first democratically elected government after independence.
Ordered in times of crisis
In front of him was a mess, the domestic economy had been seriously damaged by the war and the civil war, and industries such as industry and agriculture were in a state of stagnation.
The Indo-Pakistani war is even continuing, with more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers being held in India. After Bhutto came to power, he actively sought a solution to the India-Pakistani issue.
During his negotiations with prime minister in India at the time, Indira Gandhi, the other side offered to settle the territorial, prisoner-of-war, and Kashmir issues at one time, which Bhutto could not tolerate.
He made it clear that he was tough and would rather step down than sign the treaty.
After many negotiations between the two sides, Bhutto always insisted on his attitude and refused to back down.
Under Bhutto's reasoning, the Indian side finally agreed to withdraw from most of the occupied Palestinian territories, return Palestinian prisoners of war, and restore normal economic and trade relations between the two sides.
This was already the best outcome for the defeated Pakistan, with people cheering Bhutto's victory and supporting him more than ever.
After solving external problems, Bhutto embarked on a radical domestic reform.
In 1973, at Bhutto's urging, a new constitution was promulgated and an attempt was made to establish a parliamentary system in Pakistan.
From the time of Ayyub, Pakistan's economic problems have become a key issue restricting Pakistan's development.
When Bhutto came to power, he could finally turn his previous ideas into reality, and he began to carry out land reform, education and labor reform, and state-owned measures.
These measures did have an important impact on Pakistan's economy, and many years of experience in political activity made Bhutto very aware of what the masses needed, so his policies were also popular with the small and middle classes and peasants.
At the same time, it was also opposed by the big bourgeoisie and the big landlord class, and also laid the hidden danger of the overthrow of the Bhutto regime in the later period.
In the stage of nationalization, many capitalists transferred their funds abroad in order to evade this policy, and at the same time, enterprises also suffered from mismanagement after being nationalized.
In the process of land reform, many landlords used various methods to escape the state's expropriation of excess land, but more land transfers occurred.
After the reforms, the large landlord class still played a pivotal political and economic role.
Although Bhutto's reforms were problematic, his reforms had a very far-reaching impact on the economic and social development of Pakistan at that time.
But it is undeniable that these ills also quietly determine the final outcome of Bhutto.
Problems are emerging and precarious
During Bhutto's last year and a half in power, there were obvious problems with Bhutto's policy.
He began to become arbitrary, even forgetting the constitution he had introduced himself.
In the economic field, he also seriously infringed on the interests of the small and medium-sized classes, which made the situation in the country worse, and the middle and upper classes, which were deeply affected by Bhutto's policies, also took the opportunity to challenge Bhutto.
In the face of tension, Bhutto was unaware, believing that he still had the support of the people.
On 7 January 1977, he confidently brought the March general elections ahead of schedule, and although the Pakistan Coalition Front, which was composed of nine opposition parties at the time, denounced Bhutto's actions, the outcome of the elections surprised them.
The BJP's victory again, an outcome that was unacceptable to the Pakistan Coalition Front, refused to acknowledge the result and even provoked unrest in Pakistan.
In order to stabilize the situation, he placed his close confidant Zia Haq to the post of Chief of the Army General Staff.
At that time, Bhutowan could not imagine that he would eventually die at the hands of this crony.
On July 5, 1977, news came from the radio that the Chief of Staff of the Army, Zia M. Haq declared military control throughout the country. In the evening, Zia Haq delivered a national speech on television, saying that the Bhutto government no longer existed and that it had established an interim government to replace the Bhutto government.
Zia Haq claimed that she was doing this precisely to save the country and announced a new general election in October. Bhutto is also under zia haq's surveillance, and Pakistan is almost in zia haq's hands.
On August 1, 1977, the specific date of the national election was set, and both Bhutto and the People's Party hoped to regain power and take power through this election.
At this time, Zia Haq was still polite to Bhutto and welcomed Bhutto to run.
But a month before the election, Bhutto was accused of assassinating political enemy Ahmed Khan and was arrested again. In the face of the charges, Bhutto exonerated himself by showing his eloquence as a difficult lawyer, and on September 7, 1977, Bhutto was released on bail.
A few days later, however, the authorities sent Bhutto to prison.
At this time, Zia Hack's attitude also changed significantly. Bhutto's arrest was on charges of endangering the military regime.
Bhutto's arrest also had a huge international impact, with even Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi issuing statements in support of Bhutto.
Even so, Zia Haq did not release Bhutto, and he was well aware that as long as he pushed Bhutto to death, he would not pose a threat to himself.
Conspiracy and framing will eventually become a dead end
Zia Haq began publicly accusing Bhutto of being a liar and said he did not want Bhutto to become the leader of the country again.
In order to obstruct Bhutto's candidacy, Zia Haq announced that the election would be postponed, and Bhutto's crimes would be tried first.
Originally a sin of desire, Bhutto had thought he was not yet at the last step.
More than a year of trials began, during which Bhutto's wife appealed to the Supreme Court, accusing Bhutto of unlawful arrest and interrogation, but this appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court.
On March 5, 1978, after seven months of interrogation, the colossal conspiracy finally came to trial and Bhutto was sentenced to death by hanging.
Although Bhutto had the power to appeal to the President and request a reduction in his sentence, Bhutto did not make any request to Zia Haq.
He may have understood after his last imprisonment that Zia Hack's purpose was to put himself to death, and that instead of wagging his tail at the enemy for mercy, he should calmly walk to the gallows.
On April 4, 1979, Bhutto was unusually calm, bathing, eating, reciting the Koran as usual, and then generously approaching his own end.
After his death, Zia Haq did not immediately have his body lifted, but hung it for thirty minutes before agreeing to have the body untied and placed in a coffin.
The man who entered the center of power at the age of 30 never imagined that he would usher in such a humiliating end in 20 years.
He dedicated his best time to the country, only to be betrayed by those closest to him.
Shortly after Bhutto became president in 1972, he said, "I will rule this country longer than anyone who has ruled Pakistan, because first of all I am healthy and energetic, I can work 18 hours a day, I am younger, only 44 years old, than The British. Mrs. Gandhi is 10 years younger".
At that time, Bhutto had great ambitions, and he was determined to lead Pakistan into a new era and change the fate of the Pakistani people.
But time and fate did not give him a chance, but his efforts also left a valuable legacy for Pakistan.
When his daughter, Bey Bhutto, came to power, she followed her father's path in an attempt to establish a new parliamentary democratic political system.
I think that Bhutto's regrets will also be handed over to future generations and gradually make up for it.
Resources:
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Muzi. Pakistan's "National Salvation Coup"[J]. South Asian Studies Quarterly, 1994(04):61-67+4.
GUO Chenfeng. Commenting on Bhutto's Achievements and Bhuttoism[J]. Journal of International Politics,1991(02):91-100.]
Tuoyu. The Development of Pakistan's Politics during Bhutto's Period: Bhutto's Major Reforms and Their Consequences[J]. South Asian Studies Quarterly, 1988(01):45-57.