Nusrat Bhutto (1929–2011): Kurdish Family Background, Political Opposition and Parliament

Nusrat Bhutto was an Iranian-born Pakistani political leader of Kurdish descent. Her public career included party leadership, a court challenge to military rule and election to the National Assembly.

Family background and public life

The Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians’ biography identifies Nusrat Ispahani as born in Isfahan, Iran, on 23 March 1929 and of Kurdish descent. She married Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Karachi in 1951. Their children were Benazir, Murtaza, Sanam and Shahnawaz. [1] The party’s account records her political work and overseas visits during her husband’s premiership, 1973–1977. The photograph above documents one such public occasion. Her family background connects her to Kurdish history; her political offices and campaigns developed in Pakistan.

The 1977 court challenge

Her political activity against military rule began before her husband’s execution. In Begum Nusrat Bhutto v. Chief of Army Staff and Federation of Pakistan, she petitioned the Supreme Court over the detention of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and ten other PPP leaders under Martial Law Order No. 12 of 1977. Her counsel challenged the army chief’s authority to impose martial law and alleged that detention would prevent PPP participation in elections. The Court validated the military intervention under its doctrine of state necessity and dismissed the petition. [2] The decision left the military government in place.

Party leadership, illness and return

The party biography describes her leadership against Zia-ul-Haq’s government, repeated arrests and house arrest, and the transfer of greater responsibility to Benazir. [1] Reporting before the 1988 election, Mary Anne Weaver noted that Nusrat had gone abroad for medical treatment in 1982 and returned to take part in the campaign. [3] These accounts locate her activity across opposition, enforced absence and renewed electoral work.

An elected representative in her own right

The Election Commission’s 1988 report lists Begum Nusrat Bhutto as the winning PPP candidate for NA-164, Larkana-I, with 83,449 votes. [4] The National Assembly’s official membership list for 1990–1993 again identifies her as the member for NA-164, while separately listing Benazir for NA-166, Larkana-III, and identifying Benazir as opposition leader. [5] These records distinguish the two women’s constituencies and establish Nusrat’s own parliamentary role. Together, the election and membership records show her continuing parliamentary presence after the return to electoral politics in 1988.

Later years

The party’s account describes withdrawal from public life during the 1990s, especially after Murtaza’s death in 1996, and residence in Dubai with family. Nusrat died in Dubai on 23 October 2011 and was buried at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. [1] Her record includes ceremonial duties, leadership under repression, litigation and electoral representation.

Sources and further reading

1. Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, “Mohterma Begum Nusrat Bhutto”: the party’s biographical account of family background, political activity and later years.
2. Supreme Court of Pakistan, Begum Nusrat Bhutto v. Chief of Army Staff and Federation of Pakistan, PLD 1977 SC 657, Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 1977: judgment text, reproduced by Pakistan Case Law.
3. Mary Anne Weaver, “Letter from Pakistan,” The New Yorker, 14 November 1988 print issue: contemporary reporting on Nusrat’s medical absence and campaign return.
4. Election Commission of Pakistan, General Elections 1988, vol. III, p. 51: NA-164 Larkana-I candidates, votes and returned candidate.
5. National Assembly of Pakistan, 9th National Assembly, 1990–1993, official members list, entry 164: Nusrat Bhutto, NA-164 Larkana-I; entry 166: Benazir Bhutto.