Bhutto’s Gallows Revisited

President Asif Ali Zardari has made a reference to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to revisit the case in which Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death on the charge of ordering the murder of an innocent man Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri. Interestingly enough the parliament has already prejudiced the case by passing a resolution in its initial session declaring the execution of Mr. Bhutto a ‘judicial murder.’

 In this background, the reference really is a request to determine whether or not the national assembly resolution had any merit or whether it was a contempt of court. The reference also establishes the principle that the judgment of the Supreme Court has greater meaning and weight than a resolution of the national assembly. In order to understand the case it is important to know the background.

Here are some clippings from Nation and Express newspapers and Wikipedia:
Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan, Kasuri’s father, was killed in 1974. Kasuri himself was the complainant for the murder case registered against Bhutto, who was eventually hanged in 1979. In April this year, 32 years after Bhutto’s death, President Asif Zardari filed a reference under Article 186 of the Constitution to the Supreme Court to reopen the murder trial.
Bhutto was convicted in a murder case and sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 1979 during the dictatorship of the then army chief General Ziaul Haq. He was executed on April 4, 1979 by then military dictatorship.

A five-member bench of the LHC, headed by Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmad, had held the Bhutto trial for five months and awarded death sentence to him on March 18, 1978. The Bhutto family had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. A seven-member bench upheld his death sentence in its February 6, 1979, verdict with a bare 4-to-3 majority. His review petition was also dismissed on March 24, 1979. Bhutto was hanged at the Central Jail, Rawalpindi, on April 4, 1979.

Sheikh Anwarul Haq is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [September 23, 1977 - March 25, 1981]. He is often considered 'ill-famed' for giving legitimacy to General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq’s martial law and for upholding the decision of the Lahore High Court which sentenced Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death for the authorization of the murder of a political opponent. Four Supreme Court judges headed by Chief Justice Anwarul Haq upheld the murder conviction of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. On 25 March 1981, S. Anwarul Haq became the first Justice and only Chief Justice to refuse taking the oath under the military imposed PCO and resigned on conscientious grounds.

Prime Minister Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed, the democratic socialists alliance who had previously allied with Bhutto began to diminish as time progresses. Initially targeting leader of the opposition Vali Khan and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP), also a socialist party. Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties, the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce, starting with the Federal government’s decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan Province for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of a close lieutenant of Bhutto's, Hayat Sherpao, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.

Dissidence also increased within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the murder of a leading dissident Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended, and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of abusing human rights and killing large numbers of civilians.

On January 8, 1977 a large number of opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto called fresh elections, and PNA participated fully in those elections. They managed to contest the elections jointly even though there were grave splits on opinions and views within the party. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, alleging that the election was rigged. They proceeded to boycott the provincial elections. Despite this, there was a high voter turnout in the national elections; however, as provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, the PNA declared the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate.

All the opposition leaders called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Political and civil disorder intensified, which led to more unrest. Bhutto imposed martial law in major cities including Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad. However, Mr. Bhutto accepted that there were major irregularities in the election in a number of constituencies and a compromise agreement between Bhutto and opposition to hold fresh election in some constituencies was ultimately reported. This compromise theory was however probably a later day addition as a major PPP armed rally was in the offing.

Zia planned a the Coup d'état carefully as he knew Bhutto had integral intelligence in the Pakistan Armed Forces, and many officers, including Chief of Air Staff General Zulfiqar Ali Khan and Major-General Tajammul Hussain Malik, GOC of 23rd Mountain Division, Major-General Naseerullah Babar, DG of Directorate-General for the Military Intelligence (DGMO) and Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, were loyal to Bhutto.

To remove this intelligence, Zia secretly contracted with the active duty British SAS army officers to maintain a staff course for the Army personnel while Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Mohammad Shariff quietly removed naval personnel loyal to Bhutto and his government from the Navy's active duty. Zia ordered Bhutto's loyal officers to attend a staff and command course and none of the officers were allowed to leave the course until the midnight. Meanwhile, Zia with his close officers, including Admiral Mohammad Shariff, then-Chaiman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, arranged the coup in the evening. On July 5, 1977, before the announcement of any agreement, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops of Military Police under the order of Zia by the evening.

Bhutto's last personal appearance and utterances in the supreme court were not merely a long defence of his conduct he also made some matters clear. He mentioned the words of "heir" for his son "Mir Murtaza Bhutto". He made some remark which indicated that he has views similar to a Sunni, though he was Shia albeit a non-practicing one. He also effectively cast doubt on the reliability of star witnesses against him i.e. Masood Mahmood who was a UK-trained lawyer and not merely a police officer and FSF chief. He mentioned repeatedly Lahori Ahmedi connection of Masood Mahmood in his testimony. He repeatedly brought the subject of his maltreatment in the death cell. Bhutto made it abundantly clear, even though indirectly that he wanted either freedom or death, not something in between, and appreciated Khar and his lawyer Yahya Bakhtiar.

While witnessing the dramatic fall of Bhutto, one U.S. diplomat in American Embassy in Islamabad wrote that:

During Bhutto's five years in Pakistan's helm, Bhutto had retained an emotional hold on the poor masses who had voted him overwhelmingly in 1970s general elections. At the same time, however, Bhutto had many enemies. The [socialist economics] and nationalization of major private industries during his first two years on office had badly upsets the Business circles... An ill-considered decision to take over the wheat-milling, rice-husking, sugar mills, and cotton-ginning, industries in July of 1976 had angered the small business owners and traders. Both leftists— socialists and communists, intellectuals, students, and trade unionists— felt betrayed by Bhutto's shift to centre-right wing conservative economics policies and by his growing collaboration with powerful feudal lords, Pakistan's traditional power brokers. After 1976, Bhutto's aggressive authoritarian personal style and often high-handed way of dealing with political rivals, dissidents, and opponents had also alienated many....

—U.S. Embassy, Pakistan, U.S. commenting of Bhutto's fate,

                                                                    

7. The Digital Universe

Having made this rather lengthy opening statement and prepared our minds to pay attention to new ideas, let us revert back to the rather old and lingering question of whether the nature of light is one of a wave or a particle, or somehow both, like a wave through a series of particles. Every reader of this book must have witnessed an illumination in which the successive lighting up of a series of electric lamps gives the illusion of a moving bright object. An electrical pulse moving slowly enough to take nearly a sixteenth of a second to travel from one lamp to the next would also create exactly the same impression. So let us assume that the universe is a heap of very minute neutral particles each having a diameter of nearly 10^-18 meters which is the present limit for point particles that seem to possess no internal structure such as quarks and leptons, although dimensions as small as 10^-33 centimeters have been suggested for gravitons. These "space particles", if I am allowed to call them so, must be densely arrayed in a hexagonal close pack arrangement, and have a spherical surface for symmetry. Since matter and energy are mutually interchangeable, we can assume that matter or mass is nothing but an accumulation of energy in these particles, and motion is no more than the transmission of an energy pattern through them. We thus have a quantized space through which quanta of energy are propagated to form moving mass or radiation.

The most basic form of radiation would be the transmission of energy or the propagation of a suitable quantum of energy through a perfect straight line string of space particles, which would probably have a velocity of propagation slightly faster than the velocity of light in vacuum. This particle, if not already discovered, would perhaps be smaller than a photon and an electron, and its recognition should provide the basic dimensional data for this model of the universe. For obvious reasons the occurrence of this particle or pulse or radiation would be extremely rare and in certain specific directions only, which would define the universal space coordinates. Perhaps, it is this velocity of propagation that should be used in place of the velocity of light in vacuum in the special theory of relativity. All electromagnetic radiation would, perhaps, be transmitted through bunches of space particles which can form in practically any direction. In fact, any quantum of energy of any size or magnitude can be represented by a suitably sized bunch of space particles and be transmitted with an associated wave length and velocity whose limiting value would be given by a logarithmic step function. This scheme of things obviates the need for massless particles carrying energy at the speed of light, as it provides a universal and all-pervading medium for the transmission of energy, and also saves relativity from breaking down at the speed of light. The existence of various quanta of energy in a particular location could, indeed, produce states with varying properties that would affect the interaction of quanta of energy trying to occupy the same set of space particles. Mass could be defined as the most stable state of energy and the relationship between force and energy can be used to define time.

What we call time is nothing but the perception of change measured in terms of quanta or stages of variation in a constantly or cyclically changing system with a uniform or variable rate. The measurement of time always needs a reference of change and we use many of them from the Earth's orbital motion to the frequency of electromagnetic emissions. The velocity of light in vacuum is considered to be the most reliable linear reference of change.

We have already asserted that since the integration of force over a distance produces energy, conversely force can be defined as the spatial derivative of energy:

  

          F = dE/dx                   (1)

Mass can be expressed using Einstein's mass-energy relationship as E/c2 and acceleration being the second time derivative of distance d2x/dt2, the Newtonian expression of force can be rewritten as:

          F = E/c2. d2x/dt2           (2)

The above two expressions of force can be used to define the equation relating energy, space and time as:

          dE/dx = E/c2. d2x/dt2       (3)       

The solution of equation (3) with useful boundary conditions may take time, but with the fast developing finite element analysis techniques it should be possible. What is more, since a life span is a period of time and a succession of changes, the above equation may come to be known as the equation of life.

Some precise experimentation is needed before it can be determined as to whether or how this approach can be applied to gravitation or buoyancy or both. In crude terms, the force resulting from the energy gradient would naturally tend to cause a change in the rate of displacement of a moving body, thus creating acceleration. Similarly, if a uniformly distributed amount of energy resides in a finite volume of space i.e. an exact number of space particles, there would be a theoretically infinite gradient at the boundary creating a gradually decaying force field which can possibly be approximated by the well known relationship defined by Newton.

Electrical charges and spin can, probably, be attributed to the dynamics of the energy quanta within the bunches of space particles occupied by them, the various massless particles representing unique flow patterns of energy quanta within the bunches. Magnetization and demagnetization would no longer require the strenuous rotation of atoms or molecules, but would simply be a matter of change in energy flow direction in the space particles occupied by the substance in question. In such a system, it seems that the four fundamental variables would be energy, location, orientation and age, time being the difference between ages. Perhaps, in future we would see the development of such new branches of science as energy chemistry and energy mechanics.

In our digitized, crystalline universe consisting of granular space and quantized energy, the vector atom model really flourishes. The electron occupies a globule of about twenty two thousand million space particles in which the electrical charge constantly revolves creating the impression of a spinning particle. A uniform circle or ellipse, the uniformity being defined by a limiting angle of contact, can only be formed at discrete distances from the center, defined in multiples of the diameters of the globules. Similarly, due to the regular arrangement of the space particles, the orbital paths would only form in certain planes whose orientations would be a function of the universal arrangement. No doubt these orbits and planes are not transcendental; but can be computed with a great degree of accuracy by the use of suitable computers. The scope of relativity is also tremendously enhanced, as even the smallest particle of matter would occupy a matrix of space particles numbering in thousands of millions which must have its own reference frame, and thus a system of frames within frames would emerge. In certain types of analysis one would analyze the inner most or smallest frames first and use the net values thus obtained in the analysis of the next frame level or equilibrium boundary; similar to the operation of brackets. This should do away with the difficulties of absolute motion in Newtonian mechanics and help to expand relativity to include noninterfering reference frame hierarchies or family trees. In another type of analysis, one would use equations of the type ((((((( f(e,x,t ) + a ) + earth effects ) + solar system effects ) + milky way effects ) + intervening contents effects ) + boundary effects ) = 0, since there would be nothingness beyond the boundary of the universe; in some cases the brackets would represent the null points of systems in binary equilibrium. This sort of mathematics could, perhaps, provide the logical basis for the Grand Unification that is the dream of many a modern scientist and philosopher.

 A neutral particle would mean the coalescence of a certain critical number of energy quanta; an excess or deficit resulting in positive or negative electrical charge. In a tetrahedral close pack, a sphere with a slight deviation in the number of occupied space particles would be likely to distort into a spherical tetrahedron with concave or convex faces for excess or deficit respectively. The curvature of the faces may distort the boundary effects and force fields in such a way that similar particles would repel each other and dissimilar ones would attract. From the qualitative point of view it is already accepted that everything tends to move towards a more stable state. So if the combining of two bodies would increase the stability level they would be attracted towards each other and vice versa.

It seems that gravitation can be explained very well in terms of curving or warping space; but unfortunately, the empty space could not be curved or warped except in terms of mathematical symbols. By contrast, the particulate space has the physical ability to warp and flex; although this could result in the appearance of stresses and strains in the space structure, if we may use the term. However, this might require the development of a totally new science of the properties and mechanics of space, which in turn could open up totally new possibilities, about which I would refrain from speculating. In any case, quantum mechanics would not allow a space particle to hold more than a certain fixed amount of energy and, therefore, we would have to look for a mechanism for the initialization of the universe less spectacular and less violent than the Big-bang. For this purpose, we may consider the rapid injection of a very large amount of energy at a point in our universe. We could say that the injection must have come from the same source as otherwise the ultracompact seed of the Big-bang would have appeared. In perspective, the injection is as good a source of providing initial momentum to all energy (or matter, if you still prefer to use that term) as the big-bang. No doubt, the big-bang theory which assumes the initial state of the universe as being a concentrated point of matter in a boundless void (finite and infinite at the same time) was the first to materialize, because we have often seen matter transforming into energy, but we do not seem to find any obvious instances in nature where energy would directly covert into visible matter, except in the case of the mass determination of highly accelerated particles. But now that we are recognizing matter as nothing but a stable manifestation of interacting quanta of energy entrenched in a body of space particles, the question of whether the egg was born first or the chicken does not arise. Since we have already observed that in keeping with two forms of consequential energy, kinetic and potential, forces are also of two basic kinds, those resulting from time differentiation of momentum as defined in Newton's Laws of motion, and those resulting from the space differentiation of energy which have so far been ignored. Perhaps, these could provide a clue to the `missing matter or excessive gravity' problem. The only question is one of how long it takes a person committed to an existing school of thought to start thinking on this new more promising line.

In the mean time, we can review the compatibility of this new concept of particulate space with some of the very old concepts which seem to have survived and maintained their influence in spite of the matter-related sciences with all their power and convincing ability pointing otherwise. The first analogy that comes to my mind is that with the silicon chip. By manipulating quanta and states of individual and groups of space particles, it could be possible to build complex logic circuits into a gigantic processor as well as centillions of centillions of memory units and data transfer buses that would be invisible in what seems to be empty space. The quasars and pulsars could be looked upon as the multivibrators furnishing the power pulses required by the system to operate. It is not possible to speculate now on whether the whole system was preplanned, or whether in the presence of all the necessary components and requisites, a brief self multiplying and self developing seed (like a good computer virus) was accidentally formed which not only gradually expanded and perfected itself, but also shaped those parts of the universe which seem to demonstrate elements of intelligence, logic and growth.

The evolution of life on earth could have been just one of the exercises of the Great Processor. The accumulation of all life-experience in a single collective memory and the use of this data in the formation of detailed genetic and transgenetic information seems to be a viable mechanism for the evolution of life. Similarly, the human or animal sperm and egg could be regarded as containing two incomplete command codes which when overlaid become executable and initiate the reading and execution of various program modules from the huge universal library which could exist around us; and thus build up the human fetus with its own intelligence and organic memory banks. The human being then acts almost like an intelligent terminal which is its own operator. This idea is reinforced by the fact that the development of the embryo is not simply a matter of cell multiplication; it also involves perfectly repeatable and very closely controlled cell mutation for the formation of bone, tooth, hair and skin tissue, various organs, blood circulation system and the matching profiles of movable joints. Some sort of a control mechanism is required for the sequencing and timing of the activation of various genes called morphogens which are known to shape a creature from the fertilized cell, and whose mode of action also seems to be more like information transformation than chemical reaction. The kicking of the unborn baby seems to be systematic testing of the various joints and muscles in the confined space. Identical twins are further testimony to the process of development of two fetuses by a single set of instructions being received by both, as if on parallel telephones; they could not be identical if a random process was followed.

 Since only an infinitesimal portion of the total bulk of the space particles is actually occupied by sensible (meaning that which can be sensed) states of energy, there must be plenty of room to monitor and create long lasting memory records of actions and interactions of all the living and nonliving beings on earth and all other planets sustaining life. This analogy also seems to provide a plausible explanation for the occasional appearance of persons with exceptional knowledge of things they do not remember having come across before and the possession of unusual mathematical ability. Certain types of extra-sensory perceptions could be attributed to the accidental "crossing of wires" or spill over in these spatial communication channels. The unique development and similarities in events in the lives of identical twins does not seem too astonishing in this scheme of things. It would certainly be remotely possible that someone with special training or understanding of the universal data-network could act as a hacker and cause stimulation, temporary disruption or damage to the local memory or control functions in the bodies of other individuals by using some strenuous exercises such as those claimed by occult practitioners. But it is very unlikely that one could hack into master memory banks or run a simulation of the universal master program to predict future events with any degree of accuracy, but it is not impossible. The idea of tampering with the past memories on a large scale to influence present or future events is simply absurd, except to the extent of the behavior of the individual himself as is already practiced by hypnotists.

THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN RELIGION SHOULD STOP READING HERE.  

However, when one looks at the rather erratic behavior of even the most celebrated living organisms on earth, one can't help wondering as to why the Perfect Processor who constantly monitors the entire operation does not sort things out a little by direct intervention. Could it be that life on earth is only an experiment?  Yes. It seems possible that in the processing system we have just discussed, there might be a preset juncture in time when the Earth, or the entire solar system, or the entire galaxy, or more could be destroyed and a detailed review of all the stored memories of living and nonliving beings carried out with certain qualifying criteria. We do not know exactly what those criteria would be, but it can be conjectured that memory records of creations other than humans and those of humans containing destructive, exploitative or generally negative trends would be burnt out or erased by some extended thermal process similar to heating with ultraviolet radiation to erase the memory of ROM chips. On the other hand, the human memory records exhibiting positive traits such as belief in God, constructiveness, charity, propriety, forthrightness, punctuality, truthfulness, conformity to rules, conservation of what is good etc. will be integrated into the operating system of the Great Processor. This combined memory could then be used to design, build and operate a new world incorporating the ideas of all the good and noble minds and exhibiting absolute perfection, infallible simplicity, undeniable beauty and imperturbable peace which would, hopefully, last forever. Perhaps, the new breed of life forms that would exist in that new world configuration will have all the safeguards against malfunction that are built into man-made computers, and by then the system would have been modified so that people who turn into new angels would not experience the reprobate emotions that could turn them into new devils. In any case, if the final object of our existence happens to be the eventual creation of a perfectly peaceful, beautiful, clean and comfortable world called `Paradise', any attempt to develop similar conditions for all creatures living on the Earth must be regarded as praiseworthy action. Indeed, it wouldn't be such a bad idea if we start working on the blueprints of what we can possibly contribute in this regard; although it would be rather far-fetched to think that by such an exercise the Day of Judgment can be averted. In fact, what are referred to as `angels' today might be the cognitive remains of the good people of a previous world configuration, as according to the Qur'an they were apprehensive of the consequences of human population on earth at the time of man's creation as if they had been through that experience before. Such an assumption seems to rationalize a number of anomalies associated with revealed religious literature. The above analysis resolves two of the often repeated enigmas of the Qur'an. Aqimus Slah can be interpreted as "establish contact" and Yom ul Qiamah can be understood as "the day when all contacts will be established." Now one cannot touch an arbitrary object and say that the contact is made. Rather, the procedure given by a person who is certain to have established the contact with God must be followed.

 The aforementioned scenario can be detected in most Middle Eastern, Indian and other religions with varying degrees of color and detail in such concepts as doomsday, Day of Judgment and the eventual integration with the Absolute. Even the Big-crunch theory about the future of the universe points in the same direction; though without any hope or cheer for anybody. Now, as we reach the same conclusion through so many different paths of approach, the idea can simply not be ignored, no matter how unpalatable the consequences are likely to be for some. Our efforts should be directed, not towards denying the inevitable but towards ensuring that the end would be as happy as possible for the maximum number among us. Most religions provide that their originating prophets would be able to intercede and rescue at least those who have demonstrated some degree of positivity towards them in a highly glorified courtroom drama on the Day of Judgment, at least after having to undergo a brief period of punishment. I am more inclined to believe that such promises allude to the possibility that memory records with some good portions along with some bad ones may be only partially saved. However, if we have found a logical way of thinking, and a point of convergence, there is no reason why a good world order (though not necessarily a new world order) cannot be created, that would simply eliminate the causes of people acting irrationally or negatively. Moreover, I am inclined to think that the common belief in Christianity and Islam that the Messiah (PBUH) would someday return and reform the lives of those who would exist at that time, and take actions that would win them God's pleasure, could be a personification of the hint that someday humankind would be able to develop the necessary paraphernalia that would enable those with unusual genetic gifts of a certain kind to consciously communicate with the Great Processor. Many of the secrets of nature that elude us today may become known then, and perhaps even the purpose of the creation of the human race may become apparent. However, for such a situation to arise, it would be necessary for the state of political and social affairs on earth to be extremely harmonious and equanimous. And, of course, these improvements have to be brought about with positive and nonviolent thinking.