Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Recollections and remembrances

THEY ARE MY PAKISTANMr. Sayeed Humayun Adv.It was perhaps 31st December 1959, accompanied with some friends. I had goneto Hotel Metropole to celebrate the New Year night. I was then a student ofIslamia College. Bhutto Shaheed was the Minister for Industries and Commerce.All of us were attracted to him because of his charisma. Students of Karachi werealways against Martial Law. When we saw him we went up to him. We knew thathe had been teaching Law in S.M. Law College. The first question that I askedwas. “Sir you are a highly educated person. You have been teaching law, howcould you become a minister in a Martial Law government.”He replied, “I had joined Mr. Iskandar Mirza’s government. Martial Law peopleneeded me and acquired my services. Isn’t it better for you that the governmenthas some civilian ministers as well, I think in the presence of some civilianminister’s the effects of martial law be lessened. These can not be increased.”I said. “Sir your late father had made a Peoples Party when elections were held inSindh. He could, if he had wanted contested as an independent candidate. But hepreferred to make a political party and strengthen the political process”.He asked me, who had informed me about this background? I referred to mymaternal grand father late Mirza Hamidudin Waqar who had been attached withJuna Gadh State. Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto had a lot of respect for my late grandfather.The Shaheed put a straight question to us. “What is your opinion? In the presentcircumstances is it better to make a political party or to try from within to endMartial Law in the country. I think it is better that Martial Law comes to an end,and then we can make our political parties”. The matter ended there.Our second meeting took place at the residence of Mr. A. M. Qureshi, the founderof Islamia College. By then I had got married. I had also put on some weight. Iwas then general secretary of Islamia College Students Union. The student unionsof Islamia Arts, Science, Commerce and Law Colleges had jointly given a teaparty at the residence of the founder of the college.In this reception Bhutto Shaheed who was the Minister for Fuel and Power andMr. Mohammad Ali Bogra, the then Foreign Minister and his wife had alsoparticipated. The Shaheed although had a different ministry but had given a pressstatement on Kashmir, which was widely appreciated.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Recollections and Remembrances; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 154