Bhutto: A Political Biography

DescriptionZulfiqar Ali Bhutto came from a wealth family of feudal landowners in Sind. Although west-ernized by education in the United States and in England, he became the champion of the Third World when he was appointed the youngest Foreign Minister in Asia in 1962.Disillusioned with his one-time mentor, President Ayub Khan, he orchestrated civilian demonstrations which toppled him from power. A skillful and sophisticated politician, he nevertheless failed to prevent (and some say he even provoked) the bloodbath which led to the secession of Bangladesh.He assumed power in the aftermath of the debacle, and swept the general elections in West Pakistan with a slogan of ‘Roti, Kapara, Makaan’ ‘Food, Clothes and Shelter’. Bhutto’s regime, which began with so much promise, eventually fell to an army coup amid charges of violence and oppression. His trail, which lasted nearly two years, caused world-wide sensation. In spite of pleas for clemency from many heads of state, he was hanged on 4 April 1979His courage in the face of death made him a martyr whose shadow will fall on the politics of Pakistan for years of come. Salmaan Taseer’s political biography provides unique insight into this dramatic career and into the political structure of Pakistan. The author interviewed Bhutto on several occasions and reveals hitherto unknown facts about his rise and fall, and provides an ac-count of intrigue, feudalism, populism and religion which is highly relevant to what is happening in Pakistan today.Author BiographySalman Taseer was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011.A member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s, he was elected to the Punjab Assembly from Lahore in the 1988 election, however lost in 1990, 1993 and then in 1997. Taseer served as a minister in the caretaker cabinet of Prime Minister Mian Soomro under Pervez Musharraf during the 2008 elections. He was appointed as the governor of Punjab on 15 May 2008, by then-President Musharraf at the request of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. During his governorship, he emerged as an outspoken critic of the Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and consequently called for the pardon for Asia Bibi.Born in Shimla in British India, Taseer studied at the St. Anthony’s School and the Government College in Lahore before moving to London where he studied accountancy at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. In 1994, Taseer established a brokerage house backed by the Smith Barney and in 1996 he founded the Worldcall Group. He later in 2000s ventured into media, launching Business Plus and Daily Times.On 4 January 2011, he was assassinated at the Kohsar Market in Islamabad by his bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, who disagreed with Taseer’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy law. The Guardian described Taseer’s murder as “one of the most traumatic events in recent Pakistani history.”A nationwide three-day state of mourning was held in Pakistan, Taseer’s funeral prayers were held at the Governors House in Lahore. Taseer’s son, Shahbaz, was kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban in 2011, before being released in 2016, a few months after Taseer’s murderer was hanged. Taseer’s other son, Shaan, is a leading critic of the country’s blasphemy law.