It is unusual in an islamic state and polity for a ' Kalima go' musalman to establish the fact that he is a Muslim. This is, i think, the first in the history of Islamic civilization that a muslim president, a muslimleader, a muslim prime minister elected by a muslim nation, has one day to find himself where he has to say that he is a Muslim.
It is not only an embarssing matter, it is a painful matter, Your Lordships, for that day to arise.And how does it arise? It does not arise in the term of people's revolt or movement against that individual for not being a muslim. It comes from an ivory tower. It comes as an opinion of an individual -no matter how highly he may be placed. but he has no locus standi on this matter. he may have a locus standi on the case itself., on the matters within his jurisdiction. This is neither a matter within his jurisdiction nor is it subject matter of teh determination of the charge for that individual or for that institution or for that bench to go of its way to make comments which they are not competent to make.I will give your Lordships an example of Haroon-ur-rashid, in the court of Haroon-ur-rashid, one of the most eminent muslim scholer got up in the court and told Haroon-ur-rashid that suppose i tell you that i not longer believe in God from today and i do not believe in Islam any more. Haroon-ur-rashid said, i will not believe you. That is not for me to believe what you are telling me is so or it is not so. As far as i am concerned, i am to believe that you are a muslim because you have been a muslim. Now that you tell me this, i accept it as an indication of the tolerance of my society. These are the words in the court of Haroon-ur-rashid.
Since there is no intermediary between God and man, there are wrongs, social evils in society, those between man and man, which are punishable here on this earth like theft, goondaism, adultry, etc. But there are also wrongs against God in islam and those are between man and God to be setteled by God on the day of judgement. This extent is the extent of direct communication betwen man and God. What islam preaches is not teh God of jews or the God of the christians or God of the muslims, but the God that islam preaches, the God that islam defines is Rabbul Alameen. He is the God of the worlds, he is the God of the all mankind, not only of the Muslims. God the soverign of soverign, the absoulute soverign. But God, the absoulute soverign imposed on himself a voluntary restriction, a self-imposed restriction. He curos his own soverignty and says that mercy and kindness are obligatiry on him: rahm and karim.An honourable judge :Islamic summit was held in your time....
Mr. Bhutto :Islamic, in terms of the fact that this was the first time in 1970 that the people of Pakistan chose their leader, chose their party and gave them a majority, and that majority of the people of Pakistan are muslims. And during the elections campaign, much worse things were said. Fatwas were given, because we were progresive. We believed in modern and contemporary stansards and problems of society. fatwas were given that this man is a 'Kafir'. This party is; Kufar'.
In Multan, i gained victory by 70,000 votes against maulvi Hamid Ali. The people themselves, who are muslims, majority of the people are muslims, they elected me as their leader as a muslim. I took office as president in that capacity, according to Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic social polity and political policy. After that, what interpretation can be given for such remarks to be made? I was giving only that preamble.
Usurpation is not possible in Islam. According to islam, it has to be democratic polity, it has to be a government of the people, elected by the people and through the people. There cannot be usurpation of government in Islam.Because usurpation was the main quarrel in Islamic history. why is it that in Islam illegitimacy cannot be legitimised? An illegitimate child can be burden on his parents, but he cannot inherit. He cannot be legitimised, an illegitimate government cannot become a legitimate government.The federal seciruty force, if i may say, your Lordships, was not created for perpetration of the personal vendetta. The federal security force was created because in almost allfederations, subject to correction, there is a force like the federal security force, which ties the provinces together in terms of law and order, in time of disturbence. For that purpose of FSF was created, not by me, but by the prliment of Pakistan. The bill was fully debated.
My Lord, this nation of 70 million people, the country, is a poor country. Even in advanced countries crimes takes place. There is not perfect law and order situation anywhere. There is not an ideal situation in which society functions. Every crime or wrong is not thrown on the doorsteps of the prime minister or president of the country. Each and every heinous crime or wrong that take place in a country does not mean that president or prime minister of that country is running that country whimsically. See the break down of law and order in countries like italy. These are factors of historical importance and have historical causes. if you bring a tank on the streets, terrorism will be off-spring.
Here in the past 18 months of Martial law , with martial regulations, martial law being supreme and all that see the amount of crime that is taking place in this country, the amount of dacoities, the amount of kidnapping. There have been a political assasinations. Makhdoomzada HAsan Mahmud's brother gets shot in broad day light in Bahawalpur. Murad Jamali, an important tribal leader shot dead in Quetta, and some other Jamat-e-Islami man shot dead in sanghar, these things are happening today under martial law. Would you throw every thing on the doorsteps of exective, espacially all powers, allmighty exective, anserable to no body, neither anserable to man, nor to a parliment nor to anyone else. Each and every crime cannot go to teh 'khata of exective'.
In the context of bias, if i was not a god muslim, leave alone my elections, leave alone every thing else, Maulana Maudoodi would not have come and live in my village as our guest for three months to get treatment by a hakim of ours. I would not go to his vilage if i did not believe him to be a Muslim.
Houorable chief Justice We did not know this fact.
An Houorable judge When was this.?
Mr. Bhutto : 51 or 52. He had kidney trouble and we had a very good hakim.He come to our vilage and got treated and he was staying with us.
Twenty four hours holy quran recited in my village, You do not know how these remarks hurt me. I would prefer hanging to these remarks. I would prefer the gallows to having these charge made. A person who have been involved in Pakisatn movement from the age of 15, whom pandit Nehru told in 1946:" Why you want Pakistan ? you can be the prime minister of mutahda hindustan. you are such an intelligent man." I said i want an Islamic state. I want a muslim state. We are fighting for a muslim state. I do not want mutahda hindustan. it hurt's ones feeling. A person who from the begining, from the time he brgan to think, has been associated with the Pakistan movement, with Quid-e-Azam's concept of Paksiatn, which has been perverted by his enemies, in power at the moment. to make such acusation.
After further interchanges, Mr. Bhutto resume, i consider myself a humble muslim, when i was the president, Islamic summit conferrence was held in Pakisatn and king Faisal who was the king of Saudia Arabia and custodian of the holiest shrines of teh holiest cities of Islam, proposed that i should be the chairman of the ISlamic conference, a propositon from kIng Faisal himself which was unaimously accepted and agreed to by all participants. I was not only chose as the chairman of the Islamic conference but still continue to be the chairman of the Islamic conference. If Islamic conference were to be held tomorrow, i would be presiding it. How? of course, the arrangements will have to be made by your Lordships.
Honourable Chief Justce ; Unless they elect a new chairman, the previous one must....
Mr. Zulfikar Ali bhutto : A new chairman is to be elected. First the existing chairman takes the chair, he presides and then somebody propose. I had the distinction of being proposed by king Faisal.