Zulfikar Bhutto was closely watched by Pak army: Declassified CIA documents

It highlights Bhutto's continuation of martial law as 'one of the most testy issues' for his govt

A declassified document released online by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has revealed that former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was closely watched by the Pakistan Army when he was a leading political figure of the nation.

In a weekly summary compiled by the Office of Current Intelligence and dated February 19, 1972, Pakistan gets a mention in an analysis of then President Zulfikar Bhutto and threat he faced from the military.

The author of the document prepared by US officials maintains (on page 12) that Bhutto has moved "skilfully" to gain public support in his first weeks in office, but that he is beginning to feel the burden of economic discontent and social agitation.

"Civilian demands are coupled with competing claims from the military for a larger share of economic resources. Bhutto's decisions will be closely scrutinised by the army, which remains the strongest organised element in Pakistan and may be tempted to seize power again if Bhutto falters."

The report, according to the Dawn, also highlights Bhutto's continuation of martial law as "one of the most contentious issues" for his government.

Along with the political complexities, the intelligence report also highlights the "faltering economy" because of the loss of the East Pakistan market and a halt in new foreign aid.

The period, the report reveals, was one of growing uncertainty, production cutbacks, labour unrest, and crippling strikes that left the business community particularly unhappy.

The above mentioned document is part of a database of 930,000 previously-confidential files released by the CIA on January 17, 2017.