Difference between revisions of "Benazir Bhutto" - New World Encyclopedia

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Benazir Bhutto at a Pakistan Peoples Party event in Newark, CA, 28 September 2004.

Benazir Bhutto (Urdu: بینظیر بھٹو) (b. June 21, 1953 in Karachi) was the youngest and the first woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state. She was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, only to be deposed 20 months later by the country's military supported president Ghulam Ishaq Khan who used the Eighth Amendment to dissolve parliament and force an election. During her first term she founded the Peoples Program for the economic uplift of the masses. She also ended a ban on student and trade unions.

She was re-elected in 1993 following the resignation of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but was dismissed three years later amid various corruption scandals by the then president Farooq Leghari, who also used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers. Some of these scandals allegedly involved contracts awarded to Swiss companies during her regime about which she faces charges in Switzerland which remain unresolved. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent eight years in jail until he was released November 2004. As yet, none of the corruption charges have been proven in a court of law. Bhutto maintains the charges were politically motivated.

Benazir Bhutto is considered by many as one of the most powerful women of the 20th century.

Early years

Benazir Bhutto is the eldest child of deposed Pakistani premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (who was hanged by the Pakistan's military administration) and Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who was of Kurdish-Iranian origin. Her paternal grandfather was Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, an ethnic Sindhi.

Bhutto attended Lady Jennings Nursery School and then the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. After two years of schooling at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she was sent to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. She passed her O-level examination at the age of 15. In April 1969, she was admitted to Harvard University's Radcliffe College. In June 1973, Benazir graduated from Harvard with a degree in political science where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She attended Oxford University in the autumn of 1973 and graduated with a masters degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. She was elected President of the prestigious Oxford Union.

Imprisonment, elections and exile

After completing university, she returned to Pakistan, but in the course of her father's imprisonment and execution, she was placed under house arrest. Having been allowed in 1984 to go back to the UK, she became leader in exile of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), her father's party, but was unable to make her political presence felt in Pakistan until the death of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

On November 16, 1988, in the first open election in more than a decade, Benazir's PPP won the single largest bloc of seats in the National Assembly. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of a coalition government on December 2, becoming at age thirty five the youngest person and also the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state in modern times.

After being dismissed by the then-president of Pakistan under charges of corruption, her party lost the elections held in October 1990. She served as the leader of the opposition while Nawaz Sharif became PM for the next three years. In October 1993 elections were again held, which were won by the PPP coalition, returning Bhutto to office until 1996, when once again her government was dismissed on corruption charges.

Charges of corruption and abuse of power

She was charged and later cleared in a number of corruption cases in Pakistan. She has also been charged with laundering state-owned money in Swiss banks, in a case that remains before a Swiss court. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent eight years in prison although he was never convicted. He was kept in solitary confinement and claims to have been tortured. Human rights groups also claim that Zardari's rights have been violated. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has recently apologized for his involvement in the prolonged imprisonment of Zardari and the cases filed against Bhutto. Zardari was released in November 2004. It is alleged that they stole hundreds of millions of dollars by demanding 'commissions' on government contracts and other dealings. Over the past 10 years the couple have faced about 90 cases combined, none of which have been proven. Eight cases still remain. Bhutto maintains that all the cases are politically motivated and says she is ready to face them.

In 1995 during her tenure she famously made the statement comparing Muhajirs from Karachi to rats. In order to pacify the city a military campaign was launched which culiminated in 2000 deaths citywide most of those being politically motivated extra judicial killings which were never investigated.

Afghanistan policy

It was during Bhutto's rule that the Taliban gained prominence in Afghanistan. Bhutto and the Taliban were openly opposed to each other. According to the Taliban codes, as a woman she had no right to be in power. The Pakistan military, however, were insistent and Bhutto agreed to provide some support. She and her government have said that they only provided moral support and nothing more. The Taliban took power in Kabul in September 1996. New evidence suggess that Osama Ben Laden provided Nawaz Sharif with huge sums of money in order to 'buy support' and destabilise her government.^{[citation needed]}

Policies for women

During election campaigns, the Bhutto government voiced concerns over social issues of women, health and discrimination against women. Bhutto also announced plans to set up women's police stations, courts and women's development banks.

Despite these promises, Bhutto did not propose any legislation to improve welfare services for women. During her election campaigns, Bhutto promised to repeal controversial laws (such as Hudood and Zina ordinances) that curtail rights of women in Pakistan. However, during her two terms in power, her party did not fulfill these promises due to immense pressure from the opposition.

However, her party did initiate legislation during General Musharraf's regime to repeal the Zina ordinance. These efforts were defeated by the right-wing religious parties that dominated the legislatures at the time.

^{This short section requires expansion.}

In 2002 Pakistan's current president, Pervez Musharraf introduced a new amendment to Pakistan's constitution, banning prime ministers from serving more than two terms. This disqualifies Bhutto from ever holding the office again, and some said it was largely implemented due to the President desire to exclude previous leaders from future politics. Bhutto has been sharply critical of Musharraf's government and has participated in anti-government campaigns.

Bhutto is currently (as of September 2004) based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she cares for her children and her mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and from where she travels around the world giving lectures and keeping in touch with the Pakistan Peoples Party's supporters.

Benazir and her three children (Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa) were reunited with her husband and their father in December 2004 after a period of more than five years.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Books by Ms Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto (1978). Foreign Policy in Perspective.

Benazir Bhutto (1988). The way out: Interviews, impressions, statements, and messages. Mahmood Publications.

Benazir Bhutto (1989). Daughter of the East. Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0241123984.

Benazir Bhutto (1989). Daughter of Destiny. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671669834.

Benazir Bhutto (1990). Benazir Bhutto defends herself. Rhotas Books.

Benazir Bhutto (1993). Issues in Pakistan. Jang Publishers.

Websites

www.benazirbhutto.net

External links

Preceded by: Muhammad Khan Junejo	Prime Minister of Pakistan First Tenure	Succeeded by: Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (Caretaker)
Preceded by: Moin Qureshi (Caretaker)	Prime Minister of Pakistan Second Tenure	Succeeded by: Miraj Khalid (Caretaker)

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de:Benazir Bhutto fa:بی‌نظیر بوتو fr:Benazir Bhutto hi:बेनज़ीर भुट्टो id:Benazir Bhutto nl:Benazir Bhutto ja:ベナジール・ブット no:Benazir Bhutto pl:Benazir Bhutto pt:Benazir Bhutto ru:Бхутто, Беназир fi:Benazir Bhutto sv:Benazir Bhutto

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 '''Benazir Bhutto''' ([[Urdu]]: بینظیر بھٹو) (b. June 21, 1953 in [[Karachi]]) was the youngest and the first woman to lead a post-colonial [[Muslim]] state. She was elected [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] in 1988, only to be deposed 20 months later by the country's military supported [[President of Pakistan|president]] [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]] who used the [[Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Eighth Amendment]] to dissolve parliament and force an election. During her first term she founded the Peoples Program for the economic uplift of the masses.  She also ended a ban on student and trade unions.
-She was re-elected in 1993 following the resignation of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but was dismissed three years later amid various [[Political corruption|corruption]] scandals by the then president [[Farooq Leghari]], who also used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers. Some of these scandals allegedly involved contracts awarded to [[Switzerland|Swiss]] companies during her regime about which she faces charges in Switzerland which remain unresolved.  Her husband, [[Asif Ali Zardari]], spent eight years in jail until he was released November [[2004]].  As yet, none of the corruption charges have been proven in a court of law.  B
+She was re-elected in 1993 following the resignation of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but was dismissed three years later amid various [[Political corruption|corruption]] scandals by the then president [[Farooq Leghari]], who also used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers. Some of these scandals allegedly involved contracts awarded to [[Switzerland|Swiss]] companies during her regime about which she faces charges in Switzerland which remain unresolved.  Her husband, [[Asif Ali Zardari]], spent eight years in jail until he was released November [[2004]].  As yet, none of the corruption charges have been proven in a court of law.  Bhutto maintains the charges were politically motivated.
+Benazir Bhutto is considered by many as one of the most powerful women of the 20th century.
 ==Early years==
@@ Line 56: / Line 58: @@
 * {{cite book | author=Benazir Bhutto | title=Issues in Pakistan | publisher=Jang Publishers | year=1993 | id=  }}
+===Websites===
+www.benazirbhutto.net
 ==See also==