(Khaleel Y. Siddiqi, Toronto, Canada, E-mail: khaleel@rogers.com)

Instalment # 3

Event # 5, Tash-khund & Z.A.Bhutto:-

Mr.Bhutto was virtually sacked as cabinet minister during the Tash-khund Meeting, though the announcement came when General Ayub Khan, returned to Islamabad. There were different rumours in the market about this sudden drastic action against a brilliant young and very popular Foreign Minister. Having personal relations with Mr.Naseem Hejazi, I often used to write articles on various subjects for Daily Kohistan, the news- paper he owned and published simultaneously from Lahore, Pindi & Multan. Naseem Sahib was very eager to find out the reasons and background of Mr.Bhutto’s expulsion. He tried his best to get some details from Mr. Aziz Ahmed, (Then Foreign Secretary) or Mr Altaf Gohar who was Secretary Information, but could not succeed.

My wife’s cousin Mr. Ekbal Ather (ICS) was those days Pakistan’s Ambassador in Russia and was all the time in the Meetings at Tash-khund. Luckily a month after the Tash-khund Agreement, he came to Lahore and stayed with his In-laws in the Kapoorthala House. We went to see him. It was my first meeting with him. Some how he developed great liking for me and invited me in all the parties he had at his place during his two months stay in Lahore. This gave me the courage to ask him one day about the dismissal of Mr. Bhutto. (I have once given all the details in my article published in the “Pakistan Star, Toronto”, in 1996). I give below in brief what he disclosed:-

“ Ayub Khan was, as a politician, a duffer and often used to have no satisfactory answers to the allegations the Indian P.M., Shashtri, was levelling against Pakistan. Bhutto became more prominent with his brilliant replies. So much so that very often the Russian President started directly asking Mr. Bhutto for certain explanations. This situation naturally hurt General Ayub’s ego. On the second day of the Meetings, India alleged: “Pakistan’s concept of “Islamic brotherhood” is actually a real threat not only for India but for the whole world. Today Pakistan is worried about Muslims of Kashmir, tomorrow they would be for Muslims living in India and then for Muslims living in any part of the world.”

India demanded that Pakistan should confine itself to resolve the problems of their own people and give some kind of guarantee / assurance that it would not interfere in the problems of other countries. The Russian President then asked Ayub Khan to give this guarantee particularly referring to the concept of “Islamic-brotherhood”. Ayub Khan was speechless when Bhutto stepped-in and bursted :-

“ Mr. President ! modern world is divided on the basis of Ideologies NOT on the physical boundaries. ‘Islamic Brotherhood’ is exactly like your sympathies for people of Cuba or of Travancore (India). Would you tolerate any kind of brutality done to them ?”

The Russian President got up set with this comparison and sharply remarked: “ we have come here not to discuss ideologies or Russian strategies but to find out some formula for enforcing peace in the Indian sub-continent. Pakistan’s young Foreign Minister needs some training to behave in such meetings.”Ayub Khan then harshly asked Mr. Bhutto to keep quiet & not to answer any question in the Meeting any more. I & Aziz Ahmed saw towards each other affirming to have understood that Bhutto was out !

Then came that fateful event when Mr Shashtri suddenly died as a result of a heart attack. Aziz Ahmed phoned Bhutto from his room: “ Mr. Bhutto ! You know that Bastard (meant Shashtri) is dead.” Bhutto asked : “Which Bastard ? Ours or Theirs ?” Russians had been secretly tape-recording all the phone-calls. They provided a copy of this conversation to President Ayub and it was the end of Mr. Bhutto !”

(to be continued)

Event # 6, Mr. Bhutto’s Dialectical Materialism:-