Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a ‘protégé’ of Major General (r) Iskandar Mriza, a ‘pick’ of General Ayub Khan, a ‘product’ of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, a ‘people’s’ leader, a ‘patriot’ who rekindled the Kashmir issue, and a ‘paranoia-prone’ person who caused his own downfall and led himself to the gallows. All the ‘Ps’ in his life.
All the same he was a great man. As is proverbially said, great men have great faults, ZAB too had them. The name Bhutto has consumed more or less four decades of my life, and that is no small tribute to its magic.
Men of his dimensions don’t live ordinary lives, and don’t die in ordinary ways. His end is a strangely redeeming way was hastened by America’s known discomfort with leaders having independent ‘wills’. His executioner—General Zia’s end too came for the same reason.
The greatest tribute to Bhutto was given by Dr. Henry Kissinger when he said “He ruled a country that was too small for his dreams”.
- Latest
- Trending
