No doubt Z.A. Bhutto had a complex personality. He was extra-intelligent, charismatic and persuasive but at the same time he was a shrewd and astute person, who always tried to attain his goal — come what may — as his old friend retired Air Marshal Zulfikar Ali Khan remarked many years later: “Strange, how unpredictable he was. He could be charming to one person, and for no reason, jut turn on another person who was close to him. It was very strange how he did that. No rational explanation. I never understood that”. And this characteristic, sometimes, cost him dearly.

In the initial two years of his leadership as president and martial law administrator he held a sway over all national and international matters with the assistance of his confidants, close aides and able party workers. But then his dictatorial attitude and desire to have the whole country under his thumb created problems. After Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), his two strong bastions, Sindh and Punjab, also began to show cracks in the party ranks.

At Bhutto’s takeover on Dec 20, 1971, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, his close friend, was appointed governor and martial law administrator of Punjab. With his feudal background, Khar soon became a strict disciplinarian. With his strong arm, he was able to suppress the police strike in Punjab within 24 hours, the first disturbance witnessed by the PPP government. He ran the administration with feudal tactics but at the same time he also undertook a number of projects for public welfare, which made him popular with the public and earned him the title of Sher-i-Punjab (Lion of Punjab) and an upholder of Punjabi rights.

It is said that banking on the confidence reposed in him by Bhutto, Khar began to make some crucial decisions on his own without prior permission of the party head. After the adoption of the constitution Khar was relieved of governorship and was appointed chief minister of the province in February 1973. Hanif Ramay, a soft-hearted PPP stalwart replaced him as the governor.

Khar, as chief executive of the province, wanted Punjab to get a prominent place in the federation. In this regard he went too far which caused the widening of the gulf between him and Bhutto. People around Bhutto also complained of Khar’s highhandedness, which alienated party leaders and workers.

Khar was not unaware of it and in January 1974, he tendered his resignation as chief minister which Bhutto refused to accept by saying that it was not possible to have a new chief executive before the Islamic Summit. On March 15, 1974, Khar finally bowed out vacating the position for Hanif Ramay. Besides being a writer, intellectual, journalist and a painter of great talent, Ramay even designed book-jackets that came to him for editing and publication. With a middle-class background he became an admirer of Bhutto when the latter launched his party and initiated a tirade against Ayub and Yahya. He was a true socialist and wanted the People’s Party’s programme to be converted into reality. This was an important change. Bhutto wanted to bring PPP closer to the people, whom he believed were his source of power. This was possible only if the lower cadre of the party had been listened to and the people’s problems solved. This created friction in the party ranks and the party workers felt alienated.

This coincided with the changes in People’s Party’s home province and another stronghold, Sindh. Here party leaders began squabbling among themselves for very trivial things. Mumtaz Bhutto had been appointed governor during the very first broadcast on December 20, 1971. With a feudal background, an Oxford-educated Mumtaz still retained the traits of feudal traditions. He had his own style of working. But then there were many groups within the party i.e., Talpurs, Syeds, Makhdooms and lastly the vibrant youth. Mumtaz Bhutto’s appointment angered Jatoi, for, he aspired for the slot. Besides, small political families were also at odds with the party leadership. But Bhutto had to maintain a balance among all — a very ticklish task.

Jatoi was a big landlord of Nawabshah district. He too was vying for the provincial slot but for the time being it was difficult. Jatoi had mustered support of many members of the provincial assembly but Bhutto had a bigger say; nonetheless, Jatoi kept his group intact. To accommodate Jatoi, Bhutto appointed him Federal Minister for Communication, Railways, Ports and Shipping — a minister with too many important portfolios.

After the approval of the interim constitution, Bhutto relieved Mumtaz on April 20, 1972, and appointed him Sindh chief minister on May 1, 1972. The vacated seat of governorship was awarded to Mir Rasool Bakhsh Talpur, a sincere PPP leader and fighter of democratic movements of Hyderabad. He rose from low class politics of Hyderabad town and always played a role of the opposition. He had supported Miss Fatima Jinnah in the 1964 presidential polls. After the founding of People’s Party, he and his brother, Mir Ali Ahmad Talpur, joined the party. During the campaign against Ayub when nobody at Hyderabad would host him, Bhutto used to stay at Mir’s house.

Bhutto knew what would be the result of this change; hence he waited till he had settled some issues. He was sure that he would be able to settle everything but by then the internal dissensions in the Sindh PPP gained momentum. Nobody could come out in the open but the differences within the party had begun to show.

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