Read interview with Yahya Bakhtiar about 1974 proceedings
Yahya Bakhtiar was the attorney-general under Bhutto who conducted the questioning in the National Assembly in 1974. In 1994 an interview with him was published in a Lahore magazine which was reproduced in Paigham Sulh, May-June 1995. We now have that issue online at this link (pdf, 1.2 MB). See from page 1 (bottom of col 2) to page 4.
Extracts from his replies:
“I had very good relations with Zafrullah.”
“I took the draft of the 1973 constitution to show Zafrullah in London and he improved its language.”
“The entire Assembly proceedings [of 1974] were held in secret, in order to avoid provocation of the masses.”
“If the proceedings are published it will go against the Qadianis. Let them be published if the Qadianis want them to be.”
From Rashid:
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s political objective.
Colonel (retired) Rafi Ud Din, who was army’s liaison and in close contact with ZAB in Rawalpindi jail, writes in his book ‘Bhutto Kay Akhari 323 Din’ (Last 323 days of Bhutto):
Rafi: Why did you declare Qadianis Kaffir?
Bhutto: They were becoming king maker like Jews in America.
Regardless of Qadianis beliefs, ZAB declared them kaffir for non-religious objective and political capitol. Unfortunately, he also victimized AAIIL.
Abdul Mannan Omar sahib narrated to me that once he and Maulana Sadar Ud Din sahib went to see ZAB. Some book (I forgot name of it) published by AAIIL was banned by Punjab Government. Meeting with ZAB was in reference to that. ZAB listened to them and started laughing and asked, do you consider me a religious person? Anyways, he referred them to Punjab Governor Mustafa Khar. When they met, Khar also started laughing and asked the same question, do you consider me a religious person? Anyways, he referred them to Punjab Chief Secretary (or Punjab Home secretary, I forgot his name, he was a descendant of a former ruler of Afghanistan) who was son of that friend of PM-HMGA sahib in whose house PM-HMGA had last ‘ziafat’ (party) of his life. And he informed Mannan sahib that the group photo of guests on that occasion is still mounted on his bedroom wall.
From Abdul Momin:
Judging from the interview of Yahya Bakhtiar as reproduced in Paigham Sulh, it would not at all be far-fetched to conclude that AAIIL did not figure in the plans of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to be declared non-Muslims. It was nothing but political considerations that compelled the National Assembly to do so. If Nusrat Bhutto and others were so against the Qadianis being declared non-Muslims-who were simply asking for it by the provocative writings of Mirza Mahmood Ahmad and his brother-why would they want to act otherwise in the case of the AAIIL?
I have heard this story of the apprehension of the Shias being next in line to be declared a non-Muslim minority after the Ahmadis, from other sources as well.
The Qadianis can argue all they want that they do not consider non-Ahmadis as non-Muslims. But it is a question of the fundamentals:
1. How can a non-believer in the claim of a true prophet still remain a Muslim?
2. How can one call other Muslims non-Muslim, but still expect those Muslims to call one a Muslim or even refrain from calling such a person as non-Muslim?
Even Bhutto, a non-religious person, comes out more learned than the Qadiani Khalifa in the above interview. Regrettably, his intellectual level does not appear to be above the thinking of most of the orthodox mullahs in Pakistan.
One would think that after the anti-Ahmadiyya movements of the 1930’s and 1953, the Qadianis of 1974 would have gotten their act together. Those who learn not from history are condemned to repeat it, is a very wise saying.