Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Recollections and Remembrances Foreword

pertaining to the welfare of the poor and the denied, for getting across through
the dark tunnel of despair. Anecdotes about him and about his life, his being the
most apt person to handle a crisis, the dauntless determination that he showed in
inspiring the nation to look to a better tomorrow after the fall of Dhaka in 1971,
and the unsurpassable chapter in human dignity that he wrote in his blood by
showing preference to an honorable death, to surrendering to the dictates of a
dictator open new vistas of inquiry into higher human values that survive even to
this day in un-diminishing legacy that he bequeathed to the people of Pakistan.
Shaheed Bhutto was a keen and ardent student of history. Many a great leader of
the yore and of his age, leading lights in the world of letters, diplomacy and
statecraft made him pick up the best from them to carve for himself an enviable
position among those who have helped in some way in the progress of mankind
against retrogressive forces. However, as other writings on him and this book
would show, he was most impressed by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
founder of Pakistan. His friend late Piloo Mody in his book, “Zulfi My friend”
brings out Shaheed Bhutto’s devotion to the Quaid as follows: “For Zulfi
everything that Jinnah said or did was correct.” And that he was a fanatic supporter
of Jinnah’s two nation theory, demand for Pakistan and commitment to
enlightened Islam.
I have maintained that big and small contributions in making history need
always to be recorded. Shaheed Bhutto was yesterday a relevant subject for
comment, be is today an appropriate case for study and so shall be remain
tomorrow. Therefore, all those who knew him and for whom he was an
individual of interest--owe it to history to write about him, about his period, his
leadership and above all, the man that he was, to leave enough source-material
and data for posterity, as well as a homage to Shaheed Bhutto who, conscious of
his rightful place in history, lived and died for his people.
I am grateful to Mr. Khurshed Junejo, who hails from Shaheed Bhutto’s home
district of Larkana, for accepting the challenge of compiling Recollections of
Shaheed Bhutto. I am also grateful to all those who made contributions to the
book and helped make it a reality.
Finally the book is a tribute from a loving daughter to a loving father. Not only
was he a great political leader but a great family man. From him I learnt:
“The best thing any parent can give his child is a good education. Everything else
can be taken coral, but not an education:”
“Values and character are more important than material well being. We can take
nothing to the grave except a good name;”
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Recollections and Remembrances; Copyright © www.bhutto.org
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