Bhutto, Benazir, 1953 - Pakistani politician,
leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)
from 1984 (in exile until 1986), and prime
minister of Pakistan 1988-90, when the
opposition manoeuvred her from office and
charged her with corruption. She was the
first female leader of a Muslim state.
Benazir Bhutto was educated at Harvard and
Oxford universities. She returned to Pakistan
1977 but was placed under house arrest after
Gen Zia ul Haq seized power from her father,
Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. On her
release she moved to the UK and became, with
her mother Nusrat (1934-), the joint leader
in exile of the opposition PPP. When martial
law had been lifted, she returned to Pakistan
April 1986 to launch a campaign for open
elections. In her first year in office she
struck an uneasy balance with the military
establishment and improved Pakistan's
relations with India.
In Aug 1990, she was removed from office by
presidential decree, and a caretaker
government installed. Charges of corruption
and abuse of power were levelled against her
and her husband (who was also accused of mass
murder, kidnapping and extortion), and her
party was defeated in the subsequent general
election. Bhutto and her husband claimed that
the charges were fabrications, with the
government's intention being to strike a deal
whereby they would receive pardons on
condition that they left the country and
effectively abandoned politics.