- 03 Apr 2011
ZAB’s ‘judicial murder’: Govt files reference in SC - 02 Apr 2011
President signs reference for ZAB case reopening - 02 Apr 2011
Balochistan MPAs for reopening ZAB murder case - 01 Apr 2011
‘Let it be’
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The wrongs of history
The spokesman for the president has said the main aim is to correct a “historic wrong”.
The spokesman for the president has said the main aim is to correct a “historic wrong”.
The formal reopening of the ‘judicial murder’ case of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — 32 years after he was hanged on April 4, 1979, after being found guilty in a murder case clouded in dubious detail — opens up some rather tantalising questions. President Asif Ali Zardari, who has formally approved the reopening of the case under constitutional powers bestowed on him under Article 186, is said to have reached the decision to move the petition before the Supreme Court after several rounds of discussions with aides. There is some doubt as to what purpose will be served by this move, or quite why the unusual action of seeking a review in the case has been taken now. Even today, anger runs high against the manner in which the case was conducted, the actual execution and how it took place and, of course, against the late General Ziaul Haq, the man seen as the chief actor in the downfall of the man who had appointed him COAS.
The spokesman for the president has said the main aim is to correct a “historic wrong”. It is in some ways hard to believe that this is the full story. There are, after all, other ‘wrongs’ in our history that deserve ‘correction’. These include many terrible events that took place in former East Pakistan during 1970; they also include much of what happened in Balochistan just a few years later. We still know too little about them and sufficient effort has not been made to make amends.
In these, as in the Bhutto case, what has happened cannot be reversed. ZAB is dead; his legacy lives on. There is conjecture that the reopening of the case is intended as some kind of ‘test’ of the courts; other reports suggest it is a part of a political game, the details of which will emerge later. There is no real way of saying for now — but in the days to come, we can expect the ghosts of history to look out at us once again, reviving memories of all that happened so long ago.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 03rd, 2011.
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Reader Comments (6)
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It is an excellent and incisive edit- but let me reiterate these witch hunting are not going to redeem Pakistan out of morass, instead of wasting time on whipping dead horses the Pakistan Civil society should rise to the occasion and save the country. Recommend
A commendable step, if the objective is to establish the truth. A nation must reconcile itself with its ‘ghosts’ to move forward. A few noteworthy candidates for a truth commission are:
Murder of Liaquat Ali Khan – Ist PM
Role of Civilians, specially ZAB, in coercing Gen Ayub Khan to war (1965)
Genocide by the Armed forces against their own citizens (now Bangladeshis – 1971)
Murder of ZAB = PM, by a military appointed court under a military dictator – Gen Zia
Death of Gen Zia in a C-17 crash
Deal between Mullahs, Military and Foreign jihadis
Kargil 1999
Coup 1999 – Ouster of PM Sharif by Gen Musharraf
Deal between BB and Gen Musharraf and USA
Murder of BB
Murder of Baloch leader Bugti
Murder of Salman Taseer
Murder of Shahbaz Bhatti
Are the military and mullahs mature and truthful enough to allow any of this to happen? Recommend
@ Ani, totally agree, bro.
Sheikh Hasina is trying to bring her father’s death to justice.
Zardari is trying to bring his father-in-law’s death to justice.
What about the death of millions of Civilians – when will that be brought to justice!!!Recommend
Ani
I think you better stick to your side of the border.
You have plenty of fodder there for your questioning mind. For starters why India invaded Pakistan and sponsored and trained Mukti Bahini’s acts of terrorism back in the late 60s and early 70s? Why was Rajeev Gandhi blown up by the Tamils? Why the whole country is silent to daily rapes and murders in Kashmir? And why when people from your own country took up guns against their on people they were painted and convicted as Pakistanis?Recommend
I agree with Ani! Recommend
Judiciary must and should provide justice Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The wrong must be corrected. It is so important in the life of the nation.Recommend