Berbesi
Berbesi. African ethnic group situated in the Guinea-Bissau coastal region from which many slaves were taken to Peru between 1548 and 1560.
Berbesi. African ethnic group situated in the Guinea-Bissau coastal region from which many slaves were taken to Peru between 1548 and 1560.
Beri
Beri. Arabs distinguish two ethnic groups on the border of Chad and Sudan, the Zaghawa and Bideyat, the former a more settled group of cattle raisers, the latter a more nomadic group of camel breeders. Both Zaghawa and Bideyat in their own language call themselves Beri and know that they belong to one ethnic group.
The conversion of the Beri to Islam took place gradually. Among the Zaghawa of Sudan it took place earlier and was established more deeply than among the Zaghawa and Bideyat of Chad. Tradition says that Abdullay Boru introduced Islam to the Kobe clan in the seventeenth century. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Mahdist and Senussi movements did not succeed in securing support among the Zaghawa. In the Ennedi hills, around Beskere and Baki, the Senussi success was short lived. In 1957, one could find in Hiri-ba (a small village shown on French maps as “Iriba”), the residence of the Sultan of the Zaghawa in Chad, one mosque, two fuqura (jurisconsultants) and some learned members of the royal house. The fast of Ramadan was strictly observed; some of the villagers (mainly from among the royal family) had made the Hajj, and the Friday prayer was well attended.
The Zaghawa (also spelled Zakhawa) are an African ethnic group or tribe, mainly living in eastern Chad and western Sudan, including the Darfur province of Sudan.
The Kanemite royal history, the Girgam, refers to the Zaghawa people as the Duguwa. Today, Zaghawa refer to themselves as the Beri, while the name "Zaghawa" comes from the nearby Arab peoples and became better known. They have their own language, which is also called Zaghawa, and the breed of sheep that they herd is called Zaghawa by the Arabs. They are semi-nomadic and obtain much of their livelihood through herding cattle, camels and sheep and harvesting wild grains. It has been estimated that there are between 75,000 and 350,000 Zaghawa. They primarily live in Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan.
Zaghawa are first mentioned in Arabic language texts. The Arab geographer al-Ya'qubi, in a description written around 890 spoke of them as the “Zaghawa who live in a place called Kanem,” and proceeded to list a string of other kingdoms under Zaghawa rule which cannot be identified for sure, but make it clear that they had some sort of hegemony over most of the smaller complex societies that stretched from at least Lake Chad to the Christian Nile valley kingdoms of Nubia, Makuria and Alwa. Ya'qubi also mentioned that the Zaghawa sold slaves to the north. Al-Ya'qubi and other early accounts make the Zaghawa to be nomadic and it appears that their hegemony over this region was not unlike the sort of loose rule that nomadic cultures sometimes exercised over settled populations elsewhere in the world.
Zaghawa overrule continued for a considerable period, the geography of the region given by Al-Idrisi in 1154 and Yaqut in 1220 also reveal an oasis centered system of Zaghawa power, and includes the two main towns of Kanem, Manan and Anjimi. Al-Idrisi is first to provide anything like a detailed geography (1154).
Ibn Sa'id, however, writing in 1270 provides a new geography showing that Kanem at the very least had become independent, and research by German scholar Dierk Lange studying the Girgam or Diwan of Kanem, argue that the change in sovereignty is correlated with changes in the origins of the wives of the rulers, moving from northern clans, presumably associated with the Zaghawa to a single southern lineage. This transformation and ibn Said's contemporary evidence both suggest that the power of the Zaghawa was broken, probably in the reign of Kanem's ruler Dunama Dibalami (c. 1210-1248).
Although Zaghawa power was broken by the rise of Kanem in the Lake Chad region, Zaghawa retained control over a considerable portion of the lands lying east of Kanem, and it is only in the late fourteenth century that Darfur is mentioned as an independent state by the Egyptian historian and geographer Maqrizi.
Following the rise of Darfur and Kanem, the Zaghawa appear to have controlled only desert areas and ceased to be a major regional power.
While they are not very powerful in Sudan, the Zaghawa politically dominate Chad. The current president, Idriss Déby and several former prime ministers of Chad are Zaghawa, as well as many other members of the government. Thus the Chadian Zaghawa are among the richest and most influential people of Chad.
However, in Sudan, the Zaghawa are caught up in the Darfur crisis, and have suffered much loss from the troubles there. The Zaghawa of Sudan are among the peoples living in the refugee camps in Darfur and eastern Chad.
The Zaghawa have been among the tribes in Darfur who have been referred to as "African" even as other tribes that have fought with them have been called "Arab".
As a result of Tijani Muslim missionaries from West Africa who were traveling through their area to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the leadership converted to Islam. In the 1940s, the Zaghawa began to turn to Islam from Animism en masse. In Darfur, the Zaghawa are well-known for their piety. Due to the fighting in Darfur, where they are targeted by local Arab militia due to their ethnic heritage, 100,000 have become refugees across the border in Chad. A Zaghawa tribesman named Daoud Hari wrote a memoir about Darfur called The Translator, which spread knowledge about the atrocities in Darfur.
Bideyat see Beri.
Zaghawa see Beri.
Zakhawa see Beri.
Duguwa see Beri.
Beri. Arabs distinguish two ethnic groups on the border of Chad and Sudan, the Zaghawa and Bideyat, the former a more settled group of cattle raisers, the latter a more nomadic group of camel breeders. Both Zaghawa and Bideyat in their own language call themselves Beri and know that they belong to one ethnic group.
The conversion of the Beri to Islam took place gradually. Among the Zaghawa of Sudan it took place earlier and was established more deeply than among the Zaghawa and Bideyat of Chad. Tradition says that Abdullay Boru introduced Islam to the Kobe clan in the seventeenth century. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Mahdist and Senussi movements did not succeed in securing support among the Zaghawa. In the Ennedi hills, around Beskere and Baki, the Senussi success was short lived. In 1957, one could find in Hiri-ba (a small village shown on French maps as “Iriba”), the residence of the Sultan of the Zaghawa in Chad, one mosque, two fuqura (jurisconsultants) and some learned members of the royal house. The fast of Ramadan was strictly observed; some of the villagers (mainly from among the royal family) had made the Hajj, and the Friday prayer was well attended.
The Zaghawa (also spelled Zakhawa) are an African ethnic group or tribe, mainly living in eastern Chad and western Sudan, including the Darfur province of Sudan.
The Kanemite royal history, the Girgam, refers to the Zaghawa people as the Duguwa. Today, Zaghawa refer to themselves as the Beri, while the name "Zaghawa" comes from the nearby Arab peoples and became better known. They have their own language, which is also called Zaghawa, and the breed of sheep that they herd is called Zaghawa by the Arabs. They are semi-nomadic and obtain much of their livelihood through herding cattle, camels and sheep and harvesting wild grains. It has been estimated that there are between 75,000 and 350,000 Zaghawa. They primarily live in Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan.
Zaghawa are first mentioned in Arabic language texts. The Arab geographer al-Ya'qubi, in a description written around 890 spoke of them as the “Zaghawa who live in a place called Kanem,” and proceeded to list a string of other kingdoms under Zaghawa rule which cannot be identified for sure, but make it clear that they had some sort of hegemony over most of the smaller complex societies that stretched from at least Lake Chad to the Christian Nile valley kingdoms of Nubia, Makuria and Alwa. Ya'qubi also mentioned that the Zaghawa sold slaves to the north. Al-Ya'qubi and other early accounts make the Zaghawa to be nomadic and it appears that their hegemony over this region was not unlike the sort of loose rule that nomadic cultures sometimes exercised over settled populations elsewhere in the world.
Zaghawa overrule continued for a considerable period, the geography of the region given by Al-Idrisi in 1154 and Yaqut in 1220 also reveal an oasis centered system of Zaghawa power, and includes the two main towns of Kanem, Manan and Anjimi. Al-Idrisi is first to provide anything like a detailed geography (1154).
Ibn Sa'id, however, writing in 1270 provides a new geography showing that Kanem at the very least had become independent, and research by German scholar Dierk Lange studying the Girgam or Diwan of Kanem, argue that the change in sovereignty is correlated with changes in the origins of the wives of the rulers, moving from northern clans, presumably associated with the Zaghawa to a single southern lineage. This transformation and ibn Said's contemporary evidence both suggest that the power of the Zaghawa was broken, probably in the reign of Kanem's ruler Dunama Dibalami (c. 1210-1248).
Although Zaghawa power was broken by the rise of Kanem in the Lake Chad region, Zaghawa retained control over a considerable portion of the lands lying east of Kanem, and it is only in the late fourteenth century that Darfur is mentioned as an independent state by the Egyptian historian and geographer Maqrizi.
Following the rise of Darfur and Kanem, the Zaghawa appear to have controlled only desert areas and ceased to be a major regional power.
While they are not very powerful in Sudan, the Zaghawa politically dominate Chad. The current president, Idriss Déby and several former prime ministers of Chad are Zaghawa, as well as many other members of the government. Thus the Chadian Zaghawa are among the richest and most influential people of Chad.
However, in Sudan, the Zaghawa are caught up in the Darfur crisis, and have suffered much loss from the troubles there. The Zaghawa of Sudan are among the peoples living in the refugee camps in Darfur and eastern Chad.
The Zaghawa have been among the tribes in Darfur who have been referred to as "African" even as other tribes that have fought with them have been called "Arab".
As a result of Tijani Muslim missionaries from West Africa who were traveling through their area to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the leadership converted to Islam. In the 1940s, the Zaghawa began to turn to Islam from Animism en masse. In Darfur, the Zaghawa are well-known for their piety. Due to the fighting in Darfur, where they are targeted by local Arab militia due to their ethnic heritage, 100,000 have become refugees across the border in Chad. A Zaghawa tribesman named Daoud Hari wrote a memoir about Darfur called The Translator, which spread knowledge about the atrocities in Darfur.
Bideyat see Beri.
Zaghawa see Beri.
Zakhawa see Beri.
Duguwa see Beri.
Berke
Berke. Ruler of the Golden Horde (r.1257-1266). He was a son of Juci and was converted to Islam. He waged war with his cousin Hulegu and, therefore, formed an alliance with the Mameluke sultan Baybars I.
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Ulus of Jochi (or Golden Horde) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde (West) and was responsible of the first "official establishment" of Islam in a Mongol state and came to the aid of the Mamelukes in defense of the Holy Land in the Battle of Ayn Jalut against another Mongol state, the Ilkhanate.
"Berkh" literally means "difficult" in the Mongol language. Berke was one of the sons of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and Sultan Khatun. Berke was present, with several of his brothers, at the inauguration of his uncle Ogedei as Great Khan in 1229.
In 1236, Berke joined his brothers Orda, Sinkur, and Siban and an assortment of cousins under the leadership of Batu Khan. The vast army, comprising some 150,000 soldiers, marched from Siberia and into the territory of the Muslim Volga Bulgars and Kipchaks, whom they subdued. Batu and Subotai sent Berke to the country north of the Caucasus to conquer the Kipchaks there. During the winter of 1238-39, Berke defeated the Kipchaks and imprisoned the chief of the Mekrits. He afterwards subdued the steppe watered by the Kuma and the Terek.
Next they devastated the principalities of Ryazan and Suzdal in 1237, and marched further into Russia. Berke further served under his brother during the invasion of Europe, fighting at the Battle of the Mohi, where the Hungarian army was decimated. When Ögedei Khan died, and all the princes of the blood were summoned to return to Mongolia to select a Great Khan, Berke and his brothers joined Batu in his bid for power. When that failed, the Kipchak Khanate settled into Russia, and looked east to defend themselves against their cousins.
When he was at Saray-Jük, Berke met a caravan from Bukhara and questioned them about their faith. Berke was converted by Saif ud-Din Dervish, a dervish from Khwarezm. Berke persuaded his brother Tukh-timur to convert to Islam as well.
In 1248 Batu sent Berke, along with his brother Tukh-timur, to Mongolia in order to install Mongke Khan on the throne of Great Khan. When he arrived, he invited the Chagatai and Ogedeyd families several times, but they refused politely. That is why, Berke conducted the kurultai in 1251 and had Mongke enthroned. Berke organized everything under strict conditions. During the coronation of Mongke, it is said that Berke had the sheep killed to have a meal in accordance with the Qur'an..
When Batu died in 1255, he was briefly succeeded by his son Sartak, before Berke assumed leadership in 1257. He was an able ruler and succeeded in maintaining and stabilizing the Golden Horde, western khanate of the Mongol Empire in Russia. During his government, the Mongols finally defeated the rebellion of Danylo of Halych and made a second attack against Lithuania and Poland, led by the famous general Burundai in 1259. Lublin, Zawichost, Sandomierz, Krakow and Bytom were plundered. Also in 1265 there was a raid against Bulgaria and Byzantine Thrace. Michael of the Byzantine Empire also sent much valuable fabric to the Golden Horde as a tribute thereafter.
After Berke was converted by the dervish Saif ud-Din (Seiffedin), he became a devout Muslim. His conversion resulted in the Blue Horde becoming primarily Muslim, although there were still animists and Christians among them. Berke had a determination to deal with Hulagu Khan, who had murdered the Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and whose territorial ambitions in Syria and Egypt threatened Berke's fellow Muslims.
In the meantime, the Mongols led by Kitbuqa had fallen out with the crusaders holding the coast of Palestine, and the Mamelukes were able to ally with them, pass through their territory, and destroy the Mongol army at the Battle of Ayn Jalut. Kitbuqa was killed. Palestine and Syria were permanently lost, the border remaining the Tigris for the duration of Hulagu's dynasty. Berke's vow of vengeance against Hulagu had to wait until the latter's return to his lands after the death of Mongke Khan.
Hulagu returned to his lands by 1262, but instead of being able to avenge his defeats, was drawn into civil war with Berke and the Blue Horde. Berke Khan had promised such a defeat in his rage after Hulagu's sack of Baghdad. It is notable that Berke Khan kept his promise, allying himself with the Mamelukes. Berke sought an alliance with the Mameluke sultan Baybars against Hulagu. When Hulagu returned to his lands in 1262, after the succession was finally settled with Kublai as the last Great Khan, and massed his armies to avenge Ayn Jalut and attack the Mamelukes, Berke Khan initiated a series of raids in force which drew Hulagu north to meet him. This was the first open conflict between Mongols, and signaled the end of the unified empire.
The reason for the conflict between Berke and Hulagu was not only religion. It was territory. Mongke Khan gave Azerbaijan, which was given to Jochi by Jenghis Khan before, to his brother Hulagu. Although, Berke did not like the situation, he tolerated it until Mongke's death.
In 1262 the conflict turned into open war. Hulagu Khan suffered severe defeat in an attempted invasion north of the Caucasus in 1263. Hulagu's forces were crushed at the Terek river by Berke's nephew Nogai, forcing Hulagu into retreat. Hulagu died in 1265. Additioanlly, the Chagatai khan Alghu invaded Khwarizm and annexed Golden Horde lands. The Jochid army tried to halt his advance unsuccessfully.
Berke supported Great Khan claimant Ariq Boke, and he minted coins in the name of Ariq Boke. However, Kublai defeated Ariq Boke by 1264. Kublai called both Hulegu and Berke to discuss the Ariq Boke matter. However, both of them noted that they could not come to the Kurultai at that time, and the new Kurultai was never held.
Berke died while fighting Hulagu's son, Abaqa Khan, in 1266. He was succeeded by his grandnephew, Mengu-Timur. The policy of alliance with the Mamelukes, and containment of the Il-Khanate, was continued by Mengu-Timur. Many historians are in agreement that the intervention by Berke against Hulagu saved the remainder of the Holy Land, including Mecca and Jerusalem, from the same fate as Baghdad.
Berke. Ruler of the Golden Horde (r.1257-1266). He was a son of Juci and was converted to Islam. He waged war with his cousin Hulegu and, therefore, formed an alliance with the Mameluke sultan Baybars I.
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Ulus of Jochi (or Golden Horde) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde (West) and was responsible of the first "official establishment" of Islam in a Mongol state and came to the aid of the Mamelukes in defense of the Holy Land in the Battle of Ayn Jalut against another Mongol state, the Ilkhanate.
"Berkh" literally means "difficult" in the Mongol language. Berke was one of the sons of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and Sultan Khatun. Berke was present, with several of his brothers, at the inauguration of his uncle Ogedei as Great Khan in 1229.
In 1236, Berke joined his brothers Orda, Sinkur, and Siban and an assortment of cousins under the leadership of Batu Khan. The vast army, comprising some 150,000 soldiers, marched from Siberia and into the territory of the Muslim Volga Bulgars and Kipchaks, whom they subdued. Batu and Subotai sent Berke to the country north of the Caucasus to conquer the Kipchaks there. During the winter of 1238-39, Berke defeated the Kipchaks and imprisoned the chief of the Mekrits. He afterwards subdued the steppe watered by the Kuma and the Terek.
Next they devastated the principalities of Ryazan and Suzdal in 1237, and marched further into Russia. Berke further served under his brother during the invasion of Europe, fighting at the Battle of the Mohi, where the Hungarian army was decimated. When Ögedei Khan died, and all the princes of the blood were summoned to return to Mongolia to select a Great Khan, Berke and his brothers joined Batu in his bid for power. When that failed, the Kipchak Khanate settled into Russia, and looked east to defend themselves against their cousins.
When he was at Saray-Jük, Berke met a caravan from Bukhara and questioned them about their faith. Berke was converted by Saif ud-Din Dervish, a dervish from Khwarezm. Berke persuaded his brother Tukh-timur to convert to Islam as well.
In 1248 Batu sent Berke, along with his brother Tukh-timur, to Mongolia in order to install Mongke Khan on the throne of Great Khan. When he arrived, he invited the Chagatai and Ogedeyd families several times, but they refused politely. That is why, Berke conducted the kurultai in 1251 and had Mongke enthroned. Berke organized everything under strict conditions. During the coronation of Mongke, it is said that Berke had the sheep killed to have a meal in accordance with the Qur'an..
When Batu died in 1255, he was briefly succeeded by his son Sartak, before Berke assumed leadership in 1257. He was an able ruler and succeeded in maintaining and stabilizing the Golden Horde, western khanate of the Mongol Empire in Russia. During his government, the Mongols finally defeated the rebellion of Danylo of Halych and made a second attack against Lithuania and Poland, led by the famous general Burundai in 1259. Lublin, Zawichost, Sandomierz, Krakow and Bytom were plundered. Also in 1265 there was a raid against Bulgaria and Byzantine Thrace. Michael of the Byzantine Empire also sent much valuable fabric to the Golden Horde as a tribute thereafter.
After Berke was converted by the dervish Saif ud-Din (Seiffedin), he became a devout Muslim. His conversion resulted in the Blue Horde becoming primarily Muslim, although there were still animists and Christians among them. Berke had a determination to deal with Hulagu Khan, who had murdered the Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and whose territorial ambitions in Syria and Egypt threatened Berke's fellow Muslims.
In the meantime, the Mongols led by Kitbuqa had fallen out with the crusaders holding the coast of Palestine, and the Mamelukes were able to ally with them, pass through their territory, and destroy the Mongol army at the Battle of Ayn Jalut. Kitbuqa was killed. Palestine and Syria were permanently lost, the border remaining the Tigris for the duration of Hulagu's dynasty. Berke's vow of vengeance against Hulagu had to wait until the latter's return to his lands after the death of Mongke Khan.
Hulagu returned to his lands by 1262, but instead of being able to avenge his defeats, was drawn into civil war with Berke and the Blue Horde. Berke Khan had promised such a defeat in his rage after Hulagu's sack of Baghdad. It is notable that Berke Khan kept his promise, allying himself with the Mamelukes. Berke sought an alliance with the Mameluke sultan Baybars against Hulagu. When Hulagu returned to his lands in 1262, after the succession was finally settled with Kublai as the last Great Khan, and massed his armies to avenge Ayn Jalut and attack the Mamelukes, Berke Khan initiated a series of raids in force which drew Hulagu north to meet him. This was the first open conflict between Mongols, and signaled the end of the unified empire.
The reason for the conflict between Berke and Hulagu was not only religion. It was territory. Mongke Khan gave Azerbaijan, which was given to Jochi by Jenghis Khan before, to his brother Hulagu. Although, Berke did not like the situation, he tolerated it until Mongke's death.
In 1262 the conflict turned into open war. Hulagu Khan suffered severe defeat in an attempted invasion north of the Caucasus in 1263. Hulagu's forces were crushed at the Terek river by Berke's nephew Nogai, forcing Hulagu into retreat. Hulagu died in 1265. Additioanlly, the Chagatai khan Alghu invaded Khwarizm and annexed Golden Horde lands. The Jochid army tried to halt his advance unsuccessfully.
Berke supported Great Khan claimant Ariq Boke, and he minted coins in the name of Ariq Boke. However, Kublai defeated Ariq Boke by 1264. Kublai called both Hulegu and Berke to discuss the Ariq Boke matter. However, both of them noted that they could not come to the Kurultai at that time, and the new Kurultai was never held.
Berke died while fighting Hulagu's son, Abaqa Khan, in 1266. He was succeeded by his grandnephew, Mengu-Timur. The policy of alliance with the Mamelukes, and containment of the Il-Khanate, was continued by Mengu-Timur. Many historians are in agreement that the intervention by Berke against Hulagu saved the remainder of the Holy Land, including Mecca and Jerusalem, from the same fate as Baghdad.
Berkyaruq
Berkyaruq (Rukn al-Din Berkyaruq) (b.1079). Great Saljuq (r.1094-1105). He ruled in Iraq and Persia but, in his time, the visible decline of the regime began.
Rukn al-Din Berkyaruq see Berkyaruq
Berkyaruq (Rukn al-Din Berkyaruq) (b.1079). Great Saljuq (r.1094-1105). He ruled in Iraq and Persia but, in his time, the visible decline of the regime began.
Rukn al-Din Berkyaruq see Berkyaruq
Bernawi, Fatima Mohammed
Fatima Mohammed Bernawi (also transliterated Barnawi, b. 1939, Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine – d. November 3, 2022, Cairo, Egypt) was a Palestinian freedom fighter who was involved in the Palestinian Freedom Movement of the mid-1960s, a significant period of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She was known as the first Palestinian woman to have organized a resistance attack in Israel—the attempted bombing of a movie theatre in October 1967.
Bernawi was born in Jerusalem in 1939. At the age of nine, during the 1948 Nakba, her mother who is Palestinian was displaced from Jerusalem to a refugee camp near Amman, Jordan. However, they later returned to Palestine to her Nigerian father, who had fought in the 1936 Palestine revolt, and who had remained behind.
Bernawi worked as a practical nurse for the Arab-American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia (ARAMCO) but was not allowed to give shots to patients because of the color of her skin, despite her Palestinian nationality.
Of thirty-four Palestinian women whom Amal Kawar interviewed for her study Daughters of Palestine, Bernawi was one of only four who joined the resistance movement initially as a freedom fighter before becoming a political resistor. The others were Laila Khaled, Aisha Odeh, and Rasmiyeh Odeh.
The attempted bombing incident occurred in October 1967 at the Zion Cinema in West Jerusalem. Bernawi said the bomb's civilian target was chosen in protest of a film that celebrated the Six Day War. The bomb failed to explode and Bernawi was arrested by Israeli soldiers for the attempt. Bernawi claimed her skin color was a factor in her arrest.
Though sentenced to life in prison, Bernawi was released in a prisoner exchange in 1977 after having served 10 years. She was deported, but returned to the political party Fatah, later serving as the first female chief of the Palestinian Female Police Corps in Gaza. Later on, she married a former prisoner from Acre, Fawzi al-Nimr, who was released in May 1985.
By 1996, Bernawi was the highest-ranking female in the Fatah militia and served as the head of the women's section of the police in the Palestinian self-rule government in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. Yasser Arafat, the noted leader of Fatah and Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), held her in high regard, once saying that "if he would marry anyone it would be [Fatima] Bernawi".
On May 28, 2015, Bernawi was honored by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas with the Military Star of Honor "out of appreciation for her pioneering role in the struggle" and "for the public good." Though the bombing she was honored for was a failure, Bernawi insisted it was successful, saying, "This is not a failure, because it generated fear throughout the world. Every woman who carries a bag needs to be checked before she enters the supermarket, any place, cinemas and pharmacies." Bernawi was also honored alongside Mahmoud Bakr Hijazi and Ahmad Moussa Salama in honor of Palestinian Prisoner's Day, April 17, 2015. She was described as "one of the first Palestinian women to adopt [the means of] armed self-sacrifice operations after the start of the modern Palestinian revolution, which was launched by Fatah on 1 January 1965. She was the first young Palestinian woman to be arrested by the Israeli security forces, and is the first woman prisoner listed in the records of the [Palestinian] women prisoners' movement..."
On November 3, 2022, Bernawi died at "Palestine hospital" in Cairo, Egypt. She was later buried in Gaza City on November 6, 2022.
Berri
Berri (Nabih Berri) (b. January 28, 1938). Lebanese politician and speaker of the parliament. Berri was born in Bo Sierra Leone into a Shi‘a Muslim family that was living in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In the 1940s, his family moved back to Lebanon, and settled in the town of Tibnin (Tebnine) in southern Lebanon.
Nabih Berri went to school in Tebnine and Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in Beirut. He obtained a law degree in 1963 from the Lebanese University, where he had served as the student body president, and became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals. During the 1960s, he joined the Arab Nationalist Movement.
In 1968, Berri was denied a place on the Shi‘a electorate list for parliament by the Shi‘a leader Kamal al-Asa‘ad. In 1972, Berri was once again stymied in his attempt to run for parliament by al-Asa‘ad. Asa‘ad’s opposition would cause enmity between the two men throughout their careers.
In 1975, Berri entered into an alliance with Imam Musa Sadr and founded the Amal militia.
In the early 1970s, he worked in Beirut as a lawyer for General Motors. In 1976, Berri moved to the United States. He lived in the Detroit area from 1976 to 1978.
Berri held a series of positions in the Amal movement during the late 1970s, after the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Shi'a cleric who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while on a trip to Libya in 1978, and who is thought to have been killed on the orders of Muammar al-Gaddafi.
In 1978, Berri returned to Lebanon and became the secretary general of Amal, following the disappearance of Musa Sadr. Under Berri, Amal developed into one of the most efficient militias during the Lebanese Civil War, due in large part to its close alliance with Syria.
In June 1982, Berri urged Shi‘a militia into a strong opposition against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
In May 1983, Berri vehemently opposed President Amin Gemayel’s peace accord with Israel.
In February 1984, Berri called on Muslim troops in the Lebanese army to defy president Gemayel. This was a reaction to Gemayel’s order razing Shi‘a quarters in Beirut. Berri’s manifestation of power resulted in Gemayel beginning to deal with Berri directly on Shi‘a questions. With this shift, Berri managed to push his enemy, Kamal al-Asa‘ad, from power.
In April 1984, Berri became Minister for Reconstruction of South Lebanon in the national reconciliation government led by Rashid Karami.
In 1984, Berri was elected leader of the Amal movement, and led it during the fierce fighting of the Lebanese Civil War. He subsequently joined the National Unity government as Minister for Southern Reconstruction, and later, he served as Minister of Justice and of Electrical and Hydraulic Resources, under Prime Minister Rashid Karami. He also was Minister of Housing and Co-operatives and Minister of State.
In December 1985, together with the Maronite president Gemayel and the Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt, Berri signed the National Agreement to Solve the Lebanese Crisis, but this never lead to any real results as it was opposed by Karami and the Sunni Muslims.
In July 1986, Berri went into exile in Syria, but managed to keep his leadership over Amal.
In 1987, Berri ordered Amal to attack Druze and other pro-PLO forces in Beirut. This campaign was a failure which might have led to the destruction of large parts of Amal if not for the intervention of Syrian forces. Berri subsequently returned to Lebanon from Syria.
In 1988, Berri allowed the Amal forces to be used by Syria against the growth of Hezbollah.
In 1989, Berri ordered his troops against Michel Aoun, even though Aoun enjoyed much support from Shi‘a groups in Lebanon. In October of this same year, with the completion of the National Reconciliation Charter, Berri supported the Charter after pressure from president Hafez al-Assad of Syria. Later, in November, Berri became a minister in the government of Salim al-Hoss.
In 1992, Berri became Speaker of the Parliament, the highest political position that a Shi‘a Muslim was allowed under the Lebanese constitution. Berri became effectively (if not formally) one of Lebanon’s three heads of state, together with the Maronite Christian president Emile Lahoud and the Sunni Muslim prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
On 8 September 1996, Berri's list, the Liberation and Development list, won the legislative elections and he was once again re-elected Speaker.
On 3 June 2003, he was elected President of the Arab Parliamentary Union, which he assumed on March 1 the following year.
Nabih Berri, for more than 20 years, was one of the strongest leaders of the Shi‘a in Lebanon. However, in reality, he was little more than a puppet for the rulers of Damascus. Nevertheless, in order to survive in his position for as long as he did -- for a time longer than any other twentieth century Lebanese politician -- Berri’s sharp intelligence and abilities for both manipulation and cooperation should not be underestimated. Ultimately, Berri may be remembered most for provoking many of his fellow Shi‘a with his clearly anti-PLO orientation. Berri’s unpopularity with the Shi‘a is one of the reasons for the success of the alternative Shi‘a group known as Hezbollah.
Nabih Berri see Berri
Berri (Nabih Berri) (b. January 28, 1938). Lebanese politician and speaker of the parliament. Berri was born in Bo Sierra Leone into a Shi‘a Muslim family that was living in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In the 1940s, his family moved back to Lebanon, and settled in the town of Tibnin (Tebnine) in southern Lebanon.
Nabih Berri went to school in Tebnine and Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in Beirut. He obtained a law degree in 1963 from the Lebanese University, where he had served as the student body president, and became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals. During the 1960s, he joined the Arab Nationalist Movement.
In 1968, Berri was denied a place on the Shi‘a electorate list for parliament by the Shi‘a leader Kamal al-Asa‘ad. In 1972, Berri was once again stymied in his attempt to run for parliament by al-Asa‘ad. Asa‘ad’s opposition would cause enmity between the two men throughout their careers.
In 1975, Berri entered into an alliance with Imam Musa Sadr and founded the Amal militia.
In the early 1970s, he worked in Beirut as a lawyer for General Motors. In 1976, Berri moved to the United States. He lived in the Detroit area from 1976 to 1978.
Berri held a series of positions in the Amal movement during the late 1970s, after the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Shi'a cleric who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while on a trip to Libya in 1978, and who is thought to have been killed on the orders of Muammar al-Gaddafi.
In 1978, Berri returned to Lebanon and became the secretary general of Amal, following the disappearance of Musa Sadr. Under Berri, Amal developed into one of the most efficient militias during the Lebanese Civil War, due in large part to its close alliance with Syria.
In June 1982, Berri urged Shi‘a militia into a strong opposition against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
In May 1983, Berri vehemently opposed President Amin Gemayel’s peace accord with Israel.
In February 1984, Berri called on Muslim troops in the Lebanese army to defy president Gemayel. This was a reaction to Gemayel’s order razing Shi‘a quarters in Beirut. Berri’s manifestation of power resulted in Gemayel beginning to deal with Berri directly on Shi‘a questions. With this shift, Berri managed to push his enemy, Kamal al-Asa‘ad, from power.
In April 1984, Berri became Minister for Reconstruction of South Lebanon in the national reconciliation government led by Rashid Karami.
In 1984, Berri was elected leader of the Amal movement, and led it during the fierce fighting of the Lebanese Civil War. He subsequently joined the National Unity government as Minister for Southern Reconstruction, and later, he served as Minister of Justice and of Electrical and Hydraulic Resources, under Prime Minister Rashid Karami. He also was Minister of Housing and Co-operatives and Minister of State.
In December 1985, together with the Maronite president Gemayel and the Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt, Berri signed the National Agreement to Solve the Lebanese Crisis, but this never lead to any real results as it was opposed by Karami and the Sunni Muslims.
In July 1986, Berri went into exile in Syria, but managed to keep his leadership over Amal.
In 1987, Berri ordered Amal to attack Druze and other pro-PLO forces in Beirut. This campaign was a failure which might have led to the destruction of large parts of Amal if not for the intervention of Syrian forces. Berri subsequently returned to Lebanon from Syria.
In 1988, Berri allowed the Amal forces to be used by Syria against the growth of Hezbollah.
In 1989, Berri ordered his troops against Michel Aoun, even though Aoun enjoyed much support from Shi‘a groups in Lebanon. In October of this same year, with the completion of the National Reconciliation Charter, Berri supported the Charter after pressure from president Hafez al-Assad of Syria. Later, in November, Berri became a minister in the government of Salim al-Hoss.
In 1992, Berri became Speaker of the Parliament, the highest political position that a Shi‘a Muslim was allowed under the Lebanese constitution. Berri became effectively (if not formally) one of Lebanon’s three heads of state, together with the Maronite Christian president Emile Lahoud and the Sunni Muslim prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
On 8 September 1996, Berri's list, the Liberation and Development list, won the legislative elections and he was once again re-elected Speaker.
On 3 June 2003, he was elected President of the Arab Parliamentary Union, which he assumed on March 1 the following year.
Nabih Berri, for more than 20 years, was one of the strongest leaders of the Shi‘a in Lebanon. However, in reality, he was little more than a puppet for the rulers of Damascus. Nevertheless, in order to survive in his position for as long as he did -- for a time longer than any other twentieth century Lebanese politician -- Berri’s sharp intelligence and abilities for both manipulation and cooperation should not be underestimated. Ultimately, Berri may be remembered most for provoking many of his fellow Shi‘a with his clearly anti-PLO orientation. Berri’s unpopularity with the Shi‘a is one of the reasons for the success of the alternative Shi‘a group known as Hezbollah.
Nabih Berri see Berri
Berti
Berti. According to their own tradition, the original homeland of the Berti is the Tagabo Hills region in the northern Darfur Province of the Republic of Sudan. However, today, many Berti live near Um Keddada and Taweisha in eastern Darfur, where they migrated during the second half of the eighteenth century, when the neighboring Meidob began to penetrate into the original Berti territory. A number of Berti, intermingled with the Fur, live around and partly in El Fasher, the capital of northern Darfur, and small Berti colonies dating back to the Mahdist period exist elsewhere in the Sudan, particularly in Gedaref and near Um Ruwaba in Kordofan. A number of Berti live with other ethnic groups in Jazira.
Berti is an extinct language formerly found in northern Sudan, specifically in the Tagabo Hills, Darfur, and Kurdufan. Berti is classified by Ethnologue as Nilo-Saharan - Saharan - Eastern. Berti speakers migrated into the region with other Nilo-Saharan speakers, such as the Masalit and Daju, who were agriculturalists practicing varying degrees of animal husbandry. They settled in two separate areas: one north of Al-Fashir, while the other had continued eastward, settling in eastern Darfur and western Kurdufan by the nineteenth century. The two groups did not appear to share a common identity, the western group differing noticeably in its cultivation of gum arabic. By the 1990s, Arabic had largely replaced Berti as a native language.
Berti. According to their own tradition, the original homeland of the Berti is the Tagabo Hills region in the northern Darfur Province of the Republic of Sudan. However, today, many Berti live near Um Keddada and Taweisha in eastern Darfur, where they migrated during the second half of the eighteenth century, when the neighboring Meidob began to penetrate into the original Berti territory. A number of Berti, intermingled with the Fur, live around and partly in El Fasher, the capital of northern Darfur, and small Berti colonies dating back to the Mahdist period exist elsewhere in the Sudan, particularly in Gedaref and near Um Ruwaba in Kordofan. A number of Berti live with other ethnic groups in Jazira.
Berti is an extinct language formerly found in northern Sudan, specifically in the Tagabo Hills, Darfur, and Kurdufan. Berti is classified by Ethnologue as Nilo-Saharan - Saharan - Eastern. Berti speakers migrated into the region with other Nilo-Saharan speakers, such as the Masalit and Daju, who were agriculturalists practicing varying degrees of animal husbandry. They settled in two separate areas: one north of Al-Fashir, while the other had continued eastward, settling in eastern Darfur and western Kurdufan by the nineteenth century. The two groups did not appear to share a common identity, the western group differing noticeably in its cultivation of gum arabic. By the 1990s, Arabic had largely replaced Berti as a native language.
Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir (Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto) (Benazir Bhutto) (June 21, 1953 - December 27, 2007). First woman ever to lead a modern Islamic nation, having twice been elected Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988-1990 and 1993-1996).
Benazir Bhutto was born the eldest child of Begum Nusrat Ispahani Bhutto and Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto of a prominent Shi'a Muslim family of Larkana, in Karachi, Pakistan. She attended the Lady Jennings Nursery School and then the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. After two years of schooling at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she was sent to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. She passed her O-level examinations at the age of 15. She then went on to complete her A-Levels at the Karachi Grammar School.
After completing her early education in Pakistan, she pursued her higher education in the United States. From 1969 to 1973, she attended Radcliffe College at Harvard University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative government. She was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Between 1973 and 1977, Bhutto studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, during which time she completed additional courses in International Law and Diplomacy. In December 1976, she was elected president of the Oxford Union, becoming the first Asian woman to head the prestigious debating society.
Benazir's father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto, was removed from office following a military coup in 1977 led by the then military chief General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who imposed martial law but promised to hold elections within three months. However, later, instead of fulfilling the promise of holding general elections, General Zia-ul-Haq charged Zulfikar Bhutto with conspiring to murder the father of dissident politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri. Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death by the martial law court.
Despite the accusation being widely doubted by the public, and despite many clemency appeals from foreign leaders, Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979. Appeals for clemency were dismissed by acting President Zia-ul-Haq. Benazir Bhutto and her mother were held in a "police camp" until the end of May, after the execution.
Benazir Bhutto was imprisoned just before her father's execution and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement under extremely harsh conditions.
In 1985, Benazir Bhutto's brother Shahnawaz was killed under suspicious circumstances in France. The killing of another of her brothers, Mir Murtaza, in 1996, would contribute to destabilizing her second term as Prime Minister.
On December 18, 1987, Benazir Bhutto married Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi. The couple had three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar and Aseefa.
Benazir Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan after completing her studies, found herself placed under house arrest in the wake of her father's imprisonment and subsequent execution. Having been allowed in 1984 to return to the United Kingdom, she became a leader in exile of the Pakistan People's Party, her father's party, even though she was unable to make her political presence felt in Pakistan until after the death of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1988. Zia died in a mysterious explosion of his aircraft. She had succeeded her mother as leader of the PPP and the pro-democracy opposition to the Zia-ul-Haq regime.
On November 16, 1988, in the first open election in more than a decade, Bhutto's PPP won the largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of a coalition government on December 2, becoming at age 35 the youngest person -- and the first woman -- to head the government of a Muslim-majority state in modern times. In 1989, she was awarded the Prize for Freedom by the Liberal International. Bhutto's accomplishments during this time were in initiatives for nationalist reform and modernization, that some conservatives characterized as Westernization. Bhutto's government was dismissed in August 1990 following charges of corruption, for which she never was tried. Zia's protege, Nawaz Sharif, subsequently came to power. Bhutto was re-elected in October 1993 but was dismissed three years later (in November 1996) amid various corruption scandals by then president Farooq Leghari, who used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers to dissolve the government. The Supreme Court affirmed President Leghari's dismissal in a 6-1 ruling.
During both her stints in power, the role of Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial. He played a prominent role in both her administrations, and was accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers -- charges he denied, as did Bhutto herself. Nevertheless, many commentators argued that the downfall of Bhutto's government was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband. Although none of corruption and criminal charges against Zardari were proved in court, he did serve some eight years in jail. He was freed on bail in 2004, amid accusations that the charges against him were weak and going nowhere.
In 1996, after being dismissed by the then-president of Pakistan on charges of corruption, her party lost the October elections. Bhutto served as leader of the opposition whilst Nawaz Sharif served as Prime Minister for the next three years. In 1999, she was convicted of failing to appear in court, but the Supreme Court later overturned that judgment. Soon after the conviction, audiotapes of conversations between the judge and some top aides of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were discovered that showed that the judge had been under pressure to convict.
Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 to live abroad, but questions about her and her husband's wealth continued to follow her. She appealed against a conviction in the Swiss courts for money-laundering. During her years outside Pakistan, Bhutto lived with her three children in Dubai, where she was joined by her husband after he was freed in 2004.
Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007 after President Pervez Musharraf signed into law an ordinance granting her and others an amnesty from corruption charges. Observers noted that the military regime saw her as a natural ally in its efforts to isolate religious forces and their surrogate militants.
Although Bhutto was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of her arrival, her motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber. She survived this first assassination attempt, although more than 100 bystanders died in the attack.
In the months before her death, Bhutto emerged as a strong contender for power. Some in Pakistan believed her secret talks with the military regime amounted to betrayal of democratic forces as these talks shored up President Musharraf's grip on the country. Others said such talks indicated that the military might at long last be getting over its decades old mistrust of Bhutto and her party, and interpreted it as a good omen for democracy. Western powers saw in her a popular leader with liberal leanings who could bring much needed legitimacy to Musharraf's role in the "war against terror."
With national elections scheduled for January 2008, and with her Pakistan People's Party poised for a victory that would make Bhutto prime minister once again. Only a few weeks before the election, on December 27, 2007, tragedy occurred. After a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, a gunman fired at her car before detonating a bomb, killing himself and more than 20 bystanders. Bhutto was rushed to a hospital but soon succumbed to injuries suffered in the attack.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto see Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir
Benazir Bhutto see Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir (Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto) (Benazir Bhutto) (June 21, 1953 - December 27, 2007). First woman ever to lead a modern Islamic nation, having twice been elected Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988-1990 and 1993-1996).
Benazir Bhutto was born the eldest child of Begum Nusrat Ispahani Bhutto and Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto of a prominent Shi'a Muslim family of Larkana, in Karachi, Pakistan. She attended the Lady Jennings Nursery School and then the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. After two years of schooling at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she was sent to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. She passed her O-level examinations at the age of 15. She then went on to complete her A-Levels at the Karachi Grammar School.
After completing her early education in Pakistan, she pursued her higher education in the United States. From 1969 to 1973, she attended Radcliffe College at Harvard University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative government. She was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Between 1973 and 1977, Bhutto studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, during which time she completed additional courses in International Law and Diplomacy. In December 1976, she was elected president of the Oxford Union, becoming the first Asian woman to head the prestigious debating society.
Benazir's father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto, was removed from office following a military coup in 1977 led by the then military chief General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who imposed martial law but promised to hold elections within three months. However, later, instead of fulfilling the promise of holding general elections, General Zia-ul-Haq charged Zulfikar Bhutto with conspiring to murder the father of dissident politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri. Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death by the martial law court.
Despite the accusation being widely doubted by the public, and despite many clemency appeals from foreign leaders, Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979. Appeals for clemency were dismissed by acting President Zia-ul-Haq. Benazir Bhutto and her mother were held in a "police camp" until the end of May, after the execution.
Benazir Bhutto was imprisoned just before her father's execution and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement under extremely harsh conditions.
In 1985, Benazir Bhutto's brother Shahnawaz was killed under suspicious circumstances in France. The killing of another of her brothers, Mir Murtaza, in 1996, would contribute to destabilizing her second term as Prime Minister.
On December 18, 1987, Benazir Bhutto married Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi. The couple had three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar and Aseefa.
Benazir Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan after completing her studies, found herself placed under house arrest in the wake of her father's imprisonment and subsequent execution. Having been allowed in 1984 to return to the United Kingdom, she became a leader in exile of the Pakistan People's Party, her father's party, even though she was unable to make her political presence felt in Pakistan until after the death of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1988. Zia died in a mysterious explosion of his aircraft. She had succeeded her mother as leader of the PPP and the pro-democracy opposition to the Zia-ul-Haq regime.
On November 16, 1988, in the first open election in more than a decade, Bhutto's PPP won the largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of a coalition government on December 2, becoming at age 35 the youngest person -- and the first woman -- to head the government of a Muslim-majority state in modern times. In 1989, she was awarded the Prize for Freedom by the Liberal International. Bhutto's accomplishments during this time were in initiatives for nationalist reform and modernization, that some conservatives characterized as Westernization. Bhutto's government was dismissed in August 1990 following charges of corruption, for which she never was tried. Zia's protege, Nawaz Sharif, subsequently came to power. Bhutto was re-elected in October 1993 but was dismissed three years later (in November 1996) amid various corruption scandals by then president Farooq Leghari, who used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers to dissolve the government. The Supreme Court affirmed President Leghari's dismissal in a 6-1 ruling.
During both her stints in power, the role of Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial. He played a prominent role in both her administrations, and was accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers -- charges he denied, as did Bhutto herself. Nevertheless, many commentators argued that the downfall of Bhutto's government was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband. Although none of corruption and criminal charges against Zardari were proved in court, he did serve some eight years in jail. He was freed on bail in 2004, amid accusations that the charges against him were weak and going nowhere.
In 1996, after being dismissed by the then-president of Pakistan on charges of corruption, her party lost the October elections. Bhutto served as leader of the opposition whilst Nawaz Sharif served as Prime Minister for the next three years. In 1999, she was convicted of failing to appear in court, but the Supreme Court later overturned that judgment. Soon after the conviction, audiotapes of conversations between the judge and some top aides of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were discovered that showed that the judge had been under pressure to convict.
Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 to live abroad, but questions about her and her husband's wealth continued to follow her. She appealed against a conviction in the Swiss courts for money-laundering. During her years outside Pakistan, Bhutto lived with her three children in Dubai, where she was joined by her husband after he was freed in 2004.
Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007 after President Pervez Musharraf signed into law an ordinance granting her and others an amnesty from corruption charges. Observers noted that the military regime saw her as a natural ally in its efforts to isolate religious forces and their surrogate militants.
Although Bhutto was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of her arrival, her motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber. She survived this first assassination attempt, although more than 100 bystanders died in the attack.
In the months before her death, Bhutto emerged as a strong contender for power. Some in Pakistan believed her secret talks with the military regime amounted to betrayal of democratic forces as these talks shored up President Musharraf's grip on the country. Others said such talks indicated that the military might at long last be getting over its decades old mistrust of Bhutto and her party, and interpreted it as a good omen for democracy. Western powers saw in her a popular leader with liberal leanings who could bring much needed legitimacy to Musharraf's role in the "war against terror."
With national elections scheduled for January 2008, and with her Pakistan People's Party poised for a victory that would make Bhutto prime minister once again. Only a few weeks before the election, on December 27, 2007, tragedy occurred. After a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, a gunman fired at her car before detonating a bomb, killing himself and more than 20 bystanders. Bhutto was rushed to a hospital but soon succumbed to injuries suffered in the attack.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto see Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir
Benazir Bhutto see Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali (Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto) (Zulfiqar 'Ali Bhutto) (Shaheed Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto) (Shaheed Zulfikar Bhutto) (January 5, 1928 - April 4, 1979). President (1971-1973) and Prime Minister (1973-1977) of Pakistan. Bhutto was born into a family of landlords living in the Larkana district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California in Berkeley in 1950 and later received a master’s degree in jurisprudence from Oxford University.
After teaching international law for a year at Southampton University, Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 1953 and opened a law practice. In 1958, he joined President Ayub Khan’s cabinet, and in 1963 he became foreign minister. In that capacity, he strengthened Pakistan’s ties with China and other countries in Asia and Africa.
Following the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, Bhutto, a pro-China advocate, denounced Ayub Khan’s pro-United States policies and left his cabinet in 1966. In 1967, he organized the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), with a socialist manifesto that became a rallying ground for the mass movement against Ayub Khan’s regime. Ayub Khan resigned in 1969, entrusting the government to General Yahya Khan, who reimposed martial law and promised to hold elections on the basis of universal suffrage. These elections were held in 1970, giving a majority of National Assembly seats to the Awami League, an exclusively East Pakistan based party. The refusal of Yahya Khan’s regime to accept this outcome precipitated the secession of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1971.
Thereafter Bhutto, whose party had won a majority of National Assembly seats from West Pakistan, took over as head of state. A new constitution was passed in 1973, allowing for elections to be held in 1977. These resulted in another victory for Bhutto’s party. The remaining parties disputed the validity of this result and started street agitation demanding new elections. In the midst of this agitation, General Zia-ul Haq staged a coup and removed Bhutto from the office of prime minister. In September 1977, Bhutto was arrested, charged with conspiracy in a murder case involving the death of a political opponent, and condemned to death. He was executed on April 4, 1979, by the Zia regime, sparking fierce public protests.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan. His daughter Benazir Bhutto also served twice as prime minister. She was assassinated on December 27, 2007. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States and University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his stagnating economic initiatives and repressive internal policies. He was executed in 1979 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for authorizing the murder of a political opponent, in a move that was done under the directives of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born to Khursheed Begum née Lakhi Bai and Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto of a prominent Sunni Muslim family. His father was Shahnawaz Bhutto. Bhutto was the son of a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. Zulfikar was born in his parent's residence near Larkana in what later became the province of Sindh. He was their third child — their first one, Sikandar Ali, died from pneumonia at age seven in 1914 and the second child, Imdad Ali, died of cirrhosis at the age of 39 in 1953. His father was a wealthy landlord, a zamindar, and a prominent politician in Sindh, who enjoyed an influential relationship with the officials of the British Raj. As a young boy, Bhutto moved to Worli Seaface in Bombay (now Mumbai) to study at the Cathedral and John Connon School. During this period, he also became a student activist in the Muslim League's Pakistan Movement. In 1943, his marriage was arranged with Shireen Amir Begum (died January 19, 2003 in Karachi). He later left her, however, in order to remarry. In 1947, Bhutto was admitted to the University of Southern California.
During this time, Bhutto's father, Sir Shahnawaz, played a controversial role in the affairs of the state of Junagadh (now in Gujarat). Coming to power in a palace coup as the dewan, he secured the accession of the state to Pakistan, which was ultimately negated by Indian intervention in December, 1947. In 1949, Bhutto transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an honors degree in political science. Here he would become interested in the theories of socialism, delivering a series of lectures on the feasibility of socialism in Islamic countries. In June, 1950 Bhutto travelled to England to study law at Christ Church, Oxford. Upon finishing his studies, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 (the same school at which Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied law) .
Bhutto married his second wife, the Iranian-Kurdish Begum Nusrat Ispahani, a Shi'a Muslim, in Karachi on September 8, 1951. Their first child, a daughter, Benazir, was born in 1953. She was followed by Murtaza in 1954, a second daughter, Sanam, in 1957, and the youngest child, Shahnawaz Bhutto, in 1958. Zulfikar accepted the post of lecturer at the Sindh Muslim College, from where he was also awarded an honorary law degree by the then college President, Mr. Hassanally A. Rahman before establishing himself in a legal practice in Karachi. He also took over the management of his family's estate and business interests after his father's death.
In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations. He would address the United Nations Sixth Committee on Aggression on October 25, 1957 and lead Pakistan's deputation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Seas in 1958. In the same year, Bhutto became the youngest Pakistani cabinet minister when he was given charge of the energy ministry by President Muhammad Ayub Khan, who had seized power and declared martial law. He was subsequently promoted to head the ministries of commerce, information and industries. Bhutto became a close and trusted advisor to Ayub, rising in influence and power despite his youth and relative inexperience in politics. Bhutto aided Ayub in negotiating the Indus Water Treaty with India in 1960. In 1961, Bhutto negotiated an oil exploration agreement with the Soviet Union, which also agreed to provide economic and technical aid to Pakistan.
In 1962, Bhutto was appointed Pakistan's foreign minister. His swift rise to power also brought him national prominence and popularity. As foreign minister, Bhutto significantly transformed Pakistan's pro-Western foreign policy. While maintaining a prominent role for Pakistan within the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization and the Central Treaty Organization, Bhutto began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent of United States influence. Bhutto criticized the United States for providing military aid to India during and after the Sino-Indian War of 1962, which was seen as an abrogation of Pakistan's alliance with the United States. Bhutto worked to establish stronger relations with the People's Republic of China. He visited Beijing and helped Ayub negotiate trade and military agreements with the Chinese regime, which agreed to help Pakistan in a large number of military and industrial projects. Bhutto also signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement on March 2, 1963 that transferred 750 square kilometers of territory from Pakistan-administered Kashmir to Chinese control. Bhutto asserted his belief in non-alignment, making Pakistan an influential member in non-aligned organizations. Believing in pan-Islamic unity, Bhutto developed closer relations with nations such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.
Bhutto advocated hardline and confrontational policies against India over the Kashmir conflict and other issues. A brief skirmish took place in August 1965 between Indian and Pakistani forces near the international boundary in the Rann of Kutch. Bhutto joined Ayub in Tashkent to negotiate a peace treaty with the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Ayub and Shastri agreed to exchange prisoners of war and withdraw respective forces to pre-war boundaries. This agreement was deeply unpopular in Pakistan, causing major political unrest against Ayub's regime. Bhutto's criticism of the final agreement caused a major rift between him and Ayub Khan. Initially denying the rumors, Bhutto resigned in June, 1966 and expressed strong opposition to Ayub's regime.
Following his resignation, large crowds gathered to listen to Bhutto's speech upon his arrival in Lahore on June 21, 1967. Tapping a wave of anger and opposition against Ayub, Bhutto began travelling across the country to deliver political speeches. On November 30, 1967 Bhutto founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore, establishing a strong base of political support in Punjab, Sindh and amongst the Muhajir communities. Bhutto's party became a part of the pro-democracy movement involving diverse political parties from all across Pakistan. PPP activists staged large protests and strikes in different parts of the country, increasing pressure on Ayub to resign. Bhutto's arrest on November 12, 1968 sparked greater political unrest. After his release, Bhutto attended the Round Table Conference called by Ayub in Rawalpindi, but refused to accept Ayub's continuation in office and the East Pakistani politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six point movement for regional autonomy.
Following Ayub's resignation, the new president General Yahya Khan promised to hold parliamentary elections on December 7, 1970. Bhutto's party won a large number of seats from constituencies in West Pakistan. However, Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won an outright majority from the constituencies located in East Pakistan. Bhutto refused to accept an Awami League government and famously promised to "break the legs" of any elected PPP member who dared to attend the inaugural session of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Capitalizing on West Pakistani fears of East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded that Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPP. Under substantial pressure from Bhutto and other West Pakistani political parties, Yahya postponed the inaugural session of the National Assembly after talks with Sheikh Mujib failed. Amidst popular outrage in East Pakistan, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of "Bangladesh" on March 26, 1971 after Mujibur was arrested by the Pakistani Army, which had been ordered by Yahya to suppress political activities. While supportive of the army's genocide and working to rally international support, Bhutto distanced himself from the Yahya regime. He refused to accept Yahya's scheme to appoint Bengali politician Nurul Amin as prime minister, with Bhutto as deputy prime minister. Indian intervention in East Pakistan led to the defeat of Pakistani forces, which surrendered on December 16, 1971. Bhutto and others condemned Yahya for failing to protect Pakistan's unity. Isolated, Yahya resigned on December 20 and transferred power to Bhutto, who became the president, army commander-in-chief, as well as the first civilian chief martial law administrator.
As president, Bhutto placed Yahya under house arrest, brokered a ceasefire and ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the army. To implement this, Bhutto reversed the verdict of Mujib's court trial that had taken place earlier, in which the presiding Brigadier Rahimuddin Khan (later General) had sentenced Mujib to death. Appointing a new cabinet, Bhutto appointed General Gul Hasan as Chief of Army Staff. On January 2, 1972, Bhutto announced the nationalization of all major industries, including iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electricals, petrochemicals, cement and public utilities. A new labor policy was announced increasing workers rights and the power of trade unions. Although he came from a feudal background himself, Bhutto announced reforms limiting land ownership and a government take-over of over a million acres (4,000 km²) to distribute to landless peasants. More than 2,000 civil servants were dismissed on charges of corruption. Bhutto also dismissed the military chiefs on March 3 after they refused orders to suppress a major police strike in Punjab. He appointed General Tikka Khan as the new Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972. Bhutto felt the General would not interfere in political matters and would concentrate on rehabilitating the Pakistan Army. Bhutto convened the National Assembly on April 14, rescinded martial law on April 21 and charged the legislators with writing a new constitution.
Bhutto visited India to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and negotiated a formal peace agreement and the release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. The two leaders signed the Shimla Agreement, which committed both nations to establish a new yet temporary Cease-fire Line in Kashmir and obligated them to resolve disputes peacefully through bi-lateral talks. Bhutto also promised to hold a future summit for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and pledged to recognize Bangladesh. Although he secured the release of Pakistani soldiers held by India, Bhutto was criticized by many in Pakistan for allegedly making too many concessions to India. It is theorized that Bhutto feared his downfall if he could not secure the release of Pakistani soldiers and the return of territory occupied by Indian forces. Bhutto established an atomic power development program and inaugurated the first Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with Canada in Karachi on November 28. In January 1973, Bhutto ordered the army to suppress a rising insurgency in the province of Balochistan and dismissed the governments in Balochistan and the Northwest Frontier Province. On March 30, 59 military officers were arrested by army troops for allegedly plotting a coup against Bhutto. Bhutto appointed then-Brigadier Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to head a military tribunal to investigate and try the suspects. The National Assembly approved the new constitution, which Bhutto signed into effect on April 12. The constitution proclaimed an "Islamic Republic" in Pakistan with a parliamentary form of government. On August 10, Bhutto turned over the post of president to Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, assuming the office of prime minister instead.
Bhutto officially recognized Bangladesh in July. Making an official visit to Bangladesh, Bhutto was criticized in Pakistan for laying flowers at a memorial for Bangladeshi "freedom fighters." Bhutto continued to develop closer relations with China as well as Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations. Bhutto hosted the Second Islamic Summit of Muslim nations in Lahore between February 22 and February 24 in 1974.
Bhutto, however, faced considerable pressure from Islamic religious leaders to declare the Ahmadiya communities as non-Muslims. Failing to restrain sectarian violence and rioting, Bhutto and the National Assembly amended the constitution to that effect. Bhutto intensified his nationalization program, extending government control over agricultural processing and consumer industries. Bhutto also, with advice from Admiral S.M. Ahsan, inaugurated Port Qasim, designed to expand harbor facilities near Karachi. However, the performance of the Pakistani economy declined amidst increasing bureaucracy and a decline in private sector confidence. In a surprise move in 1976, Bhutto appointed Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to replace General Tikka Khan, surpassing five generals senior to Zia.
Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed. He initially targeted the leader of the opposition, Abdul Wali Khan, and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce and started with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of Hayat Khan Sherpao, a close lieutenant of Bhutto, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.
Dissidence also increased within the PPP and the murder of dissident leader Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of human rights abuses and killing large numbers of civilians.
On January 8, 1977 many opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto called fresh elections and the PNA participated in those elections with full force and managed to contest the elections jointly even though they had grave differences in their opinions and views. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, accusing their opponents of rigging the election. They first claimed rigging on 14 seats and finally on 40 seats in the national assembly and boycotted the provincial elections. Provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott. The PNA declare the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. Muslim leaders such as Maulana Maududi called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Intensifying political and civil disorder prompted Bhutto to hold talks with PNA leaders, which culminated in an agreement for the dissolution of the assemblies and fresh elections under a form of government of national unity. However on July 5, 1977, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia.
General Zia announced that martial law had been imposed, the constitution suspended and all assemblies dissolved. Zia also ordered the arrest of senior PPP and PNA leaders but promised elections in October. Bhutto was released on July 29 and was received by a large crowd of supporters in his hometown of Larkana. He immediately began touring across Pakistan, delivering speeches to large crowds and planning his political comeback. Bhutto was arrested again on September 3 before being released on bail on September 13. Fearing yet another arrest, Bhutto named his wife, Nusrat, president of the Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto was imprisoned on September 17 and a large number of PPP leaders and activists arrested and disqualified from contesting in elections.
Bhutto's trial began on October 24 on charges of "conspiracy to murder" Ahmed Raza Kasuri. On July 5, 1977 the military, led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, staged a coup. Zia relieved prime minister Bhutto of power, holding him in detention for a month. Zia pledged that new elections would be held in 90 days. He kept postponing the elections and publicly retorted during successive press conferences that if the elections were held in the presence of Bhutto, his party would not return to power again.
Upon his release, Bhutto traveled the country amid adulatory crowds of PPP supporters. He took the train traveling from the south to the north and on the way, would address public meetings at different stations. Several of these trains were late, some by days, in reaching their respective destinations and as a result Bhutto was banned from traveling by train. The last visit he made to the city of Multan in the province of Punjab marked the turning point in Bhutto's political career and ultimately, his life. In spite of the administration's efforts to block the gathering, the crowd was so large that it became disorderly, providing an opportunity for the administration to declare that Bhutto had been taken into custody because the people were against him and it had become necessary to protect him from the masses for his own safety.
On September 3 the Army arrested Bhutto again on charges of authorizing the murder of a political opponent in March 1974. A 35-year-old politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri tried to run as a PPP candidate in elections, despite having previously left the party. The Pakistan Peoples Party rebuffed him. Three years earlier, Kasuri and his family had been ambushed, leaving Kasuri's father, Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan, dead. Kasuri claimed that he was the actual target, accusing Bhutto of being the mastermind. Kasuri later claimed that he had been the victim of 15 assassination attempts.
Bhutto was released 10 days after his arrest after a judge, Justice KMA Samadani, found the evidence contradictory and incomplete. Justice Samadani had to pay for this; he was immediately removed from the court and placed at the disposal of the law ministry. Three days later Zia arrested Bhutto again on the same charges, this time under martial law. When the PPP organized demonstrations among Bhutto's supporters, Zia canceled the upcoming elections.
Bhutto was arraigned before the High Court of Lahore instead of in a lower court, thus automatically depriving him of one level of appeal. The judge who had granted him bail was removed. Five new judges were appointed, headed by Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Maulvi Mushtaq Ali, who denied bail. The trial lasted five months, and Bhutto appeared in court on a dock specially built for the trial.
Proceedings began on October 24, 1977. Masood Mahmood, the director general of the Federal Security Force (since renamed the Federal Investigation Agency), testified against Bhutto. Mahmood had been arrested immediately after Zia's coup and had been imprisoned for two months prior to taking the stand. In his testimony, he claimed Bhutto had ordered Kasuri's assassination and that four members of the Federal Security Force had organized the ambush on Bhutto's orders.
The four alleged assassins were arrested and later confessed. They were brought into court as co-accused but one of them recanted his testimony, declaring that it had been extracted from him under torture. The following day, the witness was not present in court; the prosecution claimed that he had suddenly fallen ill.
Bhutto's defense challenged the prosecution with proof from an army logbook the prosecution had submitted. It showed that the jeep allegedly driven during the attack on Kasuri was not even in Lahore at the time. The prosecution had the logbook disregarded as incorrect. During the defense's cross-examination of witnesses, the bench often interrupted questioning. The 706-page official transcript contained none of the objections or inconsistencies in the evidence pointed out by the defense.
When Bhutto began his testimony on January 25, 1978, Chief Justice Maulvi Mustaq closed the courtroom to all observers. Bhutto responded by refusing to say any more. Bhutto demanded a retrial, accusing the Chief Justice of bias, after Mustaq allegedly insulted Bhutto's home province. The court refused his demand.
On March 18, 1978, Bhutto was declared guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Bhutto did not seek an appeal. While he was transferred to a cell in Rawalpindi central jail, his family appealed on his behalf, and a hearing before the Supreme Court commenced in May. Bhutto was given one week to prepare. Bhutto issued a thorough rejoinder to the charges, although Zia blocked its publication. Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq adjourned the court until the end of July 1978, supposedly because five of the nine appeals court judges were willing to overrule the Lahore verdict. One of the pro-Bhutto judges was due to retire in July.
Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq presided over the trial, despite being close to Zia, even serving as Acting President when Zia was out of the country. Bhutto's lawyers managed to secure Bhutto the right to conduct his own defense before the Supreme Court. On December 18, 1978, Bhutto made his appearance in public before a packed courtroom in Rawalpindi. By this time he had been on death row for 9 months and had gone without fresh water for the previous 25 days. He addressed the court for four days, speaking without notes.
The appeal was completed on December 23, 1978. On February 6, 1979, the Supreme Court issued a guilty verdict, a decision reached by a bare 4-to-3 majority. The Bhutto family had seven days in which to appeal. The court granted a stay of execution while it studied the petition. By February 24, 1979 when the next court hearing began, appeals for clemency arrived from many heads of state. Zia said that the appeals amounted to trade union activity among politicians.
On March 24, 1979 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. Zia upheld the death sentence. Bhutto was hanged at Central jail, Rawalpindi, on April 4, 1979, and was buried in Village Cemetery at Garhi Khuda Baksh.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto remains a controversial figure in Pakistan. While he was hailed for being a nationalist, Bhutto was roundly criticized for opportunism and intimidating his political opponents. He gave Pakistan its third constitution, oversaw Pakistan's nuclear program, held peace talks with India, and was more of an Internationalist with a secular image. His socialist policies are blamed for slowing down Pakistan's economic progress owing to poor productivity and high costs. Bhutto is also criticized for human rights abuses perpetrated by the army in Balochistan. Many in Pakistan's military, notably the former president and former general,. Pervez Musharaf condemn Bhutto for having caused the crisis that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. However, in spite of all the criticism—and subsequent media trials—Bhutto still remains the most popular leader of the country.
Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Zulfiqar 'Ali Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Shaheed Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Shaheed Zulfikar Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali (Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto) (Zulfiqar 'Ali Bhutto) (Shaheed Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto) (Shaheed Zulfikar Bhutto) (January 5, 1928 - April 4, 1979). President (1971-1973) and Prime Minister (1973-1977) of Pakistan. Bhutto was born into a family of landlords living in the Larkana district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California in Berkeley in 1950 and later received a master’s degree in jurisprudence from Oxford University.
After teaching international law for a year at Southampton University, Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 1953 and opened a law practice. In 1958, he joined President Ayub Khan’s cabinet, and in 1963 he became foreign minister. In that capacity, he strengthened Pakistan’s ties with China and other countries in Asia and Africa.
Following the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, Bhutto, a pro-China advocate, denounced Ayub Khan’s pro-United States policies and left his cabinet in 1966. In 1967, he organized the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), with a socialist manifesto that became a rallying ground for the mass movement against Ayub Khan’s regime. Ayub Khan resigned in 1969, entrusting the government to General Yahya Khan, who reimposed martial law and promised to hold elections on the basis of universal suffrage. These elections were held in 1970, giving a majority of National Assembly seats to the Awami League, an exclusively East Pakistan based party. The refusal of Yahya Khan’s regime to accept this outcome precipitated the secession of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1971.
Thereafter Bhutto, whose party had won a majority of National Assembly seats from West Pakistan, took over as head of state. A new constitution was passed in 1973, allowing for elections to be held in 1977. These resulted in another victory for Bhutto’s party. The remaining parties disputed the validity of this result and started street agitation demanding new elections. In the midst of this agitation, General Zia-ul Haq staged a coup and removed Bhutto from the office of prime minister. In September 1977, Bhutto was arrested, charged with conspiracy in a murder case involving the death of a political opponent, and condemned to death. He was executed on April 4, 1979, by the Zia regime, sparking fierce public protests.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan. His daughter Benazir Bhutto also served twice as prime minister. She was assassinated on December 27, 2007. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States and University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his stagnating economic initiatives and repressive internal policies. He was executed in 1979 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for authorizing the murder of a political opponent, in a move that was done under the directives of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born to Khursheed Begum née Lakhi Bai and Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto of a prominent Sunni Muslim family. His father was Shahnawaz Bhutto. Bhutto was the son of a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. Zulfikar was born in his parent's residence near Larkana in what later became the province of Sindh. He was their third child — their first one, Sikandar Ali, died from pneumonia at age seven in 1914 and the second child, Imdad Ali, died of cirrhosis at the age of 39 in 1953. His father was a wealthy landlord, a zamindar, and a prominent politician in Sindh, who enjoyed an influential relationship with the officials of the British Raj. As a young boy, Bhutto moved to Worli Seaface in Bombay (now Mumbai) to study at the Cathedral and John Connon School. During this period, he also became a student activist in the Muslim League's Pakistan Movement. In 1943, his marriage was arranged with Shireen Amir Begum (died January 19, 2003 in Karachi). He later left her, however, in order to remarry. In 1947, Bhutto was admitted to the University of Southern California.
During this time, Bhutto's father, Sir Shahnawaz, played a controversial role in the affairs of the state of Junagadh (now in Gujarat). Coming to power in a palace coup as the dewan, he secured the accession of the state to Pakistan, which was ultimately negated by Indian intervention in December, 1947. In 1949, Bhutto transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an honors degree in political science. Here he would become interested in the theories of socialism, delivering a series of lectures on the feasibility of socialism in Islamic countries. In June, 1950 Bhutto travelled to England to study law at Christ Church, Oxford. Upon finishing his studies, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 (the same school at which Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied law) .
Bhutto married his second wife, the Iranian-Kurdish Begum Nusrat Ispahani, a Shi'a Muslim, in Karachi on September 8, 1951. Their first child, a daughter, Benazir, was born in 1953. She was followed by Murtaza in 1954, a second daughter, Sanam, in 1957, and the youngest child, Shahnawaz Bhutto, in 1958. Zulfikar accepted the post of lecturer at the Sindh Muslim College, from where he was also awarded an honorary law degree by the then college President, Mr. Hassanally A. Rahman before establishing himself in a legal practice in Karachi. He also took over the management of his family's estate and business interests after his father's death.
In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations. He would address the United Nations Sixth Committee on Aggression on October 25, 1957 and lead Pakistan's deputation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Seas in 1958. In the same year, Bhutto became the youngest Pakistani cabinet minister when he was given charge of the energy ministry by President Muhammad Ayub Khan, who had seized power and declared martial law. He was subsequently promoted to head the ministries of commerce, information and industries. Bhutto became a close and trusted advisor to Ayub, rising in influence and power despite his youth and relative inexperience in politics. Bhutto aided Ayub in negotiating the Indus Water Treaty with India in 1960. In 1961, Bhutto negotiated an oil exploration agreement with the Soviet Union, which also agreed to provide economic and technical aid to Pakistan.
In 1962, Bhutto was appointed Pakistan's foreign minister. His swift rise to power also brought him national prominence and popularity. As foreign minister, Bhutto significantly transformed Pakistan's pro-Western foreign policy. While maintaining a prominent role for Pakistan within the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization and the Central Treaty Organization, Bhutto began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent of United States influence. Bhutto criticized the United States for providing military aid to India during and after the Sino-Indian War of 1962, which was seen as an abrogation of Pakistan's alliance with the United States. Bhutto worked to establish stronger relations with the People's Republic of China. He visited Beijing and helped Ayub negotiate trade and military agreements with the Chinese regime, which agreed to help Pakistan in a large number of military and industrial projects. Bhutto also signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement on March 2, 1963 that transferred 750 square kilometers of territory from Pakistan-administered Kashmir to Chinese control. Bhutto asserted his belief in non-alignment, making Pakistan an influential member in non-aligned organizations. Believing in pan-Islamic unity, Bhutto developed closer relations with nations such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.
Bhutto advocated hardline and confrontational policies against India over the Kashmir conflict and other issues. A brief skirmish took place in August 1965 between Indian and Pakistani forces near the international boundary in the Rann of Kutch. Bhutto joined Ayub in Tashkent to negotiate a peace treaty with the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Ayub and Shastri agreed to exchange prisoners of war and withdraw respective forces to pre-war boundaries. This agreement was deeply unpopular in Pakistan, causing major political unrest against Ayub's regime. Bhutto's criticism of the final agreement caused a major rift between him and Ayub Khan. Initially denying the rumors, Bhutto resigned in June, 1966 and expressed strong opposition to Ayub's regime.
Following his resignation, large crowds gathered to listen to Bhutto's speech upon his arrival in Lahore on June 21, 1967. Tapping a wave of anger and opposition against Ayub, Bhutto began travelling across the country to deliver political speeches. On November 30, 1967 Bhutto founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore, establishing a strong base of political support in Punjab, Sindh and amongst the Muhajir communities. Bhutto's party became a part of the pro-democracy movement involving diverse political parties from all across Pakistan. PPP activists staged large protests and strikes in different parts of the country, increasing pressure on Ayub to resign. Bhutto's arrest on November 12, 1968 sparked greater political unrest. After his release, Bhutto attended the Round Table Conference called by Ayub in Rawalpindi, but refused to accept Ayub's continuation in office and the East Pakistani politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six point movement for regional autonomy.
Following Ayub's resignation, the new president General Yahya Khan promised to hold parliamentary elections on December 7, 1970. Bhutto's party won a large number of seats from constituencies in West Pakistan. However, Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won an outright majority from the constituencies located in East Pakistan. Bhutto refused to accept an Awami League government and famously promised to "break the legs" of any elected PPP member who dared to attend the inaugural session of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Capitalizing on West Pakistani fears of East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded that Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPP. Under substantial pressure from Bhutto and other West Pakistani political parties, Yahya postponed the inaugural session of the National Assembly after talks with Sheikh Mujib failed. Amidst popular outrage in East Pakistan, Major Ziaur Rahman, at the direction of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the independence of "Bangladesh" on March 26, 1971 after Mujibur was arrested by the Pakistani Army, which had been ordered by Yahya to suppress political activities. While supportive of the army's genocide and working to rally international support, Bhutto distanced himself from the Yahya regime. He refused to accept Yahya's scheme to appoint Bengali politician Nurul Amin as prime minister, with Bhutto as deputy prime minister. Indian intervention in East Pakistan led to the defeat of Pakistani forces, which surrendered on December 16, 1971. Bhutto and others condemned Yahya for failing to protect Pakistan's unity. Isolated, Yahya resigned on December 20 and transferred power to Bhutto, who became the president, army commander-in-chief, as well as the first civilian chief martial law administrator.
As president, Bhutto placed Yahya under house arrest, brokered a ceasefire and ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the army. To implement this, Bhutto reversed the verdict of Mujib's court trial that had taken place earlier, in which the presiding Brigadier Rahimuddin Khan (later General) had sentenced Mujib to death. Appointing a new cabinet, Bhutto appointed General Gul Hasan as Chief of Army Staff. On January 2, 1972, Bhutto announced the nationalization of all major industries, including iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electricals, petrochemicals, cement and public utilities. A new labor policy was announced increasing workers rights and the power of trade unions. Although he came from a feudal background himself, Bhutto announced reforms limiting land ownership and a government take-over of over a million acres (4,000 km²) to distribute to landless peasants. More than 2,000 civil servants were dismissed on charges of corruption. Bhutto also dismissed the military chiefs on March 3 after they refused orders to suppress a major police strike in Punjab. He appointed General Tikka Khan as the new Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972. Bhutto felt the General would not interfere in political matters and would concentrate on rehabilitating the Pakistan Army. Bhutto convened the National Assembly on April 14, rescinded martial law on April 21 and charged the legislators with writing a new constitution.
Bhutto visited India to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and negotiated a formal peace agreement and the release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. The two leaders signed the Shimla Agreement, which committed both nations to establish a new yet temporary Cease-fire Line in Kashmir and obligated them to resolve disputes peacefully through bi-lateral talks. Bhutto also promised to hold a future summit for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and pledged to recognize Bangladesh. Although he secured the release of Pakistani soldiers held by India, Bhutto was criticized by many in Pakistan for allegedly making too many concessions to India. It is theorized that Bhutto feared his downfall if he could not secure the release of Pakistani soldiers and the return of territory occupied by Indian forces. Bhutto established an atomic power development program and inaugurated the first Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with Canada in Karachi on November 28. In January 1973, Bhutto ordered the army to suppress a rising insurgency in the province of Balochistan and dismissed the governments in Balochistan and the Northwest Frontier Province. On March 30, 59 military officers were arrested by army troops for allegedly plotting a coup against Bhutto. Bhutto appointed then-Brigadier Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to head a military tribunal to investigate and try the suspects. The National Assembly approved the new constitution, which Bhutto signed into effect on April 12. The constitution proclaimed an "Islamic Republic" in Pakistan with a parliamentary form of government. On August 10, Bhutto turned over the post of president to Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, assuming the office of prime minister instead.
Bhutto officially recognized Bangladesh in July. Making an official visit to Bangladesh, Bhutto was criticized in Pakistan for laying flowers at a memorial for Bangladeshi "freedom fighters." Bhutto continued to develop closer relations with China as well as Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations. Bhutto hosted the Second Islamic Summit of Muslim nations in Lahore between February 22 and February 24 in 1974.
Bhutto, however, faced considerable pressure from Islamic religious leaders to declare the Ahmadiya communities as non-Muslims. Failing to restrain sectarian violence and rioting, Bhutto and the National Assembly amended the constitution to that effect. Bhutto intensified his nationalization program, extending government control over agricultural processing and consumer industries. Bhutto also, with advice from Admiral S.M. Ahsan, inaugurated Port Qasim, designed to expand harbor facilities near Karachi. However, the performance of the Pakistani economy declined amidst increasing bureaucracy and a decline in private sector confidence. In a surprise move in 1976, Bhutto appointed Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to replace General Tikka Khan, surpassing five generals senior to Zia.
Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed. He initially targeted the leader of the opposition, Abdul Wali Khan, and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce and started with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of Hayat Khan Sherpao, a close lieutenant of Bhutto, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.
Dissidence also increased within the PPP and the murder of dissident leader Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of human rights abuses and killing large numbers of civilians.
On January 8, 1977 many opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto called fresh elections and the PNA participated in those elections with full force and managed to contest the elections jointly even though they had grave differences in their opinions and views. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, accusing their opponents of rigging the election. They first claimed rigging on 14 seats and finally on 40 seats in the national assembly and boycotted the provincial elections. Provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott. The PNA declare the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. Muslim leaders such as Maulana Maududi called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Intensifying political and civil disorder prompted Bhutto to hold talks with PNA leaders, which culminated in an agreement for the dissolution of the assemblies and fresh elections under a form of government of national unity. However on July 5, 1977, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia.
General Zia announced that martial law had been imposed, the constitution suspended and all assemblies dissolved. Zia also ordered the arrest of senior PPP and PNA leaders but promised elections in October. Bhutto was released on July 29 and was received by a large crowd of supporters in his hometown of Larkana. He immediately began touring across Pakistan, delivering speeches to large crowds and planning his political comeback. Bhutto was arrested again on September 3 before being released on bail on September 13. Fearing yet another arrest, Bhutto named his wife, Nusrat, president of the Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto was imprisoned on September 17 and a large number of PPP leaders and activists arrested and disqualified from contesting in elections.
Bhutto's trial began on October 24 on charges of "conspiracy to murder" Ahmed Raza Kasuri. On July 5, 1977 the military, led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, staged a coup. Zia relieved prime minister Bhutto of power, holding him in detention for a month. Zia pledged that new elections would be held in 90 days. He kept postponing the elections and publicly retorted during successive press conferences that if the elections were held in the presence of Bhutto, his party would not return to power again.
Upon his release, Bhutto traveled the country amid adulatory crowds of PPP supporters. He took the train traveling from the south to the north and on the way, would address public meetings at different stations. Several of these trains were late, some by days, in reaching their respective destinations and as a result Bhutto was banned from traveling by train. The last visit he made to the city of Multan in the province of Punjab marked the turning point in Bhutto's political career and ultimately, his life. In spite of the administration's efforts to block the gathering, the crowd was so large that it became disorderly, providing an opportunity for the administration to declare that Bhutto had been taken into custody because the people were against him and it had become necessary to protect him from the masses for his own safety.
On September 3 the Army arrested Bhutto again on charges of authorizing the murder of a political opponent in March 1974. A 35-year-old politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri tried to run as a PPP candidate in elections, despite having previously left the party. The Pakistan Peoples Party rebuffed him. Three years earlier, Kasuri and his family had been ambushed, leaving Kasuri's father, Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan, dead. Kasuri claimed that he was the actual target, accusing Bhutto of being the mastermind. Kasuri later claimed that he had been the victim of 15 assassination attempts.
Bhutto was released 10 days after his arrest after a judge, Justice KMA Samadani, found the evidence contradictory and incomplete. Justice Samadani had to pay for this; he was immediately removed from the court and placed at the disposal of the law ministry. Three days later Zia arrested Bhutto again on the same charges, this time under martial law. When the PPP organized demonstrations among Bhutto's supporters, Zia canceled the upcoming elections.
Bhutto was arraigned before the High Court of Lahore instead of in a lower court, thus automatically depriving him of one level of appeal. The judge who had granted him bail was removed. Five new judges were appointed, headed by Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Maulvi Mushtaq Ali, who denied bail. The trial lasted five months, and Bhutto appeared in court on a dock specially built for the trial.
Proceedings began on October 24, 1977. Masood Mahmood, the director general of the Federal Security Force (since renamed the Federal Investigation Agency), testified against Bhutto. Mahmood had been arrested immediately after Zia's coup and had been imprisoned for two months prior to taking the stand. In his testimony, he claimed Bhutto had ordered Kasuri's assassination and that four members of the Federal Security Force had organized the ambush on Bhutto's orders.
The four alleged assassins were arrested and later confessed. They were brought into court as co-accused but one of them recanted his testimony, declaring that it had been extracted from him under torture. The following day, the witness was not present in court; the prosecution claimed that he had suddenly fallen ill.
Bhutto's defense challenged the prosecution with proof from an army logbook the prosecution had submitted. It showed that the jeep allegedly driven during the attack on Kasuri was not even in Lahore at the time. The prosecution had the logbook disregarded as incorrect. During the defense's cross-examination of witnesses, the bench often interrupted questioning. The 706-page official transcript contained none of the objections or inconsistencies in the evidence pointed out by the defense.
When Bhutto began his testimony on January 25, 1978, Chief Justice Maulvi Mustaq closed the courtroom to all observers. Bhutto responded by refusing to say any more. Bhutto demanded a retrial, accusing the Chief Justice of bias, after Mustaq allegedly insulted Bhutto's home province. The court refused his demand.
On March 18, 1978, Bhutto was declared guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Bhutto did not seek an appeal. While he was transferred to a cell in Rawalpindi central jail, his family appealed on his behalf, and a hearing before the Supreme Court commenced in May. Bhutto was given one week to prepare. Bhutto issued a thorough rejoinder to the charges, although Zia blocked its publication. Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq adjourned the court until the end of July 1978, supposedly because five of the nine appeals court judges were willing to overrule the Lahore verdict. One of the pro-Bhutto judges was due to retire in July.
Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq presided over the trial, despite being close to Zia, even serving as Acting President when Zia was out of the country. Bhutto's lawyers managed to secure Bhutto the right to conduct his own defense before the Supreme Court. On December 18, 1978, Bhutto made his appearance in public before a packed courtroom in Rawalpindi. By this time he had been on death row for 9 months and had gone without fresh water for the previous 25 days. He addressed the court for four days, speaking without notes.
The appeal was completed on December 23, 1978. On February 6, 1979, the Supreme Court issued a guilty verdict, a decision reached by a bare 4-to-3 majority. The Bhutto family had seven days in which to appeal. The court granted a stay of execution while it studied the petition. By February 24, 1979 when the next court hearing began, appeals for clemency arrived from many heads of state. Zia said that the appeals amounted to trade union activity among politicians.
On March 24, 1979 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. Zia upheld the death sentence. Bhutto was hanged at Central jail, Rawalpindi, on April 4, 1979, and was buried in Village Cemetery at Garhi Khuda Baksh.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto remains a controversial figure in Pakistan. While he was hailed for being a nationalist, Bhutto was roundly criticized for opportunism and intimidating his political opponents. He gave Pakistan its third constitution, oversaw Pakistan's nuclear program, held peace talks with India, and was more of an Internationalist with a secular image. His socialist policies are blamed for slowing down Pakistan's economic progress owing to poor productivity and high costs. Bhutto is also criticized for human rights abuses perpetrated by the army in Balochistan. Many in Pakistan's military, notably the former president and former general,. Pervez Musharaf condemn Bhutto for having caused the crisis that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. However, in spite of all the criticism—and subsequent media trials—Bhutto still remains the most popular leader of the country.
Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Zulfiqar 'Ali Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Shaheed Zulfikar 'Ali Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
Shaheed Zulfikar Bhutto see Bhutto, Zulfikar 'Ali
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