Pakistan Under Bhutto’s Leadership is a meticulous presentation of a theme
intrinsically relevant for understanding politics in South Asia. A leader, of rare
charisma, soaring ambitions and pronounced aspirations, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has
secured for himself a niche in the history of the sub-continent. Dr. Surendra Nath
Kaushik has effectively brought out the ramifications of the conceptual
framework of political leadership and extensively identified Bhutto’s emergence
as a national leader, his achievements, inhibitions and failures, the compromises
he had perforce to make and, above all, his quest for the identity for residual
Pakistan. The author argues that Bhutto was a political leader with modern
perspective for the future and yet he was overtaken by the inherent pressures
and forces of reaction and obscurantism. That he was ultimately betrayed by his
own trusted military top-brass does not merely reveal structural contradictions,
it is also a pointer to the distortions that emasculate democratic aspirations and
urge for national self-reliance in Pakistan. Bhutto’s execution may or may not be
ascribed to his style of functioning, but he has certainly left as a bequest a
blueprint for state building (if not nation building) which the rulers in Pakistan
may choose to ignore or belittle at their own peril. If the objective of
representative and accountable democracy continues to inspire the people of
Pakistan, the military dictatorship notwithstanding, the credit goes to Z.A.
Bhutto’s democratic experiments during 1971-77.

Dr. Kaushik’s doctoral dissertation, modified to suit the objective of publication,
is a comprehensive study of the theme. The book should be a useful contribution
to perspectives on South Asia, in general, and Pakistan in particular with special
reference to Bhutto’s era in the politics of the country.