Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Reforms

 Bhutto immediately placed Yahya Khan under house arrest, brokered a ceasefire and
ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the Pakistan Army.This
order was magnanimous as it was a type of repentance from Pakistan. Yahya khan’s house
arrest showed the world that Pakistan was generally committed to be tolerant and so it
peacefully went against an “intolerant” and idiotic leader who was the cause of the brutal
war.

 Bhutto showed his charisma by cunningly pushing India to sign the pact.He visited India to
meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and negotiated a formal peace agreement and the
release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. The two leaders signed the Simla Agreement,
which committed both nations to establish a new-yet-temporary Line of Control in Kashmir
and obligated them to resolve disputes peacefully through bilateral talks.

 One of the major achievements in Bhutto's life was drafting of Pakistan's first ever
consensus constitution to the country.Bhutto is considered the main architect of 1973
constitution as part of his vision to put Pakistan to road to parliamentary democracy.

 On 2 January 1972 Bhutto announced the nationalisation of all major industries, including
iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electricals, petrochemicals, cement, public
utilities,mills and banks.

 Bhutto announced his first reforms in 1972 which is also called Martial Law Regulation
(MLR-115). He put ceiling on land ownership wherein no one can hold more than 200 acres
irrigated and more than 300 acres non-irrigated land.

 Bhutto established an atomic power development programme and inaugurated the first
Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with Canada in Karachi on 28 November.

 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's atomic bomb programme, and due to his
administration and aggressive leadership of this programme, he is often known as the
Father of Nuclear deterrence programme.

 The Second Amendment in the constitution declared the Ahmadis as non-Muslims, and
defined the term non-Muslim

 The Bhutto government established a large number of rural and urban schools, including
around 6,500 elementary schools, 900 middle schools, 407 high schools, 51 intermediate
colleges and 21 junior colleges.Bhutto also abandoned the Western education system and
most of the literature was sent back to Western world; instead his government encouraged
the local academicians to publish books on their respected fields. Though the local books
were made cheaper to the public, these reforms came with controversy. His government
made Islamic and Pakistan studies compulsory in schools. Book banks were created in
most institutions and over 400,000 copies of text-books were supplied to students.

 Bhutto is credited for establishing the world class Quaid-e-Azam University and Allama
Iqbal Open University in Islamabad in 1974, as well as establishing Gomal University Dera
Ismail Khan in 1973. In his role as Foreign Minister, and in 1967 with the help of Abdus
Salam, established the Institute of Theoretical Physics. As Prime Minister, Bhutto made
revolutionary efforts to expand the web of education. Bhutto established the Allama Iqbal
 Medical College in 1975. In 1974, with the help of Abdus Salam, Bhutto gave authorisation
of the International Nathiagali Summer College on Contemporary Physics (INSC) at the
Nathiagali and as even as of today, INSC conference is still held on Pakistan, where
thousands of scientists from all over the world are delegated to Pakistan to interact with
Pakistan's academic scientists. In 1976, Bhutto established the Engineering
Council, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Pakistan Academy of Letters and Cadet college
Razmak in North Waziristan. A further four new Universities which have been established
at Multan, Bahawalpur, and Khairpur. The People's Open University is another innovative
venture which has started functioning from Islamabad.
 Tax exceptions were also introduced for small landowners to encourage the growth of
agriculture. His nationalisation of Sindh-based industries heavily benefited the poor, but
badly upset the influential feudal lords
 Bhutto also established the Port Qasim, Pakistan Steel Mills, the Heavy Mechanical
Complex (HMC) and several cement factories.
 Banking reforms were introduced to provide more opportunities to small farmers and
business such as forcing banks to ensure 70% of institutional lending should be for small
land holders of 12.5 acres or less, which was a revolutionary idea at a time when banks
only clients were the privileged classes. The number of bank branches rose by 75% from
December 1971 to November 1976, from 3,295 to 5,727. It was one of the most radical
move made by Bhutto, and the Bank infrastructure was expanded covering all towns and
villages with a population of 5,000 in accordance with targets set after the nationalisation
of banks.
 Iraq under Sunni President Saddam Hussein sent Iraqi made weapons to Pakistan's warm
water ports. Pakistan's navy mounted an effective blockade. Saddam's government
provided support for Baluchi separatists in Pakistan, hoping their conflict would spread to
rival Iran. In 1973, Iraq provided the Baluchis with conventional arms, and it opened an
office for the Baluchistan Liberation Front (BLF) in Baghdad. This operation was supposed
to be covert, but in 1973, the operation was exposed by M.I. when senior separatist
leader Akbar Bugti defected to Bhutto, revealing a series of arms stored in the Iraqi
Embassy. On the midnight of 9 February 1973, Bhutto launched an operation to seize
control of the Iraqi Embassy, and preparation for siege was hastily prepared. The operation
was highly risky and a wrong step could have started a war between the two countries.
The operation was carefully analysed and at 0:00hrs (12:00 am), the SSG
Division accompanied by Army Rangers stormed the Embassy. Military Police arrested the
Iraqi Ambassador, the military attaché, and Iraq's diplomatic staff. Following the incident,
authorities discovered 300 Soviet sub-machine guns with 50,000 rounds of ammunition and
a large amount of money that was to be distributed amongst Baluchi separatist
groups. Bhutto was angered and frustrated. Without demanding an explanation, he ordered
the Military Police to immediately expel the Iraqi Ambassador and his staff as persona non
grata on the first available flight.
 The Bhutto government gave the right of a passport to every citizen of Pakistan and
facilitated millions of skilled and non-skilled Pakistanis to seek employment in the Gulf
countries through signing a series of bilateral agreements.From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
alone 35,000 workers were given the opportunity to work in the United Arab
Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Bhutto used the Pakistani community of London to lobby and
influence European governments to improve the rights of expatriate Pakistani communities
in Europe. The remittances from overseas Pakistanis, which now total around $US25 billion
per annum, constitute a dependable source of foreign exchange for Pakistan.