I disagree to the fullest of your assumptions, Shaheed Bhutto had no political power , he was just a contender, it was yahya khan that messed up everything, after all, he was the president & was in the driving seat . he can't escape responsibility
My dear Friend, with the utmost of regrets; I will beg to disagree with you. I am certainly sensitive to the fact that you may admire Mr.Bhutto and will not like to belittle that in any way.
However; the facts speak quite differently.
Yes, Bhutto was a contender........
but by the rules of that election, he had become a defeated contender. He simply did not get the mandate required to wield power. Unfortunately; that is what ignited his unbridled ambition.......to the extent that: if he could not get power, then he would obstruct whoever got the right to hold it. While Bhutto had many positive attributes, he also possessed many abysmally negative ones....unbridled personal ambition was also one of them. He had this notion that he was ordained (by god?) to lead his country. Surrounded as he was by "intellectual pygmies" who were in positions of power in Pakistan of that time (the Ayub Khan era, when he came into the lime-light) he turned that notion into a conviction. That is the reason why he turned on his benefactor and patron Ayub eventually. That self-belief in himself as a Messiah had turned him into a rank opportunist. In short, he would not allow any niceties to stand in his path till he reached his goal........of being the Arbiter and Leader of Pakistan's fortunes. But the verdict of the 1970 elections in Pakistan was precisely doing that, acting as a road-block in his path, so again he did not hesitate to use any and all (questionable) means to push that aside. Fortunately for him (and unfortunately for Pakistan) Yahya Khan was so intellectually-challenged that he was no match for Bhutto's machinations.........and the rest is History ( a sad history, IMO).
But Bhutto being the short-sighted and narrow-minded "Visionary" that he was; achieved his goal- of ruling Pakistan. Till he met his "Nemesis" who was an even more ruthlessly cunning and selfish politician than him: Zia-ul-Haq.
But nothing can condone the murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, even though it was carried out as a "Judicial Murder".
Bhutto is one person that I have sought to study at some great length. I have read about him and also had the opportunity to meet people (in India) who were friends and his mates. He was a fascinating person without doubt, but History will have to pass a 'mixed verdict' on him.
Again my Friend, I do not enjoy disagreeing with you; but intellectual honesty and integrity requires that I must. Just as it requires that I must explain my view-point to you as best as I can.
Nevertheless; my Regards and Best Wishes for you are always there, unflinchingly and unreservedly.