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April 6, 2010

Benazir was two different people for me: Fatima Bhutto



Fatima Bhutto, the outspoken niece of former Pakistani Prime Minster Benazir Bhutto, is in India to release her book 'Songs of Blood and Sword' on the tale of one of Pakistan's most powerful family.

Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, she said President Asif Ali Zardari was behind her father Murtaza's death and the moral responsibility laid with her aunt Benazir Bhutto.

"Before Zardari ascended to the presidency, he was facing four murder cases in the courts of Pakistan that were quickly wiped clean. He was acquitted in the middle of four ongoing trials involving the killing of 11 men. My father was one of them," she said.

"It's more important to speak about justice when you see that there's one law for the powerful and one law for the average citizen. I don't think it's for the first time that criminals have ascended to the highest posts in power. Certainly in Pakistan it's a new precedent for us. We need to be more aware as to who's leading this country at the moment," she added.

"There is certainly a moral responsibility for my father's murder. And that lays squarely with his sister, my aunt Benazir's government. Benazir was the PM at the time and she presided over a state where security officials killed with impunity. Extra-judicial killings were the norm. Some 3000 men were killed in the two years of operation clean up which was led by the Karachi police. So moral responsibility absolutely rests with the government," she further said.

Fatima also said her aunt was two different people for her - one who used to bring her books to read, and the other who was the Prime Minister and was cruel.

Watch the full interview with Fatima Bhutto HERE.

6 comments:

ApexHeights said...

Sad, very sad to read this and feel bad for the Bhutto’s. Pakistanis have been engulfed in bloody politics for long and this seems like medieval age where brutal power grabbing and murders within family were so common. This zardari guy seems like a swine and his actions since Benazir’s death have been suspect and looking at his murderous past he may as well been involved in killing his wife too….by the looks of it he is the person who got most benefit of Benazir.

His wife is dead and this lecherous guy was calling Palin ‘gorgeous’ on tv and saying now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you and then wanted to hug her.

Pardesi said...

The ONLY redeeming factor about Zardari is that for the first time Pakistan leadership seems to have dropped its hawkish stance against India and acknowledged that they fostered terror for political gain.

Else Pakistan politics reminds me of politics in African nations, selfish, bloody and brutal.

ApexHeights said...

Zardari has no control on the extremists elements in Pakistan so being hawkish or peace loving makes no difference to India.

What we do understand from Pak nationals living overseas, the guy has been instrumental in bringing a lot of instability to his country. Now this is not good, whichever way one looks - it is never good to have instability surrounding your borders. Political stability in India is in sharp contrast to developments in some of its neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This somehow infiltrates through porous Indian borders.

ApexHeights said...

From her touring and courting media, it seems Fatima seems to be nursing a desire for political career. She seems to be a gutsy lady considering she is up against murder, corruption, conspiracy not to forget extreme factionalism within and outside.

At one time there were rumors of her and Clooney and her causing a stir wherever she surfaced.

Pardesi said...

Has lived mostly out of Pakistan and now she is trying to come into the limelight - just like the rest of her family, I predict the same behavior and same outcome.

ApexHeights said...

"I predict the same behavior and same outcome."

..and that would be real sad though I was never a fan of Benazir but was looking with keen eyes since she was hailed as the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state and being educated at Harvard , Oxford etc. She was also part of the Rajiv – Benazir hype too and as young, moderate, post-Partition leaders who were willing to think out of the box to break the stalemate between our two nations.

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