Mumtaz Bhutto is no more

KARACHI:

Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, 88, a veteran politician and a cousin and close aide of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, breathed his last on Sunday in Karachi. Mumtaz had served as Sindh governor from 1971 to 1972 and then as the provincial chief minister from 1972 to 1073

According to family members, Mumtaz was also suffering from lung and heart disease for the last few years and he died of a cardiac arrest at his residence.

"He was briefly admitted to a private hospital from where he was shifted home some time ago," one of the family members said adding that his body would be sent to his native town Mirpur Bhutto in Larkana district on Monday morning [today] where his funeral prayers will be offered after Zuhr prayer.

Soon after his death, the condolence messages poured in as President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Infromation Minister Fawad Chaudhry, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and PML-F chief Pir Pagara, and others condoled his death.

Mumtaz Bhutto whose full name was Sardar Mumtaz Ali Khan Bhutto was the chieftain of the Bhutto tribe. He was born in 1933 to Nawab Nabi Bux Bhutto in Mirpur Bhutto in Larkana district.

His father and uncle Sir Shahnawz had been members of the Bombay Sindh Legislative Assembly during British rule. He got his initial education from St George's College in Mussoorie, India.

He later joined the Lawrence College of Murree and went on to complete his bar at law from Lincoln's Inn in the United Kingdom. He did his masters in 1959 from the University of Oxford.

He entered politics with his cousin Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who would call him "my talented cousin”.

When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the first democratically elected prime minister of Pakistan, Mumtaz was appointed as governor of Sindh on December 24, 1971. He was later sworn in as Sindh chief minister on May 1, 1972. 

After the controversy and violence over the "Language Bill" that was introduced in the Sindh Assembly for declaring Sindhi as the official language of the province, Mumtaz was relieved from the post of the chief minister. He then served as a federal minister.

When General Ziaul Haq toppled the Bhutto government, Mumtaz was arrested and later exiled. He again became the caretaker chief minister of Sindh in 1996 after the PPP government was toppled by the then president Farooq Leghari.

Mumtaz, who was one of the founding members of the PPP, later parted ways with his party, and joined various alliances including Sindhi Baloch Pashtun Front and Sindh Qaumi Ittehad. He finally launched his own party, the Sindh National Front (SNF) and proposed the idea of a confederation system in Pakistan.

"The concept of a confederation is in line with the 1940 resolution, which gives autonomy to provinces by limiting the center's role in many things," said Anwar Gujjar, one of his close associates who worked with him till his last breath.

Mumtaz and his son Ameer Bux Bhutto contested many elections from the platform of the SNF and later joined the PML-N in 2012. He left the PML-N in 2015 over differences with the leadership. He then revived his own party. But again, he merged the SNF with the PTI in 2017.

His son Ameer Bux Bhutto was made PTI Sindh chapter president but at the last general election, he lost to the PPP candidate at his home constituency in Ratodero. After 2018 general election, Mumtaz

Bhutto disassociated himself from the PTI while his son was also replaced by another PTI leader
Mumtaz was considered an arch-rival of the PPP after the death of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He used to openly criticize PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and the Sindh government for bad governance and corruption.

He was also famous for holding "jirga" in order to resolve tribal disputes. For the last few years, he had given up this practise owing to his health issues. However, his son former MPA Ameer Bux Bhutto now looks after the tribal affairs.

Mumtaz Bhutto is survived by two sons, two daughters and two wives. Prime Minister Imran Khan extended his condolences upon hearing the news of his former political associate's demise.

In a tweet, the PM said he was, "saddened to hear of the passing of Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto."

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh also offered his condolences on the death of the veteran politician. Sheikh lauded Bhutto's role in Sindh's politics and said his demise was a loss for the province's politics.