Pakistan: Ahmadi leaders were close advisers of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto at party formation, says founding member

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Mirza Tahir Ahmed, a brother of Mirza Nasir Ahmed, the head of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, was quite close to Bhutto and would frequently visit him

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: MEWSLINE Magazine
By Adnan Adil | November 22, 2017

[Excerpts]

Dr Mubashir Hasan, 95, is one of the founding members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and a close associate of the party’s founding chairman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB). In fact, on November 30, 1967, the party’s founding convention was held on the lawns of his residence in Gulberg, Lahore. Dr Hasan was elected a member of the National Assembly in the December 1970 elections, and subsequently became Finance Minister in Z. A. Bhutto’s first cabinet. He also served as secretary-general of the PPP in the mid-1970s. [Dr Hasan later left the party because of differences stemming from the Bhutto's dictatorial style to the party and later the country]

In this interview with Adnan Adil, he shares his memories of PPP’s formative years and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
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Who were ZAB’s main advisers in the earlier days and what was their role?

The people who were close to Bhutto in those days were Mustafa Khar, Mian Aslam, Sheikh Rasheed (aka Baba-e-socialism), Mirza Tahir Ahmed (of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya) and a police inspector (retd.) Sheikh Safdar, who was a private assistant to Bhutto. Mustafa Khar was a great admirer of his. He was impressed by his speeches on foreign policy in the National Assembly and in the media. Mirza Tahir Ahmed, a brother of Mirza Nasir Ahmed, the head of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, was quite close to Bhutto and would frequently visit him. The network of the [Ahmadiyya] Jamaat’s followers was a big source of information. Mirza Nasir Ahmed also remained a de facto adviser of Bhutto, even after the latter came into power.
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How did the PPP conduct its election campaign for the 1970 elections and pick its candidates?

Mirza Tahir Ahmed and the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya helped the PPP a lot in the election campaign and selection of candidates in Punjab. Mirza Tahir Ahmed had considerable information on the ‘electables’ in different constituencies across the Punjab. Three people selected PPP’s candidates in Punjab, Mustafa Khar, Mirza Tahir Ahmed and myself. Kausar Niazi fought the election from jail and won. His entire campaign was run by the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya.

And in return for all their support, your party declared the Ahmadis non-Muslims.

Bhutto was under pressure from the Saudi King, Shah Faisal, to declare the Ahmadis non-Muslims. Shah Faisal was very unhappy with them. The Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya had set up a centre in Israel. Sheikh Rasheed and I had opposed the declaration of Ahmadis as non-Muslims at a federal cabinet meeting. But all the others endorsed the proposal. The Ahmadi leader also said something in the National Assembly, which was held against them. In answer to a question, the Ahmadi leader said that according to his faith, he considered all those (Muslims) who did not believe in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed as infidels (kafirs). At this, the assembly went into an uproar.
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Read original post here: Pakistan: “Benazir and Bilawal have turned the PPP upside down,” says Dr Mubashir Hasan


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