In the early hours of Wednesday, April 4, 1979, the engimatic life of ex-Premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was ended by a hangman's noose, at the express direction of General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, whom Bhutto a few years ago had lifted from virtual obscurity to be his. chief of staff. Pakistan's most formidable politician died after a nineteen-month legal battle over charges that he had conspired to murder a political opponent. The death watch for Bhutto may be over— but not the turbulence in Pakistan.

Carved out of British India in 1947, Pakistan was created in response to Muslim nationalism articulated by a visionary lawyer, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. To date the country is still struggling to validate its creation.