In 1941, he joined Yugoslav Partisans and was a member of partisans' brigade "Zvijezda" of Vareš. In 1942, during World War II, he was caught by the Ustaše (the Croatian pro-Nazi forces) in Sarajevo and was tortured by them and sentenced to death. With the help of Yugoslav Partisans he escaped and in 1945 with the war ending in victory over the Axis powers, the Communists came into power and Zulfikarpašić was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade.[1] He soon became disillusioned with Josip Broz Tito's government and fled into exile in Zurich, Switzerland.[1]