In February 1979, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a verdict and sentenced President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death. When the executioner next to him put the rope around Ali Bhutto's neck, he heard the once arrogant president slowly say: "Allah, save me! I am a sinless person!"

In February 1979, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a verdict and sentenced President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to hanging.

On the morning of April 4, Ali Bhutto walked out of Rawalpindi Prison.

He walked towards the gallows with his head held high and his face calm.

When the executioner beside him put the rope around Ali Bhutto's neck, he heard the once arrogant president slowly say: "Allah, save me! I am a sinless person!"

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

However, except for the executioner, no one heard Ali Bhutto's prayer, including Allah.

As the rope gradually tightened, Ali Bhutto died on the gallows a few minutes later.

You must know that Pakistani people once demonstrated and strongly demanded the release of Ali Bhutto.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on Pakistan to treat Ali Bhutto fairly.

Even many Western countries, led by the United States, have proposed that Ali Bhutto be exiled instead of executed.

He was loved by the people and valued by the world. Why was Ali Bhutto still hanged in the end?

What crime did he commit?

Not only is the second generation of rich people, but also there are noble people to help them.

In 1964, India and Pakistan clashed over the ownership of the Kutch swamp area.

At this time, Ali Bhutto, who was already the Minister of Foreign Affairs, chose to become an ally with China in order to confront India. The two sides signed a border treaty and recognized that the Aksai Chin region belonged to China.

His reason is that China showed great strength in the 1962 war with India.

This move gave him a high reputation within the party and government.

The next year, the second India-Pakistan war broke out again.

The Indian army launched a large-scale attack on Pakistan, Lahore, Karachi and many other large cities suffered heavy losses.

As the leader of Pakistan, the then President Ayub Khan promised to sign the humiliating "Tashkent Declaration".

Ali Bhutto was very angry about this, because in the "Tashkent Declaration", there was no mention of India's aggression against Pakistan, and even stated that they were "resolving disputes through peaceful means" without distinguishing right from wrong.

There was nowhere to vent his passion for serving the country. In 1966, Ali Bhutto resigned as Foreign Minister and took up his old profession: lawyer.

Speaking of Ali Bhutto's past, it seems to be the "growth history of a rich second generation."

On January 5, 1928, Ali Bhutto was born into an aristocratic family in Larkana County, Sindh Province. His father served as minister of the Bombay government and chief adviser to the Sindh provincial government, and his mother was a dancer.

His parents were harmonious and his family was well off. Ali Bhutto received a good education from an early age and had a very happy childhood.

Later, his father passed away. According to family tradition, Ali Bhutto inherited one-third of his father's fiefdom and became a famous local rich second generation.

He is famous not because he is cynical because of his money. On the contrary, Ali Bhutto is a positive and ambitious young man.

In 1950, Ali Bhutto obtained a degree in political science from the University of Berkeley in the United States.

In 1952, he obtained a master's degree in law from Oxford University.

After another year, Ali Bhutto obtained the qualification of senior lawyer at Lincoln's Inn, London, and was employed by the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. became the school's first Asian lecturer.

Despite receiving this honor, Ali Bhutto soon rejected the school’s repeated attempts to stay and chose to return to his country to serve his motherland.

Although Pakistan had become independent at that time, it was still poor and backward. Ali Bhutto hoped to use his own power to change the current situation of the country.

With good eloquence and strong communication skills, Ali Bhutto quickly became famous in the political circles.

In 1954, Ali Bhutto was appointed chairman of the Sindh Youth Front. His initiatives to attach importance to the development of young students and intellectuals won the support of the bourgeoisie. Some even called him "the representative of the new forces."

Soon after, even the then Pakistani President Iskander Mirza also noticed Ali Bhutto.

Recommended by the President, Ali Bhutto was appointed as a member of the Pakistani delegation to participate in the 12th United Nations General Assembly in 1957.

If President Iskander Mirza was the first noble person in Ali Bhutto's life, then Army Commander Ayub Khan was his second noble person.

In 1958, Ayub Khan launched a military coup, organized a new cabinet and appointed himself president.

After taking the position of president, Ayub Khan also chose to reuse Ali Bhutto.

This year, Ali Bhutto, who entered the new cabinet, was only 30 years old and was the youngest cabinet minister.

Ali Bhutto never doubted Ayub Khan's governing ability and political thinking, especially when it came to choosing to establish diplomatic relations with China and jointly check and balance India. He admired Ayub Khan's diplomatic ability very much.

However, after the second war between India and Pakistan broke out, the two people had differences on how to solve the war issue.

It is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to defend it

Ayub Khan signed the "Tashkent Declaration", an unequal treaty. Ali Bhutto also completely saw through him and made a determined choice to break with him.

In fact, not only Ali Bhutto, but also the people of Pakistan have long been tired of Ayub Khan's rule.

During Ayub Khan's administration, the country's economy has been sluggish, and agriculture has been even more backward. 80% or 65% of the country's banking and other industrial capital were all in the hands of 22 large families that were supported by the government at the time. The people were oppressed and bound by feudal ideas and suffered terribly.

In this social background, Ali Bhutto, who had not long returned to the legal profession, made a major decision: Give up law and return to politics.

Influenced by his father, Ali Bhutto joined the Muslim League in his youth. His early experience and the contacts he accumulated over the years allowed Ali Bhutto to gain support from many people.

In November 1967, Bhutto announced the establishment of the "People's Party" and appointed himself as chairman of the party. From then on, the name Ali Bhutto was destined to be recorded in history.

Soon, Ayub's government was threatened by Bhutto's PPP. The two people who used to be sympathetic to each other became hostile, and Ayub Khan ordered the arrest of Bhutto.

But Bhutto's political thoughts have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. After learning that Bhutto was arrested, the general public, young students and intellectuals from all walks of life held demonstrations everywhere.

Under pressure, Ayub Khan had to announce the release of Bhutto.

On the other hand, Ayub Khan also saw the shortcomings of the current political situation. He was smart and quickly handed over the hot potato of "regime" to the hands of Army Commander Yahya Khan.

Sure enough, within a few days of Yahya Khan taking office, the situation got out of control. Pakistan's democratic movement was at an all-time high. When he was in a dilemma, he had no choice but to use the general election to divert attention.

In December 1970, the National Assembly of Pakistan announced the election results: Bhutto's People's Party came in second place with 83 votes, and the first place was Mujibur Rahman's Awami League.

There is a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Neither Yahya Khan nor Ali Bhutto could accept such election results. Therefore, they decided to join forces to suppress Rahman's Awami League.

Unexpectedly, this just gave India an excellent reason to send troops.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at the United Nations Security Council

In 1971, India broke out the third India-Pakistan war on the pretext of supporting the self-determination of the Bangladeshi people.

For the people, for peace, and with a big-picture perspective, Ali Bhutto, as deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the Yahya Khan government, went to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the India-Pakistan war. At the

conference, except for China, which clearly stated its support for Pakistan, other countries had ambiguous attitudes.

The United States does not want to offend India, let alone the Soviet Union. The United Kingdom and France do not want to offend any country, and they are swinging left and right.

Seeing this situation, Bhutto's heart dropped a lot, and he knew that the defeat was certain.

Sure enough, the Indian army quickly occupied Dhaka, the capital of East Pakistan, and established Bangladesh. On the other side, Yahya Khan's government also quickly collapsed due to defeat.

In the roar of the Pakistani people, Ali Bhutto took office as president, but at that moment, Bhutto was not happy at all.

Because of the war, the economy has been severely damaged, industry and agriculture have been suspended, and the Pakistani people are still in the water.

In order to stabilize the situation and allow people to quickly return to normal life, Ali Bhutto made the most sincere concessions on the India-Pakistan issue.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

He ordered the unconditional release of East Pakistan leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was detained by the Yahya Khan government, and then took the initiative to go to Shimla to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Faced with a series of humiliating plans proposed by Indira Gandhi, Ali Bhutto expressed his opposition firmly and righteously: "Madam, I would rather step down than sign such a treaty!"

The tough attitudes of both sides brought the negotiations to a deadlock.

In the last meeting, Bhutto used his expertise as a lawyer. He was moved by emotion and reason, and said to Indira Gandhi emotionally: "Madam, a wise leader can make appropriate concessions in exchange for permanent peace between both parties. Why not? Although the military government is indeed glorious, but that is after all. Unjust."

"Madam, as two major countries in South Asia, why do we want to deepen each other's wounds?"

's sonorous rhetoric finally made Indira Gandhi agree to make concessions: the Indian army would withdraw from occupied Pakistani territory, return Pakistani prisoners of war, and the two sides would resume normal trade relations.

was able to achieve such a negotiation result despite defeat. The Pakistani people cheered enthusiastically around Ali Bhutto who returned home to celebrate the victory, but Ali Bhutto said: "This is not my victory, let alone Indira Gandhi's victory, but the victory of Pakistan and India."

's success on the India-Pakistan issue allowed Ali Bhutto to secure his position as president.

However, being president is not that simple.

became president, but was hanged

During Ali Bhutto's several years in power, he did make a series of reform measures for the Pakistani people.

In 1973, he promulgated a new constitution.

The constitution stipulates the basic human rights of Pakistani citizens, which strictly prohibits racial and sectarian discrimination.

Secondly, change the presidential system to a parliamentary system of government.

In addition, Bhutto also solemnly proposed that Islamic socialism should be implemented in Pakistan, advocating that the people's basic needs for bread, clothing, and housing should be met, and social and economic reforms should be implemented throughout the country on the premise of equality.

In order to improve the economy, Bhutto implemented land reforms twice in five years. The reforms clearly limited the land ownership of capitalists and large landowners. Among them, the maximum of irrigated land could not exceed 100 acres, and the maximum of dry land could not exceed 200 acres.

In order to implement the land reform smoothly, Bhutto first took action on himself. He said at a meeting: "The land reform caused my family to lose 45,000 acres of land, but the reform must continue until every farmer has his own land."

Under such measures, some farmers who had no land or little land now own land, and Bhutto has also won the support of a large number of small and medium-sized bourgeoisie and farmers.

In terms of diplomacy, Bhutto has been working hard to establish friendly and cooperative relations with China.

It is said that he visited China 9 times in his life.

When he visited China for the first time in 1963, Bhutto signed the China-Pakistan Boundary Treaty with my country's then Foreign Minister Chen Yi on behalf of Pakistan.

In 1972, Bhutto reached a friendly agreement with the Chinese government, and the two countries cooperated to build a road of friendship between China and Pakistan: the Karakoram Highway.

Chairman Mao Zedong met with Ali Bhutto

In 1976, Bhutto visited China again. He became the last foreign politician that Chairman Mao met during his lifetime.

No matter from any aspect, Bhutto worked tirelessly to build a better Pakistan. However, a series of measures such as land reform and enterprise nationalization have disturbed the pie of big capitalists, and more and more people have begun to express dissatisfaction with Bhutto's rule.

The rise of the opposition put the Bhutto regime into crisis. At the critical moment, Bhutto made another fatal mistake.

In order to control the political power through the military, he promoted Zia-ul-Haq, the then commander of the Third Army.

In the early morning of July 5, 1977, this "one of our own" in Bhutto's eyes launched a coup and led heavily armed soldiers to the Prime Minister's Palace.

At this time, the unaware Bhutto was still sleeping.

"Mr. Bhutto, the army has launched a coup. Get up and think of a solution, or run away first!"

But Bhutto was unusually calm. After understanding the situation, he said: "My life belongs to Allah. Since they have chosen to rebel and want to kill me, let them do it!"

Zia Haq

Subsequently, Zia Haq arrested Ali Bhutto on the charge of "endangering the military regime."

A coup occurred in Pakistan, attracting international attention.

China, which has good relations with Pakistan, appealed to the Pakistani military through the United Nations and its ambassador to Pakistan, demanding that they release Bhutto immediately.

After learning the news, the United States and the United Kingdom also expressed the hope that the Pakistani military would treat Bhutto fairly.

The French president even wrote directly to Zia-ul-Haq, asking him to exile Bhutto abroad.

Even the former enemy, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, immediately issued a statement and chose to support Bhutto.

At this moment, Zia-ul-Haq was extremely conflicted. Faced with such heavy international pressure, he had the idea of ​​releasing Bhutto. But on the other hand, he felt that once Bhutto was released, he would not let him go.

After a fierce ideological struggle, Zia Haq chose the latter.

He put on a show together with the Supreme Court of Pakistan, where the life and death of Ali Bhutto were decided by vote within the court.

In the end, the court announced the hanging of Ali Bhutto by a vote of 4 in favor and 3 against.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his wife and French President d'Estaing and his wife

On April 4, 1979, as soon as the sky in Pakistan lit up, Bhutto walked out of Rawalpindi Prison under the supervision of many soldiers.

He looked at the boundless sky and walked step by step towards the tall gallows.

When the noose was around his neck, Bhutto whispered: "Allah! Please save me! I am innocent."

But God did not seem to hear his prayer. As the noose tightened little by little, Bhutto's body began to lift off the ground.

When he was dying, struggling became instinctive. His body twisted and twitched violently, and after a few minutes, he became motionless.

In order to further confirm whether Ali Bhutto was dead, Zia-ul-Haq ordered that Bhutto's body be hung on the gallows for a full 30 minutes.

The wise king Zulfikar Ali Bhutto thus left forever the country and people he had been loyal to all his life.

Benazir Bhutto

But Ali Bhutto’s daughter Benazir Bhutto inherited her father’s legacy and chose to enter the sinister political world.

History is always surprisingly similar, but history is not always similar.

This girl who has twice served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan and is praised as the "Iron Butterfly (as beautiful as a butterfly on the outside but as hard as steel on the inside)" may go further.