5th of July is always remembered as the day when an elected government spearheaded by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was toppled by military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.
The Pakistan National Alliance, which was comprised of nine parties opposed to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s PPP, won 36 out of 200 seats. Bhutto’s PPP was accused of being involved in rigging and very soon, the PNA’s campaign against rigging turned into the Nizam-e-Mustafa campaign.
Head of the Tehrik-e-Istaqlal Air Marshal Asghar Khan wrote to the leading army officials at the time a letter in which he urged them not to follow the commands of the Bhutto government.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto tried to calm the political unrest and invited opposition members for talks. Bhutto’s team and the PNA were about to reach an agreement when Operation Fairplay came into play on July 4, when army chief General Zia-ul-Haq and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Shareef dismissed Bhutto’s government.
General Zia enforced martial law across the country and promised to hold elections in Pakistan after 90 days. That promise came true however, eight years later.
Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979 after being tried for the murder of a political opponent. Till this very day, Bhutto’s trial is referred to as a ‘judicial murder’ by some leading experts and analysts.
General Zia-ul-Haq sided with the United States during the Cold War and helped train Afghan Mujahideen, who fought Soviet forces and ultimately defeated them. However, according to some, that was one of his most disastrous decisions which are still impacting Pakistan till date.
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced that his party would observe 5 July as a black day.
