But then Bhutto should not be judged with the Greeks or the Romans. He should be judged with the mortals of this Republic in which comparison there is nothing for his shade or spirit to be ashamed of. Indeed, if we only could look at the matter through unprejudiced eyes, there is nothing in Bhutto's turbulent life that so became him as the manner in which he faced the prospect of death. At several places Arif says that Zia and Bhutto had become irritants for each other and that there had come to exist an animus between them. But even while conceding the obvious, he allows a touch of self- righteousness to enter into his setting down of the motives which prompted Zia to revive the murder charge against Bhutto.
Human life is sacrosanct.
With Bhutto and Zia locked in a struggle whose outcome meant the axe falling on the neck of one or the other, Arif tests the intelligence of the reader by his assertion that justice was the only consideration behind the revival of the murder charge. This becomes the more apparent if we bear in mind the testimony of other observers, most notably that of Lt.-Col. Arif also wishes us to believe that no pressure was exerted on the other co-accused, or no promises were made to them, to depose against Bhutto. This is in conflict with what we know through the revelations made public by the lawyer of one of the co-accused Irshad Qureshi, that promises were indeed made to his client. Arif's tone throughout the book is calm and dispassionate.