Shivam Sharma Kharel
Loading…the brutalisation and Islamisation of Pakistani politics, a substantive success achieved by General Zia-ul-Haq, this book is a chilling tale of the framing and sentencing of the Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The book was originally commissioned by BBC to Tariq Ali to recreate the circumstances leading up to the overthrow, trial and execution of Bhutto, but the play was cancelled by the BBC hierarchy. Tariq Ali, a left leaning journalist, activist, novelist and filmmaker creates a faction, if not true to its deference to details but is true to the effect and lays threadbare the nasty underhand dealings of the power elites spanning across 106 short but vivid scenes.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s popularity, his over-reliance on general Zia is slowly shaken with adverse developments around. United States backyard politics is against Bhutto’s socialist inklings. The author connects other such dots of US’ disdain to socialist postures citing the deaths of Solomon Bandaranaike in Ceylon, Indira Gandhi in India and Sheikh Mujibur in Bangladesh. Bhutto assured of his popularity harkens to his strength among people, warns against US intervention in the parliament.
He is caught unawares when a group of generals, the ring leader among whom Zia, Zaman who wants to eliminate Bhutto, a reluctant Azad who later resigns and informs Bhutto of the farcical trial whose consequence is pre-determined. The pretext for imposing a martial law by overthrowing Bhutto’s popularly elected government, is domestic instability and a wrangling for power between Bhutto and the opposition, in an operation code-named Fairplay. Bhutto is released to campaign for election to occur after 90 days.
The campaign, its reception and Bhutto’s aggressive speeches do not augur well for the ruling generals. A fabricated case of murder is slapped against him by a compromised judge Mushtaq, Zia’s childhood friend. Bhutto is reprieved by Justice Samdani on bail referring to the flaws in the case. Meanwhile Islamicist clerics are Zia’s strength and archaic punishments like public floggings are introduced to threaten people, mostly Bhutto’s supporters. Bhutto’s credential as a true Muslim is questioned. The generals and the judge meet regularly to steer the case against Bhutto. Judge Samdani who had granted bail isn’t let to sit on the bench and the high court unanimously sentences Bhutto to death.
Bhutto appeals to the Supreme court, though knowing it to be a sham. Among the nine judges, 2 are retired. The chief justice falls under Zia’s influence, holds secret meetings and under some extra-legal considerations like Bhutto’s acquittal would be a chaos for Pakistan and securing the career of a judge’s relative in the army, with 4-3 strength upholds Bhutto’s death sentence.
A deplorable ill treatment of Bhutto continues in prison. Zia ignores the world opinion. Bhutto dies before the sentence is carried out. In a face-saving clean up act, the regime later hangs Bhutto’s dead body.
A fictional account though, Tariq Ali meticulously weaves the noxious threads of a corrupt and murderous regime. Bhutto’s belief in fair play, a naïve hope in people’s strength and judicial impartiality is thwarted by the cold intrigues of the army, the clerics and even the judges against him. A television propaganda is run against Bhutto’s past misdeeds. The book is successful to raise the curtain behind the dictatorial tactics of holding democracy to ransom, officials including chief justice abandoning their duties and colluding in crimes, here a grave ‘miscarriage of justice’.
Book: The Leopard and the Fox :A Pakistani Tragedy
Author: Tariq Ali
Genre: Filmscript
Pages: 204
Publisher: Seagull Books, 2018
[Reviewer Kharel is a PhD research scholar at the University of North Bengal, West Bengal, India. He can be reached at shivamsharmakharel@gmail.com]
