Pakistan is observing the 44th death anniversary of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Born on January 5, 1928, in Larkana, the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was hanged by the military regime on April 4, 1979. The charismatic leader was also known for his oratory and fiery quotes.
Let’s have a look at some of them:
1. “We will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own (Atom bomb)…. We have no other choice!”
― Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
2. “The people have realized that Martial Law is not law. A regime not established by law is devoid of the attribute to dispense law. A regime which puts in a bunker the highest law in the land does not have the moral authority to say that nobody is above the law.”
― Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, If I Am Assassinated
3. “They are going to kill me. It doesn’t matter what evidence you or anyone comes up with. They are going to murder me for a murder I didn’t commit.”
― Speaking to his daughter Benazir Bhutto, as quoted in her book Daughter of the East (1989)
4. “If the people wanted my head I would bow without demur. If I had lost the confidence or respect of the people I would not want to live. The tragedy of the drama is that the very opposite is true.”
― Letter to his attorney, Yahya Bakhtiar, after his death sentence
5. “We will go back and fight. My country harkens for me, why should I waste my time here?”
― Speech at UN Security Council 1965
6. “Jammu and Kashmir is part of Pakistan, in blood, in flesh, in culture, in history, in geography. In every way and in every form.”
― Bhutto presented Pakistan’s case aggressively for Kashmir.
7. “Maang raha hai har insan, roti kapra aur makaan”
[Every person has the same needs: bread, clothing and shelter].
― The statement turned into a slogan which is still in use till this day.
8. “Pakistan was once called the most allied ally of the United States. Now we are the most non-allied.”
― Quoted by the New York Times in July 1973.
9. “If things do not change, there will be nothing left to change. Either power must pass to the people or everything will perish.”
― Letters to his daughter 1978
10. “O Lord, help me for I am innocent”
― These are said to be the last words of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto before he was hanged.
