Daily Times

Veteran politician, former Sindh governor and chief minister Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto passed away at a hospital in Karachi where he was admitted after his condition deteriorated. He was 88.

According to a spokesman of Dahesar House, Bhutto will be laid to rest beside his father Nawab Nabi Bux Khan Bhutto on Monday (today).

Mumtaz Bhutto was born on November 28, 1933, in village Pir Bux Bhutto. He remained governor and chief minister of Sindh during ZA Bhutto government who was his first cousin. Bhutto attended St George’s College in Mussoorie and then Lawrence College, Murree. He got his barrister’s degree from Lincoln’s Inn and undergraduate and master’s degrees in 1959 from Oxford University (UK). He was a founding member of Pakistan People’s Party.

Mumtaz Bhutto defeated Qazi Fazalullah in the 1970 elections. He was called a ‘talented cousin’ by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. As chief minister, he announced Sindhi language as the official language of the province and Sindhi Language Bill was introduced by him on July 3, 1972, in the Sindh Assembly. When the SA passed “The Sindh Teaching, Promotion and Use of Sindhi Language Bill, 1972” which established Sindhi language as the sole official language of the province resulting in language violence in the province. Due to the clashes, Prime Minister ZA Bhutto compromised and announced that Urdu and Sindhi both will be official languages of Sindh. He was popularly called Dahesar-e-Sindh.

President Dr Arif Alvi has expressed grief over the death of Mumtaz Ali Bhutto and condoled with the bereaved family. He prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and for the family to bear the loss with equanimity, said a news release.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also expressed deep grief over the death of Mumtaz Ali Bhutto. On his Twitter handle, the prime minister posted, “Saddened to hear of the passing of Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto. My condolences and prayers go to his family”.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of the veteran politician. In a statement, the minister said that the demise of veteran politician was really a sad news.