Untold Facts

Judicial Murder: From Joan of Arc to ZA Bhutto to Col (R) Farook, Col (R) Shahriar, etc.

Possibility
On the 31st anniversary of the hanging to death of the then Pakistan PM ZA Bhutto in April 1979 the seating PM of Pakistan Syed Yusuf Reza Gilani a few days go has publicly reiterated that the PPP government under his leadership is going to reopen the case of judicial murder of Z. A. Bhutto. He did not say when and how they are going to reopen the case, but one can presume both difficulties and possibilities that there are causes for action in the court of law.

ZA Bhutto Issue
ZA Bhutto deposed from power by army coup in 1977 was put on trial for a murder charge that many considered controversial. The then Army Chief General Ziaul Haq led the coup against him, then took over as the President, made a controversial murder charge, and the pliant court gave him death sentence and so was he hanged to death on 4th April 1979. General Ziaul Haq engineered successfully to stay in power until late 1988 when he was killed in a mysterious air crash. The election held right after the Pakistan Peoples Party established by ZA Bhutto won and Bhutto’s Oxford educated daughter Benazir formed the government. She became the PM, first woman PM in any Muslim/Islamic country on December 2 1988. She stayed in power this term for about two years and was dismissed by the President for corruption. During the two year period in power, she did not do anything openly of her pains of losing father in a controversial court decision and execution to death that is being now termed possibly rightly so as the judicial murder. She became once again the PM in October 1993 but even at the second turn she remained almost silent about her father’s tragic demise in the judicial murder. How come then the issue is now picked up not only 31 years after but also at a time when none of Bhutto’s progeny is alive; his two sons were mysteriously killed and passed away, and his only daughter Benazir, as well, got killed in terrorist attack in December 2007 that is yet to be traced out who were responsible for her killing. In the backdrop of ongoing Pakistani politics, whether the judicial murder case of ZA Bhutto would have any useful redress is to be seen.

Judicial Murder Case of Joan of Arc
Judicial murder of important personalities in the history of other nations is on record. One such was in France in the early 15th century. Joan of Arc for her valor as a young soldier and commander had driven out the Englishmen who kept in occupation North of France and secured freedom for her nation except regaining Paris, the capital. Unfortunately, instead of rewarding her with prize and credit, she had been given death sentence and burnt to death as a ‘witch’ in 1431 A.D. Those who ordained for her punishment to death were all French ecclesiastics enticed and supported by the English ecclesiastics from the other side of the English Channel. The English churches had the prompting for the fact that the English people had to face defeat at the war effort of young commander Joan. For nearly five centuries, in the rise and fall of the French nation since then, her position remained in obscurity and then was reopened for consideration as a likely case of judicial murder. In early 20th century in 1920 after 489 years of her burning to death in 1431 A.D., she was not only freed from the charge of being a witch but also awarded by the French church the highest award as the SAINT and recognized by France as the great patriot.

In Wrong Headed Hasina’s Bangladesh
In Bangladesh we have similar case of the latest judicial murder. On the 27th January 2010 five former brilliant army officers were given death sentence and were immediately hanged to death on the night of 27-28 January as simple murderer under Cr.P.C. That they had been victorious mutineers with indemnity inherent and not ordinary murderers was rightly echoed by many as clear Political Trial (The Economist, 27 November 2009) out of vengeance of the PM Hasina for her father’s blood. She thus eliminated the only hard line enemies she had in Bangladesh politics that chilled Delhi’s spine as well. The spineless judges failed to rise above collusive executive interference for petty personal gains that in fairness all sensible ones duly expected the judges to stand firmly for that they had not been ordinary killers but heroes of successful mutiny that in it enjoyed indemnity for bloodletting during coup proper. That was why many advanced democratic countries and well known humanitarian organizations raised their voices in protest against the execution to death. Whether the judicial murder perpetrated here in Dhaka in late January would be taken up for due redress in future by some patriotic souls in government replacing the vengeful fifth columnist wrong headed woman (Earlier the freer High Court so judged her as wrong headed) Hasina, no matter if that would take 35 years as she took in her blood thirst remains to be seen for the future progeny.

Unity of Inner Voice
From the available information from authentic sources there seemed to have had curious unity of ‘Inner Voice’ that inspired both Joan and Farook for the task they had undertaken in driving out particular anti-national oppressors of their own times and places. Farook, etc. had no remorse but pride as was well known for the heroically noble job undertaken on the 15th August 1975 just as Joan of France did have no remorse but pride in her driving out the occupier Englishmen. During her so-called partisan trial in Paris in 1931 youthful Joan of Arc stated very firmly: “Everything that I have done that was good I did by command of my voices” (Brockhampton, Dictionary of World History, London edition 1997, p.321). In their unity of inner voices it was clearly established that they were spiritually elevated souls and have undoubtedly become the great SHAHIDS or martyrs.

Author: BK Din