Practically everyone I knew hated Bhutto intensely. Perhaps it was because he was so arrogant. Or maybe because he had been responsible for the break-up of the country. Whatever the reason, we were greatly relieved when Zia overthrew him.
In the beginning, Zia had no intention of executing Bhutto. In fact, he treated the latter with great respect, but when Bhutto threatened Zia with dire consequences (like trying him under Art 6 for violating the Constitution), Zia began to look for ways to keep him out of power. He found one in the murder case against Bhutto filed by Ahmed Raza Kasuri. It was Bhutto's bad luck that he was convicted by four of the seven judges. Of course, in any western country, he would not have been sentenced to death, as that would have required the approval of all the seven judges.
The public also hated Bhutto for massively rigging the national elections. No one could believe that Bhutto could win with such a big majority with most people against him. But it became evident that he was not as popular as he had been led to believe by his minions. There were no protests when he was arrested, and no one came out on the streets when he was executed.
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