He was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court on March 18, 1978, almost eight months after the overthrow of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto by General Zia-ul-Haq. Prior to this decision and its implementation, many things happened at that time, including the global efforts to assassinate Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the tactics of General Zia-ul-Haq to disobey him.
But now the leaked US diplomatic documents from 1977 to 1980 show that. Under US law, these documents are published by the State Department's Office of History.
Our story today is based on the same declassified or disclosed telegrams, ergrams (letters) and messages exchanged between the US Embassy in Pakistan and the US government during the most important years of Pakistan's history, 1977 to 1980. In it, former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's execution efforts and the situation in Pakistan were mentioned.
According to these diplomatic documents, on September 3, 1977, the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Arthur William Hummel Jr., wrote a telegram to the State Department stating that Chief Martial Law Administrator General Zia-ul-Haq had asked him to inform him and the US government to former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali. I want to tell you about Bhutto's arrest in Karachi last night.
He said that the arrest was made by the police on the orders of Lahore High Court which is hearing a murder case against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and others. Others have already been arrested, but Bhutto seems to be the key.
On the same day, the embassy quoted Radio Pakistan as saying that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested in Karachi on the morning of September 3 on charges of murdering Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan Kasuri, father of former National Assembly member and his former supporter Ahmad Raza Kasuri. Was.
According to the Telegram, General Zia-ul-Haq said that the interests of the "state" were involved, but "we preferred to let the private case go to court." Don't expect too much reaction. "
US Ambassador Himal wrote in a telegram dated 18 September 1977: 'On 17 September Zia-ul-Haq announced the trial of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in a military court and said that the verdict in this case was announced before the 18 October elections. Will go Zia-ul-Haq said that when he came to power, he had promised that he would be fair and impartial. However, "independent journalism and independent judiciary" have identified "serious irregularities" in proving the Bhutto government's wrongdoings.
General Zia argued that the investigation shows that during the last five and a half years, "all civil institutions were systematically destroyed," he said, adding that public funds were used for personal luxury. Ancient, inhuman and barbaric methods were used to crush dissent. The March elections were "massively rigged" and the PPP remained in power without "moral or legal justification".
"Zia-ul-Haq has said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto demanded that he want a fair trial before the elections and he (Zia) has decided to obey him," Himal added in a telegram. As a result, he will be tried in a military court that will rule before the election. Zia-ul-Haq concluded by saying that he would not interfere in the civil court cases against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and that the elections would be held on October 18.
Himal wrote: “With the arrest of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the announcement of General Zia's trial in a military court, the growing confrontation between the martial law administration and former Prime Minister Bhutto has taken a decisive turn. Last week, it became clear that the administration was afraid of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's political support and was determined to somehow ensure that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto would never again hold public office in Pakistan.
"Removing Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from the political scene through the tactics of martial law could lead to a long-term legacy of 'martyrdom' and any government elected in the process of removing him by controversial means," Himal wrote in a telegram. The legal status of the issue could be disputed.
Earlier, in a telegram dated 15 September 1977, it was reported that a special court was set up to hear cases under the High Treason Act of 1973. The same telegram quoted Zia-ul-Haq as saying in an interview with an Urdu-language newspaper that "the Bhutto government was a Gestapo-style police state."
On September 27, 1977, Hamel reported that Zia-ul-Haq had told him in a September 27 meeting that there was evidence that the Soviet Union was interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs.
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research released a paper from Washington on 11 January 1978 entitled Advances and Regressions in Human Rights, which read:
"Despite the imposition of martial law after the military coup last year, the Zia-ul-Haq government's record on human rights reflects an improvement. Most political prisoners have been released, the press is more free than ever, the independence of the judiciary has been strengthened and Amnesty International has been invited to take part in the proceedings.
However, according to General Zia-ul-Haq, the elections scheduled for October 1977 were postponed until the completion of the cases of political corruption and assassination of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
On March 18, 1978, at 8.20 am, the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Mushtaq Hussain, summoned the other judges of the bench, Justice Zaki-ud-Din Pal, Justice Gulbaz Khan and Justice M.H. Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan along with Qureshi read out the verdict of Kasuri case.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Mian Muhammad Abbas, Rana Iftikhar Ahmed, Arshad Iqbal and Ghulam Mustafa were sentenced to death while Sultani witnesses Masood Mahmood and Ghulam Hussain were pardoned. The 410-page decision was written by Judge Aftab Hussain and the rest of the bench agreed.
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| General zia ul haq |
The US embassy reported that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had five days to file an appeal against his sentence. The US ambassador's suggestion that the US should publicly announce that it has sent a letter of protest to the Pakistani government.
On March 9, the State Department agreed with the proposed text, which was to be handed over to the Pakistani government by Himal, the US ambassador to Pakistan, in the event of Zulfiqar Bhutto being sentenced to death.
Himal sent a telegram to the State Department stating that on March 19, 1978, he had sent a message to General Zia, Pakistan's foreign secretary, to General Zia: It will be a cause for concern. I hope that you will keep in mind this reaction as well as the possible negative reaction of other countries, because if the Supreme Court upholds the death sentence, you will consider the required executive pardon.
Shah Nawaz said he would take it to General Zia immediately. Shah Nawaz, in addition to pointing out, refrained from commenting that it is beyond the power of the executive to influence the judicial process, including appeals in the Supreme Court. I replied that the text of the letter indicated a clear understanding of the point, and referred to an executive apology.
"Ambassadors from friendly countries are asking me and my staff what the United States wants to do. Many ambassadors hope their governments will support the sacrifice. The Western European group discussed the issue at a meeting today, in which most of the ambassadors decided to recommend sending a private, unannounced letter to Pakistan.
"The ambassador of the People's Republic of China told me last night that he did not think the death penalty was appropriate," Hamel wrote. He did not say whether China would take the idea to Pakistan. If the Saudis and Iranians decide to do so, they will be the most effective. "
On April 30, 1978, US Ambassador Himal wrote in a telegram regarding former Vice President Rockefeller's meeting with General Zia:
Zia-ul-Haq spent a lot of time in the meeting criticizing Zulfiqar Bhutto and blaming him for the current economic woes and most of the political problems in Pakistan. Zia-ul-Haq said he had "evidence" that Zulfiqar Bhutto had offered close cooperation to the Soviet Union through Libya last June. Zia-ul-Haq insisted that this was one of the reasons he took over the government on July 5.
"As I told Rockefeller, we know that the offer of Soviet assistance to Zulfiqar Bhutto was made directly by the Soviet ambassador here, but we cannot say with certainty that Zulfiqar Bhutto took the Soviet option seriously," he added. Were considering or was it a reason for Zia-ul-Haq's revolt
On the afternoon of May 21, 1978, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Deng Xiaoping and US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski met in Beijing.
According to the minutes of the meeting, while discussing Pakistan's affairs, the Chinese leader said: "Now you have very good relations with the government of General Zia-ul-Haq. It is important that you deepen your relationship with Pakistan. We have had complaints against you in the past. The previous US administration ignored Pakistan but focused more on India. There is another important question in Pakistan and that is the question of Zulfiqar Bhutto. We have often reacted to Bhutto's execution. And now there is talk in the world that the US may be supporting General Zia-ul-Haq in executing Zulfiqar Bhutto. I don't know if that's true or not.
Brzezinski: That's not true.
Deng: All right. I think there is some politics in that too. Did you also express your concern to General Zia?
Brzezinski: Yes, quietly. We don't think public pressure will help.
Deng: You're right. We are doing the same. If this issue is not dealt with properly, there will be chronic disturbances and unrest in Pakistan.
Brzezinski: We have also been in touch with Iran and Saudi Arabia in this regard, both of whom give money to Pakistan and are interested in Bhutto's fate. Will you be ready to give political asylum to Bhutto?
Deng: If they want to come, we will accept them.
Brzezinski: They can use the same villa that [Cambodia's exiled leader] Sihanouk did!
Deng: I think there's a better place for them. "
President Carter and Indian Prime Minister Murar G. Desai met in Washington on June 13, 1978. According to the minutes of the meeting, Desai said that he did not think that Zulfiqar Bhutto would be hanged.
"We have expressed our concerns in private," Carter said.
Desai said that Pakistan would misunderstand any Indian statement. They look for opportunities to misunderstand. Pakistani always does the opposite of what India says. That is the principle of their existence. "
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| Several world leaders, including Russian President Brezhnev, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Saudi Arabia's King Khalid, have called for Bhutto's sentence to be commuted. |
The telegram of 15 September 1978 reported that Zia-ul-Haq had become President: It is not surprising that Zia-ul-Haq accepted the resignation of President Chaudhry [Fazlullah] and assumed the presidency (scheduled for September 16, at 5 p.m.). For months, there has been speculation that President Chaudhry Fazlullah, whose term officially expired on August 14, 1978, would resign. Chaudhry Fazal Elahi is 74 years old, his health is often poor, he is tired of the presidency, and he does not want to decide the fate of Zulfiqar Bhutto, who can be named after him in due course.
The telegram went on to say: “Zia-ul-Haq will lose his last seventy shroud in the fate of Zulfiqar Bhutto. If the Supreme Court upholds Zulfiqar Bhutto's guilt and death sentence, then Zia-ul-Haq will have to face the final verdict of life and death in his own name, as his new post is the last resort.
In a memorandum written to Brzezinski on November 15, 1978, his staff member Thomas Thornton argued against inviting Zia-ul-Haq to Washington. Pointing to the possible execution of Zulfikar Bhutto as the basis for postponing the tour, Thornton argued: "If Zia-ul-Haq gets into trouble, we may have to stay away from him. If they handle the storm well, we will know better where Pakistan is heading and what we can do. In a handwritten note in the left hand margin, Brzezinski agreed.
Thornton visited Pakistan, India and Afghanistan from January 1 to January 14, 1979. "Pakistan is in a state of suspension, awaiting a decision on Bhutto's fate," he wrote in a memo to Brzezinski. Elections are due to take place this fall, but many are skeptical about whether the elections will take place or not, and even if they do, there is no chance that they will form a government that will address Pakistan's foreign and domestic issues. Brzezinski wrote in the upper right corner: "Interesting, depressing."
On January 29, 1979, US Secretary of State Cyrus Venus hosted a luncheon in Washington in honor of Deng Xiaoping, Deputy Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China.
According to the memorandum, the Chinese leader said in a meeting before this lunch:
In Pakistan, it is important to save Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from the death penalty. At the same time, we should be aware that in the last days of his rule, he was leaning towards the Soviet Union. He said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's failure to get help from USA and Europe played an important role in this. It is also possible that the new leadership will move in that direction.
Secretary Venice said that our policy is to help Pakistan, and this is reflected in this year's budget. But for help, Pakistan has to abide by our law. As long as Pakistan is engaged in nuclear reprocessing, our law will prevent us from providing financial and military assistance.
"We can do something about it," Deng said, to which Secretary Venus replied: "It would be great.
According to the memorandum, Secretary Venus, referring to the issue of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, said that "the United States had urged General Zia to resign after the decision of the Supreme Court, although Zulfiqar Bhutto had sharply criticized the United States."
"Bhutto is an emotional man, sometimes he even criticizes the Chinese," said Deng. Defense Secretary Harold Brown concluded the talks by saying that if all those who criticized the United States were executed in other countries, there would be very few people left in the world.
Historian Seth A. Rottermail writes that since Carter did not want to establish close ties with Zia-ul-Haq and justify the imposition of martial law or the arrest of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, there was no exchange of letters between Carter and Zia-ul-Haq. Was equal
However, on October 31, 1978, the US State Department sent an urgent message from President Carter to President Zia-ul-Haq to the embassy in Pakistan, which the ambassador was to use in case of execution of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
The letter said, "Now that the judicial process is over, I think it is not unreasonable to ask you for mercy, which we learn from God's mercy and compassion." This matter is clearly yours internally, but I, as a friend, am bound to say that your decision to save the life of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the United States, according to the values of our religions, gave life, courage. And will be seen as a deliberate act. It will be welcomed and appreciated by many friends of Pakistan in the United States and around the world.
In the upper right corner of the telegram, an unknown hand wrote: "Ambassador Hummel delivered this message on February 6, 1979."
In a telegram from Islamabad dated February 6, 1979, Hamel reported that "immediately after learning that the Pakistani Supreme Court had dismissed the appeal in the Zulfiqar Bhutto case, I called for Carter's pardon." Ask for an appointment with Zia-ul-Haq. Since Secretary Shah Nawaz could not assure Himal that a meeting with Zia-ul-Haq was possible, Himal conveyed this message to Secretary Shah Nawaz, who said that he would make sure that Zia-ul-Haq received this message immediately.
From the US Embassy in New Delhi, on 15 February 1979, the State Department was informed in a telegram of the meeting of the US Ambassador with Indian Prime Minister Desai.
The Indian Prime Minister asked what I think Zia-ul-Haq will do with Zulfiqar Bhutto. When I said that based on the information I am compelled to think that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto will be hanged, he said that he thinks so too. The letter was written (people here don't know it) and expressed hope that we will continue to do what we can to persuade Zia-ul-Haq. In the opinion of the Prime Minister, Zia-ul-Haq is basically straightforward and well-intentioned.
The embassy in Pakistan informed the State Department in a telegram dated March 24, 1979 that the Supreme Court had rejected Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's request for review. Delivering the judgment, Justice Akram said only that we all agree that the petition should be dismissed. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's lawyer Yahya Bakhtiar sought permission to meet his client and the court asked him to seek permission from the government. The court dismissed the appeal after it was dismissed in less than five minutes."Only President Zia-ul-Haq can now be appealed for mercy," the telegram said. We believe that such a request for mercy must be submitted within seven days. However, President Zia has repeatedly referred to the appeals already before him, and he can only say that they have been considered and rejected.
"President Zia-ul-Haq has made up his mind, it does not seem that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto would have given his life," the telegram said. All indications are that President Zia will carry out the sentence, perhaps in the next few days.
In a telegram from Islamabad on March 24, the US embassy reported President Zia's announcement during a speech at the annual military parade on March 23 that "national and provincial elections will be held on November 17." The 1973 constitution will be amended to "balance" the powers of the president and prime minister.
In response to the news that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's appeal for review has been rejected, the State Department on March 24 directed the US Embassy in Islamabad to “seize any opportunity to reaffirm our hope. That Zulfiqar Bhutto will be pardoned on humanitarian grounds.
On March 29, Carter made a final appeal to Zia-ul-Haq to save Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's life. After confirming Carter's letter had reached President Zia's office, the constable commented: "I acknowledge that the United States, if asked, would like to acknowledge that President Carter has made further appeals. I hope that We may refrain from providing such information voluntarily at this time. The government of Pakistan, supporters of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the general public are well aware of the US opposition to his execution. The Government of Pakistan will be outraged at this reiteration of our appeal in view of the earlier statements of our position, and if we make it public now, this outrage will increase unnecessarily.
Former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979.
Brzezinski's aide to National Security Affairs wrote to President Carter in a memorandum the same day:
Pakistan after the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto: In the context of the government's announcement of Bhutto's execution this morning, the area of Islamabad, Rawalpindi is generally calm. Karachi and Peshawar are also silent where people gather around educated people who are reading the news of execution aloud. In Lahore, a small group of people hurling stones at cars soon dispersed and silence reigned in the city. The government's announcement did not mention the fate of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and four other convicts.
In the upper right corner of the memorandum are Carter's brief signatures.
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