The Bhutto Case
Events in Pakistan in 1978 were marked by a sense
of suspended animation. Everything seems to depend on what happens
in the trial of ex-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for conspiracy in
the murder of Mohammad Ahmed Khan in 1974. The case, brought by
the victim’s son, Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri, was in the final stages of
appeal before the Supreme Court in December. Bhutto himself ap-
peared before the Court, to say that “the future of Pakistan” depended
on his acquittal. The trial formed a backdrop to the events of the en-
tire year, and was not far from anyone’s thoughts in political discussion.
By the end of the year the Court had not announced a time for its
verdict, but observers in Pakistan contend that any verdict at all means
trouble. If the government decides to execute Bhutto, civil strife is
sure; if it is decided not to kill him, strife seems less sure but still prob-
able. In private discussion people say that the military regime should
simply have shot him at the outset; then he would just be “another
rascal in history,” as one friend put it. (Weighed against the conveni-
ence would have been the introduction of a new element in Pakistani
politics, the execution of one’s opponents.) A major reason for the mili-
tary government’s involvement of civilian elements seems to be a de-
sire to have them share responsibility-or even shoulder it-for what-
ever is done, since it will be the government’s decision ultimately: even
if the courts decide on a death sentence, clemency is possible. Although
the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) General Zia ul Haq is
quoted as saying that if the Court convicts him, “I’ll hang the blighter,”. This report adds substance to this.
Author(s): W. Eric Gustafson
Source: Asian Survey , Feb., 1979, Vol. 19, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1978: Part II (Feb.,
1979), pp. 157-164
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2643782