Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali, << BOO toh, ZOOL fih kahr AH lee >> (1928-1979), was president and prime minister of Pakistan from 1971 to 1977. He ruled during a time of great political turmoil in Pakistan. He was ousted by the military and later sentenced to death.
Bhutto was born on Jan. 5, 1928, in Larkana district, in the province of Sindh. Bhutto was educated at the University of California and at Oxford University in England. He became a barrister (a lawyer qualified to argue cases in the higher courts of the United Kingdom) and practiced law for several years in the United Kingdom. Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 1957, and from 1958 to 1966 he served as a minister in the Pakistani government. He resigned in 1966 to set up the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
In 1971, East Pakistan broke away from Pakistan to form the independent nation of Bangladesh. During this period of crisis, Bhutto was rapidly promoted to deputy prime minister, foreign minister, and then president. He took Pakistan out of the Commonwealth of Nations, protesting against its recognition of the independence of Bangladesh. In 1973, he changed his role from president to prime minister.
The PPP won a vast majority of seats in National Assembly elections held in March 1977. But the Pakistan National Alliance party accused Bhutto and the PPP of rigging the elections, and violent riots broke out across the country. In July 1977, the military took control of the country and arrested Bhutto and other politicians. The military government charged him with involvement in political assassinations and sentenced him to death. Bhutto was executed on April 4, 1979.
