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THE TRUE BHUTTO FAMILY

ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO (JUNIOR)

SHAHEED MIR MURTAZA BHUTTO

Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (September 18, 1954 - September 20, 1996) was a Pakistani politician from the powerful Bhutto family, elder son of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the brother of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto. He was usually known as Murtaza Bhutto and was assassinated under mysterious circumstances. Biography

Like his elder sister, Benazir, Murtaza Bhutto was a novice to active politics until 1978 when his father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court. In the span of 15 years, however, Murtaza has managed to gain considerable notoriety for a brand of politics that has moved in diametrically opposing direction to Benazir Bhutto's.

Born in Karachi on September 18, 1954, Mir Murtaza received his early education at St. Mary's School, Rawalpindi. He later passed his `O' levels from the Karachi Grammar School in 1971.

In 1972, Murtaza went off to Harvard University where he studied Government, specialising in strategic studies. He graduated with honours in 1976, and his thesis was entitled ``Modicum of Harmony which dealt with the spread of nuclear weapons in general, and the implications of India's nuclear capability for Pakistan in particular.

Murtaza went on to Christ Church College Oxford, his father's alma mater, for a three-year course to read for an M.Lit. degree. But the death penalty awarded to his father in 1978 seriously disrupted his studies. Murtaza was on the verge of rushing home when he received a message from his father asking him to remain abroad where he could mobilise an international campaign for his release.

Murtaza had been present in Pakistan when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government was overthrown on July 5, 1977. Along with other family members, Murtaza had returned to Al-Murtaza, Larkana, and at the time was busy helping in the preparations for the elections schedule for October 1977. But on September 16, 1977 when Bhutto was arrested from Al-Murtaza, he ordered his son to leave the country.

After Bhutto was sentenced, Murtaza joined hands with his brother the late Shahnawaz Bhutto, to initiate a campaign to muster international support to revoke the death penalty looming over his father's head. Leaders from Syria, Libya, and the PLO were particularly supportive. Mercy appeals were sent by several heads of state to General Ziaul Haq which failed, however, to sway his decision.

Murtaza and Shahnawaz both cut short their respective educations and decided to devote themselves to avenge their father's death. Murtaza Bhutto and Asif Zardari

After returning to Pakistan from exile, Bhutto offered his sister Benazir Bhutto the chance to revive the manifesto of PPP which his father championed. However, he was not happy with the corrupt ways of Benazir's husband Asif Ali Zardari and wanted him removed from influence in the PPP. When his sister decided to side with her husband, Murtaza became a strong critic of PPP government and the ongoing corruption. Zardari, and his protege Abdullah Shah Lakiyari (then Chief Minister of Sind), obstructed Murtaza's political compaign. Murtaza invited Zardari to talk in private and settle the problems within the family. However, the meeting ended in confrontation and Murtaza shaved off half of Zardari’s moustache. This humiliated Zardari. It is widely believed in Pakistan that this incident drove Zardari to rage and he used help from Lakiyari's police machinery to assassinate Murtaza Bhutto. Benazir became highly unpopular after this incident and her limo was stoned by PPP workers when she tried to visit Murtaza's funeral ceremonies. After Benazir's government was dismissed in 1996, Zardari was detained for having a part in Murtaza's assassination. However, no charges were ever proven due to lack of evidence (the scene of Murtaza's assassination was wiped off before any Police investigators could arrive at the scene.