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Murtaza Bhutto
Murtaza Bhutto | |
|---|---|
| مير غلام مرتضيٰ ڀٽو | |
 | |
| Born | 18 September 1954 |
| Died | 20 September 1996 (aged 42) |
| Cause of death | Police encounter |
| Resting place | Bhutto family mausoleum, Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Alma mater | Harvard University University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Political party | Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 (Fatima and Zulfikar) |
| Parent(s) | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Nusrat Ispahani |
| Relatives | See Bhutto family |
| Allegiance | Al-Zulfiqar |
| Motive | Overthrow of Zia regime |
| Conviction(s) | 1981 by military tribunal |
| Criminal charge | Airplane hijacking, terrorism |
| Penalty | Death |
Murtaza Bhutto (Sindhi: مير غلام مرتضيٰ ڀٽو; Urdu: مُرتضٰی بُھٹّو, 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization.[1][2] The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree from the University of Oxford. Murtaza founded al-Zulfiqar after his father was overthrown and executed in 1979 by the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. In 1981, he claimed responsibility for the murder of conservative politician Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, and the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airlines airplane from Karachi, during which a hostage was killed.[3][4] In exile in Afghanistan, Murtaza was sentenced to death in absentia by a military tribunal.
He returned to Pakistan in 1993 and was arrested for terrorism on the orders of his sister, then-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Released on bail, Murtaza successfully contested elections to the Sindh Provincial Assembly, becoming a vocal critic of Benazir and her husband Asif Ali Zardari. After increasing tensions between the two, he was shot dead along with six associates in a police encounter near his home in Karachi on 20 September 1996.[5][6] Benazir's government was dismissed a month later by President Farooq Leghari, primarily citing Murtaza's death and corruption.[7] Zardari was arrested and indicted for Murtaza's murder,[8] but acquitted in 2008.[9][10] Murtaza's own faction of his father's Pakistan People's Party–Shaheed Bhutto, remains active in politics.
- ^ Sethi, Najam: The Dilemma of Murtaza Bhutto, The Friday Times, (1993)
- ^ [http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/raja+anwar/the+terrorist+prince/5493636/Anwar, Raja
- ^ History of PIA: Hijackings
- ^ al-Zufikar, the Unsaid History, DAWN 2010
- ^ Mir Murtaza was shot dead by the police in 1996 on his way home in Karachi.
- ^ BBC – Bhuttos: Cursed dynasty
- ^ Burns, John F (5 November 1996). "Pakistan's Premier Bhutto is put under house arrest". The New York Times
- ^ "Pakistan ex-premier's spouse indicted for murder". The New York Times. 6 July 1997.
- ^ Zardari acquitted, DAWN 2008
- ^ In 2008, Asif Zardari was acquitted of the charges of ordering the murder.
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