Sonic of my personal recollections drawn from my memory at random are stated here, and perhaps being personal and first hand, for the first time.

It is the imperishable bond of friendship, which rich memories and the series of sincere communications between two personal friends fondly preserved by me. which I want to share with all those who are interested to know a fragment from an early life of my friend Late Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who has left such an indelible mark of distinction on the and face of this part of our world but who was tragically consigned to lie under the veneer of dust kicked up by cruel sweeps of time. This ought not to have been his fate for justice could have been served in many different ways. However, it has been my prolonged desire to write about some uncommon and interesting features hitherto unknown about his early life. More comprehensive account, subject of course to my limited resources and competence, may perhaps be attempted some other time but for now, at the insistence of the compiler, gleanings from his early life, may be an anecdote or two hitherto un-published. I am told, would be quite adequate to serve the purpose of the compilation wherein this writing is intended to be confined.

I had been working in the law firm of Barrister Dingomal Ramchandani, a senior civil lawyer for nearly three years, having joined him in early November, 1950. I had chosen civil law as my professional field. If I recall correctly it was the month of July 1953, While I as working in my room, my senior, who was otherwise a very soft spoken person apparently not being able to contain his inexplicable excitement, nearly shouted to call me out of my room (normally he sent for me or came personally to my room if he had to) and soon as I appeared he announced “Abbasi! look who is here - my dear brother Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto’s son Zulfi” and then he stuttered obviously struggling to pronounce correctly the first name but before he recovered from his predicament, to save him the embarrassment, “the brother’s son himself very straight forwardly whispered aloud “Zulfikar Ali” “YESSS” emphatically acknowledged Mr. Dingomal “I mean Zulfikar Ali Khan”. Then, in a mellow affectionate voice he said “Sir Sahib calls him by this name”. He went on, “Do you know Abbasi, he is an Oxonian and a Barrister. He is going to work in our office and you please take him around and make sure that he attends along with you before the Registrar O.S. I mean ‘Chagla.’” Mr. Dingomal then paused, perhaps not knowing what next to say, and in the meantime, taking advantage of those vacant moments. I started scanning the new incumbent severely with an air-of-seniority of three-long-long-years. Then to greet him, I extended my hand. He reciprocated by fully stretching out his arm and with a graceful athletic gesture placed his right hand into mine and our hands clasped. Donned in drain-pipe white R/52 Duck Cotton Trousers. Royal Blue Blazer with brushed brass buttons, Oxford University neck-tie, a key chain with outer and clung to the trousers loop and the other running down and disappearing in the trousers pocket, all this sat pretty on his solid sporty frame of approximately 5’ 10”. His classic features were dominated by his broad forehead. jet-black hair meticulously brushed back caused symmetrical waves which naturally delineated his forehead so nearly that it suggested of hair-dresser’s charisma. My physical scanning of him had hardly finished when Mr. Dingomal, breaking his ‘silence, patronizingly advised Zulfikar Ali Khan “You see Zulfikar you be with Abbasi from now on and should you need to see me, pointing to his room, just push in the half-door and you are in. (A privilege which I was also granted but after about a month of joining the firm). Mr. Dingomal then without introducing me to Zulfikar Ali Khan retrieved to his room leaving both of us staring at each other, perhaps groping for words to define our next move. That was it.  This is how Zulfikar Ali Khan Bhutto started his not-so-long-a-journey to his destiny and how we came to be associates. Soon there-after our association ripened into “Friendship”. To my knowledge he had no other personal friend at that time as he hardly knew any one of his age group because of his early education in Bombay and later in U.S.A. and England. “Treaties” being one of his favorite subjects of the International Law disciplines, he reaffirmed his friendship with me by his declaration, “let me have the first treaty of friendship ‘heart to heart’ between us here and now.” We then drove in his green Jaguar to a small Restaurant “Kwality” on the Victoria Road (now Haji Abdullah Haroon Road) and celebrated the occasion by treating ourselves to a lunch. I know that treaty which was inscribed on our hearts must have been washed away on the 4th of April 1979 when one heart bled and the other was entrusted to the mother earth for the safe custody.

He was enrolled as an Advocate of the then Sindh Chief Court on 12th November 1953. For the first two years he worked with me in attending to the firm’s cases. Besides having in hint an excellent company, I greatly benefited from his knowledge of International and Constitutional Laws. His intellectual experience and anecdotes of his student days at Berkeley and Oxford were absorbing and wide ranging, sad from starry nights on the Miami Beach to his viva-voce at Oxford. Some times we sat together for hours on end, he relating and I hearing. I soon realized that Politics were more on his mind than the profession of law. Nevertheless he had tremendous potential for a very successful career as a lawyer. The very first case of his career turned out to be quite a classical experience. Mr. Dingomal refused a brief but suggested to the client to see me if I could file the appeal. I accepted the appeal, and filed it but before it came up for hearing. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto saw me preparing it for the summary hearing. When the brief was ready he went through it. After one day of shuffling with it he mustered up so much of confidence that he wanted to argue it himself. At first I was scared but then we worked on the matter for a couple of days and finally I was convinced that he would get the appeal admitted. The appeal was fixed for hearing before Sir George Constantine. A very difficult Judge in his own right and more so for his Irish accent which even D. N. Pritt while arguing Tamizuddin Khan’s petition found it difficult to understand. However, two days before the hearing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto asked me to arrange for his interview with Judge just for a courtesy call. It appeared strange to me but we managed with the Personal Secretary of the Judge and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was called to see him at 4.00 p.m. I was waiting outside in the corridor. It was about half an hour that he was inside the chambers when he came out he looked quite excited. He came closer and whispered in my ear “Abbasi, damn it we are going to win the appeal.” I was none the wiser. “What happened?” I asked. He said ”you know I introduced myself as an Oxonian and all the while rubbed in the fact that ‘Christ Church’ was my college at Oxford. This college is more prestigious than all other colleges in the entire University and hardly any Asian is given admission there. The Judge himself was from “Queens”, not so famous as “Christ Church”. So he damn-well was highly impressed.” On the next day we did not have much to do so he suggested, ”we should sit in Justice Constantine’s court and watch him conducting the matters a rehearsal for tomorrow. We sat in that court right through the day and when the court work was over and Judge was about to rise, he saw both of us still sitting. He just courteously gestured to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “Any thing?” “No my lord.” said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, “we were just watching the proceedings.” “Good” said the Judge. On the next following day our appeal was at serial No. 3 for summary hearing (II Appeal 59/54 - G. Bhaledino V/s. Faiz Mohammad). The first two matters were summarily dismissed. We lost quite a bit of steam with the first two dismissals. Serial No. 3 was called out and with it my name as an Advocate for appearance. But before I got up to say that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto will argue, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto himself was up on his feet and immediately said. “My Lord, I would like to have the privilege of my first professional appearance before your lordship.” “Is your power...?” whispered Sir George. “Yes, his power is there, My Lord” I informed the court. “That’s alright.” said Sir George. “You may proceed, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.” “My lord we are on the same wicket..”..”Sorry?” quipped the Judge. (Perhaps not comprehending what was said). I pulled his gown and said “Damn it. Read the judgment.” “My lord with your permission I will read the judgment.” “You may.” said the Judge. While Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was half way through the impugned judgment the Judge observed “This is a second appeal. Only an error of law need be pointed out. Well. I have seen your grounds of appeal. I think this is a fit matter for admission”. Hearing that observation of the Judge, I once got up and whispered to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “status-quo-status-quo”. The Judge over-heard it “Mrrr…… Bhutto perhaps you want status-quo”. “Yes my lord”. “Granted” said the Judge. “Thank you my lord” said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and happily we both were out in about 10 minutes time. Then we came to the Bar Room. When he removed his gown, (in those days gown was compulsory) I discovered sonic writing on his white trousers over the right thigh region directly in his focus when sitting. On close scrutiny the writing, a sort of aide-memoir, read “S.100 C.P.C. - S.91 E. Act” etc. I said this was copying/Cheating in the very first matter. We heartily laughed and he said “This bloody C.P.C and Evidence Act business really need some experience to quote them correctly so I wrote them down in case”.

In retrospect the brief moments comprising 10 minutes might just appear a non-event but for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto it was the laying of the first brick of the solid foundation which he later persevered to build upon. It gave him tremendous confidence. We celebrated the success by having sumptuous dinner at the Beach Luxury Hotel. From that day onward he never looked back, we did together quite a number of cases even out of Karachi. For his part, he was always thoroughly prepared and we hardly lost a case. After about two years in Mr. Dingomal’s office he acquired his separate law office just adjacent to Mr. Dingomal’s office on the same floor. For some time he also accommodated Mr. Dorab Patel, Advocate (later rose to be the Judge of the Supreme Court) in an improvised cubical before the latter acquired his own office. That office in fact served more as a research centre for his future political planning than for his professional work, till the end of 1958, when the then President of Pakistan Maj. General Iskandar Mirza staged a coup-de-etat by over-throwing the Government of his own Prime Minister Malik Feroz Khan Noon. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was taken in the Cabinet which was headed by General M. Ayub Khan who was nominated as the Prime Minister. That was the last day, the profession claimed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as its active member.

His ability both Lawyer as well as an Advocate could be best illustrated from his personal appearance and arguing his own Review Application in the Supreme Court in that fateful trial of Destiny. The level of his presentation, reasoning and knowledge of the relevant law was admittedly one of the high performances ever in the history of the Supreme Court, although his appearance was after the gap of over 20 years. The courage of his conviction will be easier to evaluate when it is taken into account that when he argued his own Review Application he was under the sentence of death by the Highest Court of the Realm but the brave fight that he put up Without a wrinkle on his fore-head was not to save his person from the gallows but to uphold the cause for which he struggled for over a quarter of century. He did not compromise his principles but maintained them by offering the sacrifice of himself and in doing that he elevated his soul to the higher platitudes within the possible reach of the mortals.

The catalogue of the events and episodes is very lengthy spread over from July 1953 to October 1958 without interruption for which more time and space is needed. However, I will attempt to write every thing which my notes and memory would enable me to produce in good time.

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