General Zia threatened judiciary to hang Bhutto: Javed Hashmi

ISLAMABAD: Veteran Politician Javed Hashmi has said that former president and military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq had threatened the judiciary to hang prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or else he would set up a military court and sentence him.

Speaking to ARY News program ‘Off the Record’, Hashmi said he was present when General Zia-ul-Haq said he would up set up a military court to sentence Bhutto if the judiciary does not award the death sentence.

“I was present when General Zia said he would eventually punish Bhutto. Go and tell them (the judges) if they have the ability to issue the verdict,” he said.

Hashmi was asked whether Nawaz Sharif should have remained as the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) after he was disqualified as prime minister by the Supreme Court.

Hashmi said that such apprehensions are created and it was be wrong to point at others. “I didn’t even knew about Nawaz Sharif’s Raiwind house until i met him,” he said. Asked if he knew about their London apartments, Hashmi said that he had only heard about them from Chaudhry Nisar.

Hashmi also regretted being a junior minister during General Zia’s era saying he was a young man of twenty-seven years and he made a mistake.

Earlier, Hashmi had said the most politicians are the product of dictatorships which marks a big blotch on their carreers as they cannot call themselves true ideological leaders.

Hashmi, who calls himself as among the ‘plants’ of dictators said he was offered the position by General Zia himself which he never expected. General K.A. Arif, the vice- chief of army staff under General Zia, was also present.

“Thirty years later, I still say that I was wrong,” he said adding he has struggled much earlier against the reign of General Ayub.