May 2007
Babar ready
to appear in UK court
By Umar Cheema
ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister Maj-Gen
(retd) Naseerullah Babar says he would appear as a witness against Muttahida
Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain if summoned by a court to produce
evidence of Altaf’s alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
“I am ready to stand in the witness box against Altaf, if summoned by a UK
court,” he said. “I do not fear anybody. He (Altaf) is not new to me,” Babar
said in a telephonic interview with The News from Peshawar.
But he refused to disclose the evidence he has provided to Chairman Pakistan
Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan in this regard. “Forewarned is forearmed,”
he said, when pressed to disclose what he has handed over to Imran.
Babar, however, expressed his displeasure over Imran’s decision to go public
on receiving solid evidence from him (Babar).
Imran is planning to move a UK court against the British national, Altaf
Hussain, whom he has accused of masterminding the May 12 Karachi carnage.
Although, his party (PPP) has reacted in a controlled manner, Babar has
decided to stand with Imran against the MQM chief for allegedly
masterminding terrorist activities in Karachi. “I do not want to lose the
element of surprise by disclosing secrets,” Babar said about the evidence
that he had assembled probably during the operation in Karachi in the
mid-1990s.
He was annoyed with Imran for making an early warning to the MQM leadership
that he (Babar) provided credible evidence to be put up before a court of
law in the UK and subsequent prayer for the trial of Altaf. “He should not
have done this,” Babar said and added that he had conveyed his resentment to
him.
Babar believes surprising disclosures should come all of a sudden.
According to him, there is a handful of ‘militants’ in the ranks of the
Muhajirs, holding the rest of their community hostage and destroying peace
in Karachi. “It is the Muhajir community that rendered sacrifices for
Pakistan,” he said. “They had migrated to this country from different parts
of India. They did it at the cost of their property and the lives of their
near and dear ones. The Punjab and the NWFP stand nowhere in this regard but
the Muhajirs.”
Babar talked about the election he had contested from Karachi. Those areas
had a big presence of the Muhajir community, he said, adding, he had bagged
more than 35,000 votes.
The former interior minister blamed intelligence agencies for rigging the
polls and said he would have won the elections with the popular support had
there been no interference of the agency guys.
Mohtarma
Bhutto condoles with Shamim Niazi
Islamabad, 30 May 2007: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and
her husband Senator Asif Ali Zardari have condoled with party worker Ms.
Shamim Niazi over her young son's death.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence letter addressed to Ms. Shamim Niazi
wrote, "The loss of a young son is a great tragedy. There are no words to
express the deep grief that we feel for you. Our sympathies are with you at
this difficult time. Please accept our heartfelt condolences and convey the
same to other members of the bereaved family."
She prayed to Almighty Allah for grant of eternal peace to the departed soul
and courage and fortitude to the family members to bear this irreparable
loss with equanimity.
‘PPPP to protest
Jirga decision in parliament’
Giving minor girls as compensation in Karo-Kari dispute
JACOBABAD: Leaders of the Pakistan's
People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) said on Monday they would raise their
voice in parliament against a Jirga verdict demanding the handover of two
minor girls in compensation to settle a Karo-Kari dispute.
PPPP MNA Muhammad Anwar Bhutto, MNA Hizbullah Bughio and MPA Muhammad Ayaz
Soomro visited the Miandad Chandio village, 70kms from here, to meet the
aggrieved family. They said feudal lords are holding Jirgas in violation of
the Sindh High Court's rulings. Asghar and Niaz Mirjat, fathers of the minor
girls, told the visiting parliamentarians that their brother, Ibrahim Mirjat,
was implicated in a false case of Karo-Kari about a year ago.
They said feudal lords Raees Hassan Jat and Umar Jat in a Jirga meeting
decided that Farzana, 4, and Tasleem, 3, would be handed over to complainant
Deedar Mirjat in compensation, along with Rs 100,000, to settle the issue.
They also told the visiting parliamentarians that when they refused to
accept the Jirga verdict, more than a dozen people of their tribe were
booked at the Hamal police station in a wheat theft case.
They said they had to migrate to the Miandad Chandio village of the Dadu
district to escape
the wrath of the feudal lords and the police. "We are receiving threats and
being forced to accept the Jirga's decision," they said.The PPPP leaders
advised the family to file a petition with the circuit court of the Sindh
High Court in Larkana.
No one can stop
Mohtarma Bhutto from returning
Islamabad May 28, 2007: “Former Prime
Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will return to Pakistan before the
elections and also participate in the polls”.
This has been stated by leader of the opposition in the Senate Mian Raza
Rabbani in a statement today while responding to the interview by Prime
Minister Shaukat Aziz claiming that she cannot participate in the elections
because several legal cases were pending against her.
Mian Raza Rabbani said that the whole world knew that cases against Mohtarma
Bhutto were politically motivated. She had not been convicted in a single
case despite ten years of witch hunting, media trial and squandering of
taxpayers’ money on tarnishing her image, he said. The Supreme Court had not
only overturned her conviction but also observed in an appeal in one of the
cases that the bias of the trial judge floated on the surface of the record
forcing the judges to quit most unceremoniously, he said.
He said despite the passage of a decade the cases against Mohtarma were in
the nature of allegations and accusations and there was no law that barred
anyone from contesting election merely on the basis of allegations against
him or her.
He said that Mohtarma Bhutto would not only return to the country but also
take part in elections and if the people of Pakistan voted her into power
she will be the Prime Minister for the third time as well.
He said that the Prime Minister’s remarks shows that he was merely acting as
the mouthpiece of the military dictatorship that had become desperate in an
election year and was scared of the popular leadership of the country.
Mian Raza Rabbani recalled that Shaukat Aziz had damaged the country’s
position in the world by the published reports of his disgraceful behaviour
with a foreign dignitary that have not been contradicted despite widely
reported in the national and international media.
He said that Shaukat Aziz had yet to convince the nation that he was not
involved in the scams of stock market crash, fixation of petroleum prices
and the privatisation of Pakistan Steel to name only a few of the mega
corruption scandals.
“A Prime Minister who lives in glass house would be well advised to refrain
from making unwarranted comments about Mohtarma”.
PPP
Chairperson calls upon regime to safeguard threatened Christians
Islamabad May 28, 2007: Taking note of the
threats being made to the minority Christian community through a letter
writing campaign, Pakistan Peoples Party has called upon the regime to
fulfil its responsibilities in protecting the citizens or to resign.
In a statement today the Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party said that
the primary aim of a government is to provide protection to the life,
liberty and pursuit of livelihood of the citizens. Any government who cannot
do this, must resign and make way for another that can give such protection.
Mohtarma Bhutto noted that the incident of the letter writing campaign to
threaten and intimidate members of the Christian community is the latest in
a series of incidents over the years where the regime has abdicated its
responsibility to protect the citizens. She said that the regime's
pre-occupation with political vendetta has led to the neglect of the basic
right of citizens to protection of themselves and their homes in the
country.
According to reports the Christians of Charsadda were being threatened to
convert to Islam or face dire consequences. The threat to the Christians is
similar to recent threats to private schools in Tank, members of the
entertainment industry in Islamabad and citizens of Karachi and to
Opposition party activists’ in the recent bye elections held in February.
The former Prime Minister assured the Christian Community and people in
general in the country that the PPP would provide protection to each and
every citizen. She said that the PPP had given the citizens security and a
boom economy. Mohtarma Bhutto called upon the people of the country to come
forward and support the PPP so that the slide into anarchy, chaos and
bloodshed could be avoided.
Meantime in a separate development the Christian Solidarity Front recalled
that the Holy Prophet Mohammad (PUBH) welcomed and allowed a Christian
delegation from Nijran to worship in the mosque, which is one of the
greatest examples of interfaith harmony and religious tolerance.
He recalled that in Mardan and Charsadda, prior to the attack on video and
barbershops by pro Taliban elements, similar threatening letters had been
sent out. Mr.Bhatti apprehended that the 500 members strong Christian
community was now similarly threatened unless the regime took steps to
prevent the militant elements from carrying out such threats.
It may be recalled that before the Karachi bloodbath, the MQM had claimed
that Karachi was "their city", as though it was a piece of property that
belonged to them, and they would not let anyone else "take it" from them.
Other government functionaries had made similar comments.
PPP flays
MQM's slander campaign
Islamabad, May 26, 2007: The Pakistan
Peoples Party slammed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for diverting the public
attention over May 12 manslaughter by initiating a slander campaign against
the members of the PPP.
The MQM has been facing a barrage of criticism from national and
international press and civil society bodies for its active role in the May
12 bloodshed in Karachi. The Party that controls the City Government in
Karachi also holds the seat of the governor of the province. In order to
show its prowess in the financial hub of the country, the party made use of
its official powers and blocked all-important routes of the city to curb the
citizens' movement. It disarmed the police and the rangers rendering them
helpless to prevent any acts of violence that day. The Karachi carnage
claimed 48 lives, mostly common citizens and the political workers. Of late,
the MQM has been trying hard to shift the blame for the events of May 12 on
other political parties.
Terming the MQM's malice campaign against the PPP as 'a ridiculous face
saving bid', Secretary General, Raja Parvez Ashraf of the Pakistan Peoples
Party Parliamentarians said that the MQM's malice campaign against the PPP
is hardly surprising given its bleak history of deception and the staunch
criticism it has been subjected to for its
role in the May 12 carnage. "It is natural for the MQM to get desperate
since this is the first time its violent ways were noted by the millions of
viewers across the world who witnessed how the gun-totting goons of the
party went rampant, playing with the lives of the innocent citizens." Raja
Parvez commented that in today's age of television broadcast, it is almost
impossible to hide the truth. "The MQM would be making a fool of itself if
it tried to blame it on other parties, since the whole world witnessed its
actions live on TV that day."
Rejecting the MQM's allegations against the Central Information Secretary of
the PPP Sherry Rehman, Raja Parvez pointed out that a mere look at the
series of incoherent statements issued by the MQM against Rehman will expose
the baseless nature of their assertions. "The MQM first alleged that none of
the PPP top leadership had participated in the opposition's May 12 rally.
This was proved wrong, as all-important
leaders of the party were present in the rally that was attacked at the COD
Bridge by the MQM men. It then alleged that armed PPP men were sitting atop
Sherry Rehman's vehicle firing in the air. This was again false as there was
no PPP worker outside Rehman's car and the unidentified gunmen trying to
ride Rehman's car were shoved away by the PPP worker. This was recorded in
the video, which the MQM edited out. They are now saying that the two men on
top of Rehman's car went inside it after a while. This is another ridiculous
allegation, as no such thing happened."
Raja Parvez also noted the reason why the MQM took a good one-week to come
up with allegations against the PPP is because "it takes just as much time
to doctor a video," he said. "It is ambiguous that the MQM is coming up with
fresh video evidence against the PPP everyday. If there is any truth in its
allegations, why did it not show the videos the very next day after the
carnage?" Raja Parvez also pointed out that all the PPP audio-visual
evidence related to May 12 events is credible as it has been taken from
footage run by different television channels that day.
Raja Parvez also said that the PPP lost five of its workers in the said
rally while Rehman's driver was seriously injured after falling victim to
the MQM bullet directed at the PPP rally. "We are not a party like the MQM
that would kill its own workers to give out a false impression that they
were murdered by the opposition. Our workers, and over 40 others lost their
lives to the state-backed bullying spree of the MQM and no amount of
propaganda by the MQM can conceal this fact. Gone are the days when people
could have been misled by spin. The Karachi public - being the victim and
witness - will never forget the MQM's mockery of their civil rights on May
12."
Pakistan's political hurricane
Boston globe Editorial
PAKISTAN AND its president, Pervez
Musharraf, are passing through turbulence. The causes may be traced to
clashes between religious extremists and civil society; conflicts with
autonomous regions or with Afghanistan and India; and Musharraf's autocratic
style of governing. But if policy makers in the Bush administration have
learned anything from their past blunders, they will refrain from imposing
their own parochial policy ideas upon countries about which they are
egregiously ignorant.
The need for humility is particularly acute in Pakistan's case, and not only
because intelligence specialists believe Osama bin Laden and Taliban
fighters enjoy safe havens in the frontier provinces of Pakistan. Any
American impulse to lecture Pakistanis – or Musharraf in particular -- about
democratisation or counter terrorism must be tempered by a recognition that
Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state.
Pakistan is a tinderbox, and Washington must not make wishful assumptions
about it. Under previous civilian governments, and with obvious military
complicity, the nuclear engineer A.Q. Khan perpetrated the most dangerous
acts of proliferation. If the wrong forces come to power in Pakistan,
President Bush's misreadings of Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea, and last
summer's war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah may seem minor mistakes
by comparison.
Musharraf has provoked anger in several quarters: from lawyers appalled at
his suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry; from tribal
members in Baluchistan furious at the army's killing of a revered leader;
from some tribal leaders who resent a regional warlord who killed hundreds
of pro-Taliban Uzbek militants with backing from the Pakistani military; and
from moderate Muslims who worry that nothing has been done to punish
Islamist radicals who recently kidnapped an alleged brothel owner and
destroyed music and video stores in Islamabad.
Ideally, Musharraf would enlarge his base of support and choose between his
roles of army chief and head of state. He could acquire greater legitimacy
and reduce his reliance on extremists if he formed an electoral partnership
with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, with whom he has conducted
on-again, off-again talks. With her help, Musharraf could seek re election
by national and local legislators after fresh elections rather than choosing
the less democratic option of asking the current legislatures to renew his
presidential mandate.
But these are matters for Pakistanis to decide, without lectures from an
administration that has been no more competent at promoting democratic
change abroad than at coping with the aftermath of a hurricane.
Musharraf
not acceptable in uniform: Benazir
LAHORE: Former prime minister Benazir
Bhutto on Friday criticised the Muttahida Mujlis-e-Amal for supporting
President Gen Pervez Musharraf, saying the religious alliance provided
Musharraf a chance to remain in uniform.
In an interview with an Indian television channel, Benazir said the Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) had always opposed Musharraf in uniform, adding that
her party could not accept a president in uniform.
She said she would hold talks with Musharraf provided he was serious for
this, the channel quoted her as saying. She said the army could be sent back
to barracks through dialogue.
The Pakistan People’s Party chairwoman said she couldn’t say that her party
would reach an agreement with Musharraf if dialogues were held. She,
however, again pledged to return to Pakistan. She admitted her party had
been in contact with the government for the “sake of democracy”. She said
dialogue with Musharraf would only be held if the latter relinquished
uniform.
PPP
demands police protection for Christian community
Islamabad, May 26, 2007: The Pakistan
Peoples Party deplored the threat issued to the Christian community in
Charsadda that has been asked by radical groups to convert to Islam or leave
the area.
The Christian community in Charsadda is living in a perpetual state of fear
as the grip of extremists over the region tightens. Early this month scores
of barber and video CD shops were burnt down in two bomb blasts in Charsadda.
The incident took place a month after the CD shop owners received a letter
threatening them to close down their "unIslamic" business. The local
administrator is said to have shrugged off the threat. In the first week of
May, a letter was found in a Christian dominated residential area
threatening the entire Christian community of Charsadda to convert to Islam
in 10 days or leave the area.
Denouncing the incident, the Central Information Secretary of the Pakistan
Peoples Party, Sherry Rehman termed it as "a natural outcome of the
Musharraf regime's incessant backing of the Talibanisation of the society."
Rehman noted that the extremists' offensive against the citizens has never
been as blatant in the history of the country as it is today. "The fact that
the state chooses to close its eyes to such grave violation of the citizen's
rights is a source of immense encouragement for extremists seeking to impose
their brand of Islam."
Rehman noted that the district Charsadda is turning into another Waziristan
where the Islamic radicals openly issue and execute threats right under the
nose of an impotent state. "This is the third instance of terror in a matter
of four weeks in the area," Rehman noted pointing to the suicide bomb blast
at the rally of the Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao that claimed 28 lives.
This was followed by two bomb blasts at the barber and CD shops in the
district.
Rehman also condemned the district administration for taking the matter
lightly. "There are over 60 Christian families in Charsadda, and each one of
them is at risk after the letter has surfaced. One should not overlook the
fact that the CD shop owners in the district received similar letters before
their shops were bombed off. There is no reason for the District
Administration to dismiss the fears of the Christian community, unless it is
taking cues from the bosses in Peshawar and in Islamabad as both have a
policy of encouraging such elements."
Rehman said that Pakistan tops the list of countries known for worst
violations of minorities' rights noting that early this year, a Catholic
Bishop, along with two Muslim scholars received similar threats in
Faisalabad by a Muslim extremist group for promoting inter-religious
dialogue. "Every new day brings a fresh reason for minorities of the country
to feel that the state is alienating and discriminating against them.
Minorities cannot be sidelined and overlooked if Pakistan has to make any
progress in the modern world."
Demanding police protection for the Christian community of Charsadda, Rehman
urged the NWFP government to nab those responsible for issuing such threats.
"The Centre and the NWFP government are duty bound by the constitution to
provide protection to the minorities and ensure them their fundamental
rights. The entire nation has been let down by the unrepresentative
governments in the Centre and the NWFP that prefer short-term appeasement
deals with the radicals over their obligation to protect long-term interests
of the citizens."
Rehman reiterated the PPP's commitment to the protection of the minorities'
rights and assured the Christian community that the Party will continue to
voice their concerns at the national and international platforms.
US should
not support decision to keep ex-PMs out: Post
WASHINGTON, May 25: The US administration
should not accept President Pervez Musharraf’s decision of not allowing
former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif back into the country
to contest the 2007 elections, says a leading US newspaper.
“The administration has been endlessly forgiving the strongman even as he
has failed again and again to meet his commitments,” commented the
Washington Post in a lead editorial titled “Pakistan’s Peril.”
“If Mr Musharraf is now allowed to isolate himself behind riot police and
militia forces while shunning secular democrats, he will set the stage for
just the sort of nightmare scenario in Pakistan that has motivated US
support for him since 2001,” the Post said.
The newspaper noted that after nearly eight years in power, Gen Musharraf’s
writ over the country appears to be weakening.
“Mass demonstrations broke out against him this month in Punjab, the
country’s political heartland; tens of thousands at a time are turning out
to cheer suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry who tried to
investigate human rights abuses and then rejected the General’s demand that
he resign,” the Post observed. “Extremist groups, including the Taliban, are
steadily strengthening, especially in areas near the Afghan border.”
The newspaper also pointed out that the support for the Musharraf government
in the US Congress, which has signed off on more than $10 billion in aid
since 2001, was steadily fading amid persistent reports that the Pakistani
army is failing to stop, and may even be supporting, Taliban operations
against US troops in Afghanistan.
The paper noted that Gen Musharraf’s response to the developing situation in
the country has been to unleash the party militias and the riot
police.Arguing that now was the time for Gen Musharraf’s “dogged supporters”
in the Bush administration to worry about these developments, the Post said:
“One reason the General is unpopular is his alliance with the United
States.”
The paper claimed that the situation had reached a point where if Gen
Musharraf was to go now, “the candidates to succeed him and control
Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal include Islamic fundamentalists and anti-Western
generals.”
Urging the Bush administration not to support the Pakistani government any
longer, the paper said: “Gen Musharraf appears inclined to use force to
bolster his regime -- demonstrators have been attacked by party militias or
police in several cities -- and that may seem preferable to the extremist
alternatives.”
The newspaper warned that the use of force will not help the Pakistani
president. “Force is not the General’s only option or the one most likely to
succeed,” the paper said, noting that Pakistan has a strong democratic
alternative, in the form of two large secular political parties that between
them governed the country for most of the 1990s.
PPP urges
diplomats to protest killings
ISLAMABAD, May 25: The People’s Party
Parliamentarians (PPP) has written a letter to diplomats based in Islamabad
asking them to lodge protest with the government over the killing of over 40
people in Karachi in acts of violence allegedly committed by the Muttahida
Qaumi Movement (MQM) on May 12.
“The PPP calls upon the world leaders, civil society and human rights bodies
to protest with the Musharraf regime over this act of violence by the
coalition partners of Gen Musharrraf,” says PPP foreign liaison committee
coordinator Munir Ahmed Khan in his letter sent to the ambassadors and high
commissioners of the United States, France, Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy,
the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia and the
Commonwealth secretary-general.
He writes: “The PPP, under the chairpersonship of Benazir Bhutto, would like
world leaders to take note of the strong arm tactics of Gen Musharraf and
MQM of silencing the opposition through the barrel of the gun.
“We categorically condemn in the strongest terms this widely reported
violent action by the MQM resulting in the loss of innocent lives. Denying
the right of free speech and expression through violence and bullets is not
only a violation of human rights but is creating anarchy and chaos.”
Mr Khan has included in the letter extracts from various reports of
international media indicating the role of the MQM behind the violence.
“We are concerned that the world media has issued fresh warnings about a
bleeding Pakistan by saying fractious, violent and unstable Pakistan is
stumbling towards the nightmare scenario of a failed state,” and reminded
the international community that “mobs on the street are a threat to rest of
the world.”
The media, he said, had held Gen Musharraf responsible for taking the
country to the brink of disaster during his 7 year rule.
Mr Khan quoted reports from Sunday Telegraph, The Economist, The Financial
Times, New York Times and the Independent, which, according to him, directly
held MQM chief Altaf Hussain and his party responsible for the killings.
PPP flays
MQM's slander campaign
Karachi, May 25, 2007: The Pakistan
Peoples Party slammed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for diverting the public
attention over May 12 manslaughter by initiating a slander campaign against
the members of the PPP.
The MQM has been facing a barrage of criticism from national and
international press and civil society bodies for its active role in the May
12 bloodshed in Karachi. The Party that controls the City Government in
Karachi also holds the seat of the governor of the province. In order to
show its prowess in the financial hub of the country, the party made use of
its official powers and blocked all-important routes of the city to curb the
citizens' movement. It disarmed the police and the rangers rendering them
helpless to prevent any acts of violence that day. The Karachi carnage
claimed 48 lives, mostly common citizens and the political workers. Of late,
the MQM has been trying hard to shift the blame for the events of May 12 on
other political parties.
Terming the MQM's malice campaign against the PPP as 'a ridiculous face
saving bid', Secretary General, Raja Parvez Ashraf of the Pakistan Peoples
Party Parliamentarians said that the MQM's malice campaign against the PPP
is hardly surprising given its bleak history of deception and the staunch
criticism it has been subjected to for its role in the May 12 carnage. "It
is natural for the MQM to get desperate since this is the first time its
violent ways were noted by the millions of viewers across the world who
witnessed how the gun-totting goons of the party went rampant, playing with
the lives of the innocent citizens." Raja Parvez commented that in today's
age of television broadcast, it is almost impossible to hide the truth. "The
MQM would be making a fool of itself if it tried to blame it on other
parties, since the whole world witnessed its actions live on TV that day."
Rejecting the MQM's allegations against the Central Information Secretary of
the PPP Sherry Rehman, Raja Parvez pointed out that a mere look at the
series of incoherent statements issued by the MQM against Rehman will expose
the baseless nature of their assertions. "The MQM first alleged that none of
the PPP top leadership had participated in the opposition's May 12 rally.
This was proved wrong, as all-important leaders of the party were present in
the rally that was attacked at the COD Bridge by the MQM men. It then
alleged that armed PPP men were sitting atop Sherry Rehman's vehicle firing
in the air. This was again false as there was no PPP worker outside Rehman's
car and the unidentified gunmen trying to ride Rehman's car were shoved away
by the PPP worker. This was recorded in the video, which the MQM edited out.
They are now saying that the two men on top of Rehman's car went inside it
after a while. This is another ridiculous allegation, as no such thing
happened."
Raja Parvez also noted the reason why the MQM took a good one-week to come
up with allegations against the PPP is because "it takes just as much time
to doctor a video," he said. "It is ambiguous that the MQM is coming up with
fresh video evidence against the PPP everyday. If there is any truth in its
allegations, why did it not show the videos the very next day after the
carnage?" Raja Parvez also pointed out that all the PPP audio-visual
evidence related to May 12 events is credible as it has been taken from
footage run by different television channels that day.
Raja Parvez also said that the PPP lost five of its workers in the said
rally while Rehman's driver was seriously injured after falling victim to
the MQM bullet directed at the PPP rally. "We are not a party like the MQM
that would kill its own workers to give out a false impression that they
were murdered by the opposition. Our workers, and over 40 others lost their
lives to the state-backed bullying spree of the MQM and no amount of
propaganda by the MQM can conceal this fact. Gone are the days when people
could have been misled by spin. The Karachi public - being the victim and
witness - will never forget the MQM's mockery of their civil rights on May
12."
Mohtarma
Bhutto calls for FM radios for all political parties
Criticises extremists' ability to woo public through FM radio while
moderates denied same facility
Islamabad, 24 May 2007: The Pakistan
Peoples Party has asked the MMA to review its deal with the maulvi who was
resisting polio vaccination until the recent deal concluded with him. The
same Maulvi, a son in law of Maulana Soofi Mohammad of TSNM, had previously
opposed women leaving their homes and opposed women's education.
|In a statement today Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto said health of children was vital to the well being of the Nation.
For healthy children the PPP had introduced the polio vaccination campaign
to eliminate polio and prevent children from Pakistan being crippled. She
noted that the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) had asked Muslims to seek knowledge
without discriminating between the genders.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that while the MMA had tried to convince the TSNM
leader to support polio vaccination temporarily, it was doubtful whether
this support was more than an eye wash to buy time and wait until public
attention turned elsewhere.
She said the PPP opposed the discrimination in award of permission for FM
radio stations. She said that extremists who violated the right of women to
seek knowledge or children to be given vaccination were being favoured by
being given FM radio stations with which they could broadcast their views
while moderate political parties were not given radio stations.
The PPP Chairperson called upon the regime to immediately give permission to
political parties to have FM radio stations as it had done to the extremist
elements to balance the reach to the public between moderates and
extremists.
She noted that extremists were being pandered too and could carry out
illegal acts like operating FM radios without permission, grabbing state
land and building on it, kidnapping police and other citizens while
political parties were being denied the right to law itself. She noted that
the regime had still not arrested nor allowed the filing of the
murder report against those who had tried to kill Parliamentarian Dr Azra
during the February bye elections.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that without a level playing field for all political
players, extremists would continue to make strides in society while
opportunity of hope and progress for people of Pakistan dwindled. She said
that armed forces should be neutral and it does not help the cause of
impartiality when armed forces members campaign for particular political
parties and particular political leaders.
She said participation of armed forces in politics affects their standing
amongst the people of the country while army rule adversely affects the
standing of the country in the international arena.
Mohtarma Bhutto was responding to comments by journalists on General
Musharaf's campaigning for the PML Q and its coalition supporters. However,
she said that despite the obstacles placed in its path, she was convinced
that the Pakistan Peoples Party and its allies would triumph with the
support of the people and build a society free from poverty, backwardness
and exploitation where the discriminated and the downtrodden could have hope
and opportunity. She said PPP would not let the people of Pakistan be
orphaned.
Mohtarma
Bhutto grieved over the death of nine members of Hindu family in Larkana
Islamabad May 23, 2007: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has expressed shock and grief over the death of nine members of a
Hindu family because of suffocation in Larkana on Tuesday.
The tragic incident took place in Larkana's Khatan Bazaar locality on
Tuesday night when the house of the family was gutted by a fire caused by
electric short circuit. An official said that it appeared that the family
tried to escape the room but all died due to smoke and burn injuries. The
head of the family Deewan Moti Ram along with his wife and children all
died. Moti Ram was running a spare parts shops and all his children were
students.
In a statement today Mohtarma Bhutto said that she was shocked on learning
about the tragedy. She said that her thoughts were with Kakoo Mal the father
of the deceased Moti Ram and other members of the bereaved family.
Mohtarma Bhutto also directed the Party MNA Ramesh Lal to visit the bereaved
family and offer condolences on her behalf and on behalf of the Party.
Khuhro
says transparent polls only way out
LARKANA, May 22: Leader of opposition of
in Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, said on Tuesday that only transparent
elections could pull the country out of the present crisis.
Speaking to the District Bar Association of Larkana Mr Khuhro said Gen
Musharraf had isolated the country in the world and his overstay in power
would further deepen the crisis.
He praised the Chief Justice of Pakistan for saying ‘no’ to Gen Musharraf
and said “we should also not forget Rasheed Rizvi, Fakhruddain G. Ibrahim,
Dorab Patail and a number of other judges who dared refuse taking oath under
Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO)”.
He said that the CJP’s visits to Lahore, Peshawar and Sukkur went quite
smoothly but when he came to Karachi 42 people were gunned down in front of
the personnel of police and Rangers who stood by as mere spectators.
Mr Khuhro said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) should feel ashamed
over the mistreatment meted out to judges on May 12 in Karachi and praised
the heirs of victims of May 12 for refusing to accept compensation from the
governor of Sindh.
PPP
adheres to charter of democracy, says Badr
SAHIWAL, May 21: The Pakistan Peoples’
Party (PPP) will strictly adhere to the charter of democracy to force the
rulers to quit the government. This was stated by PPP secretary-general
Jahangir Badr while addressing the Peoples’ Lawyers Forum here on Monday.
He said he was confident that the struggle of lawyers would succeed, and the
PPP, after coming into power, would take action against those who torched
the rally of lawyers in Sahiwal.
Mr Badr praised the lawyers’ struggle for the cause of the independence of
judiciary.
He gave out that the PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had sought a report on
the May 12 incident in Karachi and the torching of lawyers’ rally in Sahiwal.
He asked PLF’s Mehr Nazar Farid Fatiana advocate to submit a white paper on
police atrocities.
INJURED: Three motorcyclists looted Rs650,000 in cash after injuring
seriously the cashier and the driver of a medicine distributing company with
gunfire shots here on Monday.
Reports said the cashier and driver Victor were on their way to deposit the
cash with a bank branch on Jinnah Street when masked bandits started chasing
them from their office on Tariq bin Ziad Colony. On reaching close to the
van, motorcyclists opened fire on the cashier and the driver, snatched a bag
containing the cash and escaped from the scene. The injured were admitted to
hospital where their condition was stated to be serious.
Fateh Sher police are looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, five bandits looted the house of a farmer at Chak 82/12-L.
Reports said that bandits entered the house of Naveed Ahmed by scaling its
boundary wall, woke up the inmates and held them up at pistol point. Later,
the intruders locked the women in a room, collected 61 tolas of gold,
Rs134,000 in cash, a rifle and fled while resorting to aerial firing.
Shahkot police have registered a case.
Dispatch
From Karachi: Did Pakistan's president provoke an ethnic war last weekend?
By Nicholas Schmidle - May 17, 2007
Last Sunday, in the seaside metropolis of
Karachi, I ducked behind a khaki-colored armored personnel carrier that was
parked on an abandoned street littered with broken glass, stones, and spent
bullet casings. Around me, police and paramilitary Rangers fired tear gas at
oncoming rioters. The mob chucked stones that fell at our feet while gunfire
popped in the background. Sunday marked the second day of violence between
rival political groups in Karachi that left more than 40 people dead. After
an hour of dodging rocks, I retreated from the front line to speak with a
senior police officer, who had just arrived in a white Land Cruiser. He
shook his head in disgust as he rehashed the weekend, from the arrival of
Pakistan's chief justice in Karachi at noon on Saturday, to the 12 hours of
anarchy that pitched ethnic-based political parties against one another in
bloody street battles. Referring to President Pervez Musharraf's suspension
of the chief justice on March 9, the police chief suggested that what began
as a judicial dispute had quickly become a political one. "Now, it's an
ethnic problem," he said.
Pakistan is a mishmash of ethnicities, and they all converge in Karachi.
Prior to the creation of Pakistan, the city was inhabited primarily by
Baluchis, Sindhis, and Hindus. When Pakistan was formed in August 1947, most
of the Hindus migrated to India. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Muslims
from India, otherwise known as mohajirs, moved to Pakistan and settled in
Karachi. (Urdu, the language spoken by mohajirs, was declared the national
language.) In the following decades, Pashtuns from the North West Frontier
Province also relocated here. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, some
mohajirs began to feel that Karachi's identity as a "mohajir city" was being
diluted by the arrival of other ethnic groups. To counter this trend, Altaf
Hussein, who had been driving taxis in Chicago, moved back to Karachi and
formed a political party, the Mohajir Quami Movement. Shortly after Hussein
inaugurated the party in 1986, ethnic riots broke out across Karachi,
pitting mohajirs against Pashtuns. More than 90 people died in the unrest.
The MQM has always maintained street power in Karachi. (In a matter of
hours, Hussein can raise a crowd of 100,000 people, even though he has been
living in exile in London since 1992.) But since Musharraf seized power in
October 1999, the party has also inherited key posts in Karachi's city
government, the Sindh provincial government, and even the federal
government. And though Hussein and Musharraf have differed on a few issues,
he and his party have stuck with the president throughout the crisis
involving the chief justice. Some even argue that Musharraf, who is himself
a mohajir, supports the MQM—and vice versa—because of ethnic, rather than
political, allegiances.
In early March, Musharraf suspended the chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar
Mohammad Chaudhry, on flimsy charges of nepotism. The suspension turned the
chief justice into an overnight hero, galvanized a lawyers' movement against
Musharraf, and united various factions of the anti-Musharraf opposition.
Thousands of supporters now trail Chaudhry wherever he goes. The first week
of May, when he drove from Islamabad to Lahore to address the Lahore High
Court, admirers lined the roads, tossing rose petals on his car, beating
drums, and chanting, "Musharraf is a dog!" The trip, which usually takes
four hours, took almost 24. Chaudhry was expected to receive a similar
welcome in Karachi on May 12, when he was scheduled to address the Sindh
High Court Bar Association. But last week, the MQM announced that it planned
to hold a counter-rally to demonstrate people's support for Musharraf in
Karachi. The routes of the MQM march and the chief justice's procession were
to cross at several points. On May 10, a former prime minister urged the
government to postpone the MQM rally, citing the risk of a "civil-warlike
situation." Still, people assumed that there would at least be riot police
and Rangers present to limit the violence. No one imagined that the
law-enforcement agencies would simply disappear and turn the city over to
well-armed and embittered political enemies. But that's just what happened.
Because so long as the roads were blocked and people were dying in the
streets, Musharraf and the MQM knew that the only way the chief justice
could address the Sindh High Court was to go there on foot—through the
crossfire. "The government wanted all of this to happen," said Shahi Syed,
the Sindh president of the Awami National Party, a Pashtun organization.
I arrived in Karachi at 2 a.m. on Saturday. The MQM had blocked every
possible exit and entry point to the airport using shipping containers,
buses, and water tankers. There were no taxis. People were sleeping in the
terminal, and babies screamed. Food and water supplies at the airport were
already running low, 10 hours before the chief justice was expected to land.
It seemed entirely possible that these people would be marooned at the
airport for a day or two. Fearing that I would be stuck there, too, I
shouldered my luggage and headed in the direction of the main road. On the
way, a security guard warned me that there was gunfire and burning tires
just outside the airport. Karachi is not a city that you walk around on a
good day; the prospect of negotiating through an obstacle course of burning
tires and armed MQM activists made it seem all the more absurd, but the
longer I waited, the tighter the blockade would be. Fortunately, I met a
mustachioed man in his 40s along the road who happened to be a police
officer. He said he had a jeep, with an armed guard, waiting on the other
side of two layers of MQM-arranged cordons. After a few minutes, we reached
the jeep and began navigating through back alleys and roads still under
construction—any path that the MQM might not yet have blocked. There were no
vehicles on the streets other than the commandeered tankers and buses, most
of which flew the MQM's tricolor flag. The trip from the airport to the
hotel where I was staying typically takes about 15 minutes. I finally
checked in at 4:30 a.m.
As expected, the worst of Saturday's violence didn't break out until after
Chaudhry touched down in Karachi. With the MQM in command of every
intersection, roundabout, and flyover, any attempt by the opposition parties
to greet the chief justice was destined for confrontation. Syed, the Pashtun
politician, was trapped, along with a caravan of his party's supporters,
beneath a flyover on the main road leading to and from the airport. As
gunfire broke out between ANP and MQM activists around 1 p.m., a well-aimed
shot, taken from the overpass, smashed the windshield of a red Toyota Land
Cruiser Prado with ANP plates, immediately killing a man sitting in the back
seat. "They thought I was there," Syed told me two days later. He showed me
the bullet recovered from the back seat of the Prado, the same kind of
bullet used in the Heckler Koch G3 assault rifle. While Kalashnikovs are
common in Pakistani homes, the G3 is not. Shahi said the only people with
access to such weapons are the army and intelligence agencies.
Curiously, however, the army, the Rangers, and the police completely ignored
their commitment to maintaining law and order on Saturday. I spent most of
that afternoon driving to different parts of the city and saw only 10
Rangers: five guarding a Kentucky Fried Chicken and five guarding a girls'
Montessori school. In both instances, rival groups were clashing down the
street. It took police more than six hours to reach a private TV channel
that came under fire. The channel, AAJ TV, continued broadcasting while
technicians in the newsroom crouched under their desks to avoid being shot.
When I returned to my hotel at dusk, I watched a white Kia SUV roll slowly
down an otherwise-empty eight-lane road that cuts through the center of the
city. A man in the back seat pointed a rifle barrel out the window and
opened fire on a handful of innocent people walking a few hundred yards
away. On Sunday, I asked a police officer if he had received an official
order not to intervene in Saturday's street battles. His face bore a
shameful expression, and he replied, "No comment."
By late Saturday night, with the chief justice on a flight heading back to
Islamabad and with no chance of him speaking at the Sindh High Court (he
never left the airport lounge), the Rangers patrolled the streets, and the
containers and tankers were cleared from the intersections. But while a
forklift can clear a road within minutes, ethnic tensions are not so easily
soothed. In Quetta, a mostly Baluchi and Pashtun city near the Afghan
border, 415 miles from Karachi, unknown arsonists torched the MQM office.
And on Sunday, Pashtun-dominated areas of Karachi turned into battlegrounds
between mobs and the police. Syed claimed that Pashtuns suffered more
casualties than anyone else on Saturday. Now they wanted revenge. "If the
MQM accepts their mistakes and apologizes, then there is no problem for my
culture. We have big hearts," Syed said. "But if they don't accept their
mistakes, then we will take our revenge."
On Monday, May 14, the opposition parties called for a nationwide strike. It
marked the third straight day in which businesses remained closed;
shopkeepers didn't dare lift the metal shutters protecting their stores from
vandalism. The three days of strikes and violence amounted to roughly $400
million in lost national income, not to mention an incalculable loss of
confidence by foreign investors. On Tuesday morning, I returned once again
to the roundabout where rioters had clashed with the police all day on
Sunday. There, I spoke with a pudgy, middle-aged journalist named Rafiq. He
told me, "On May 12, the nexus between Musharraf and the MQM was fully
exposed. On the other side are the lawyers, journalists, students, traders,
Pashtuns, Baluchis, Punjabis, Sindhis, secular parties, religious parties,
and nationalist parties. The battle lines are drawn. Who knows where it will
end."
Doctor's
Disclosures Re MQM Role
May 12, 2007: The carnage on the streets
of Karachi yesterday has profoundly shocked this city. Yesterday was a
return to the days of mayhem of the 1990s, but one thing that has changed is
the new role for the alternative media. Blogging is a relatively unknown
phenomenon in Pakistan, but it does ever so often provide eye-witness
accounts by the average citizen.
SJ, a doctor in a state hospital in Karachi, recounts on Karachi Metblog his
experience yesterday:
I am a doctor. I work at a tertiary care, govt run, large and very well
known hospital in Karachi. I have been here at work for more than 32 hrs,
and am surfing/typing on my cell-phone. nothing struck down> my soul more
than what 9 fully armed workers of MQM alongwith 2 sector office bearers
did. They tried to drag out the wounded and dying body of a Sunni Tehrik
worker (we later learnt he was sunni tehrik) for presumably finishing him
off. When my junior residents said we could not allow that, they slapped
> my junior, dragged us both by our legs to the back of the gurney alley and
with shotguns, pistols and ak-47's in hand, ran in to our lobby presumably
attempting to search where the man in question was being treated. I ran out
to the rangers and police
ASI some distance from our front gate who when approached by myself said,
and I quote "When you know who these people are why do you still fight them|
we have orders from above to let them do whatever they want until 4pm. After
4pm we will look into the matter."
I recognized the sector office bearers of the MQM, because I have made the
mistake of voting for the MQM in the past. I called a friend in Bohrapir,
who is related to Farooq Sattar. 5 mins later the sector charges received a
call on their cell, and they left threatening me with I've seen your name.
No need to make any noise or else you know what will happen." The guy they
had come looking for had been shot one more time in the head. The OT dress
we had dressed him in 10 mins earlier was freshly bloody. I curse myself for
all times I have defended these people in discussions with friends.
Mohtarma
Bhutto returning to Pakistan this year, ‘no matter what’
Islamabad May 18, 2007: “Former Prime
Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will return to Pakistan before the
elections, come what may”.
This has been stated by a spokesperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party in
response to the remarks of General Pervez Musharraf in a TV interview that
neither Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto nor Mian Nawaz Sharif will be allowed to
return to the country.
In a statement today he said that just as Musharraf was making this claim,
Mohtarma Bhutto was quoted in a foreign newspaper (Christian Science
Monitor) "no matter what, I am going back this year”.
He said that Musharraf’s remarks reflected the desperation of a dictatorship
that was dying as a result of general uprising spurred by the judicial
crisis.
The removal of the Chief Justice on charges of corruption has acted as a
catalyst for widespread unrest and heralded the beginning of the end of
dictatorship, he said, adding, “That is why General Musharraf is dreaming of
banning Mohtarma Bhutto from returning to the country”.
The
former premier has ruled out a political deal with President Musharraf
The
prospect of a political deal between Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf
and archrival Benazir Bhutto, one of Pakistan's most popular politicians and
the self-exiled leader of one of Pakistan's largest democratic parties, now
appears dead.
In an interview on Monday, Ms. Bhutto said that the killing of dozens of
citizens in Karachi by a pro-government mob on Saturday has shattered her
interest in cooperating with Mr. Musharraf. Such an arrangement, according
to rumors, would have lent legitimacy to Musharraf's declining regime while
sparing her prosecution from corruption charges. "With 42 people dead in
Karachi I just cannot envisage such a thing at this moment," she said. As
Bhutto recalled a phone conversation with a boy in Karachi who lost his
18-year-old brother in the shootings, tears appeared in her eyes.
A deal between Musharraf and Bhutto might have been a highly pragmatic
solution to ending Pakistan's growing political crisis, Pakistani analysts
and Western observers say, because Bhutto brings the patina of democracy,
popular support, and international legitimacy to Musharraf's strong arm in
dealing with the Taliban. But others worry that Bhutto's deal would
essentially bless Musharraf's military dictatorship, effectively splintering
opposition to the military regime. Calling off the deal would likely have a
dramatic impact on the political landscape, analysts say, encouraging the
opposition to bring an organized front to bear against Musharraf as
elections loom.
Bhutto heads the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), a moderate opposition party
that most analysts say has the largest support of any political group in
Pakistan. Elected prime minister twice in 1988 and 1993, she has lived in
self-exile since 1999, when Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup and
launched a series of corruption cases against her. The daughter of former
Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was overthrown and later executed,
Bhutto was the first woman to head a post-colonial Muslim state.
At her home in exile, Bhutto admitted that, from the end of last year until
the beginning of this year, she has been speaking with the Musharraf
government about possible political cooperation. She refused to elaborate,
but Pakistani newspapers have speculated for months that Musharraf, faced
with the worst crisis of his administration, was looking for a new coalition
partner to bail him out.
As part of the rumored arrangement, many have speculated that Musharraf was
prepared to drop the corruption charges against Bhutto, allowing her to
return to Pakistan as prime minister while he would remain the president,
possibly in uniform.
The closure of a wing in the country's National Accountability Bureau last
month, which specialized in corruption charges against Bhutto, seemed to
indicate that Musharraf had made that concession. But Bhutto, who vehemently
denies the allegations, said the charges still stand.
Although she would not go into details, Bhutto says the talks had already
been faltering because she distrusted Musharraf's side. She referred to an
assassination attempt earlier this year against her sister-in-law, PPP
Member of Parliament Azra Zardari. Police refused to file a criminal
complaint against a provincial minister and his bodyguards who were accused
of the shooting attempt.
"Now it has been just talk," Bhutto said. "My sister-in-law was fired upon,
and the police refused to file her case in February. When we are
discriminated against we begin to ask questions like 'how sincere are they?'
"
Weighing legitimacy against stability
Calling off the deal is likely to worry some Western officials in Islamabad,
who say that a Bhutto-Musharraf alliance topped their list of options for
bringing greater stability to Pakistan.
"We think that a deal with the PPP would strengthen [Musharraf's] political
base, which would strengthen his mandate to act against terrorism," says a
Western official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to
speak to the media.
But while such a deal may bring stability to Pakistani politics, many
critics say Bhutto's return would effectively legitimize Musharraf's
military dictatorship, delivering a grave blow to democracy.
"The deal was viewed as collusion. In one way, Musharraf's rule will be
strengthened, and he'll probably be allowed to have another term," argues
Sajjad Naseer, a political science professor at the Lahore School of
Economics, adding that many doubt Musharraf would grant any real power to
Bhutto even if she were prime minister.
Strengthening Musharraf would only undermine the democratic institutions
needed to effectively address terrorism, Mr. Naseer adds.
"If the democratic process is given a chance to operate, this itself will
dampen whatever extremism or terrorism exists. At least it will settle
domestic politics at the moment," he says, adding that, with the deal
seemingly called off, the prospect of the opposition parties uniting is
better for stability in the long run.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with whom Bhutto had formed a political
alliance, is also considering a return from exile. Mr. Sharif recently told
The Times of London that Musharraf's power is "totally exhausted" and his
fall is "simply a matter of time."
"I have every intention of going back to my country," the Times reported
Sharif as saying.
Lost opportunities
But
as Musharraf weakens, the chance to start a government of moderate parties
is fading, Bhutto said.
"I think that if General Musharraf does that, he can bargain with the
political parties. All the moderate parties should be included," Bhutto
said. "But I can't talk about him having a chance right now because the
passions are running so high in Karachi that people will not hear of it."
Talat Hussain, director of news at the Pakistani television station Aaj in
Islamabad, says that Bhutto, sharing the same moderate views as Musharraf,
is a natural ally. But the weaker Musharraf becomes, he adds, the more
improbable a deal between Musharraf and Bhutto becomes.
"If she sees Musharraf truly weak and declining or falling, she will not go
on with this deal," says Mr. Hussain. "If she believes Musharraf is going to
stay strong she'll go through with this deal and come into Pakistan."
Bhutto says that she will return to Pakistan this year with or without a
political solution. "No matter what, I am going back this year. I have to go
back because I have been out for too long."
•David Montero contributed to this story from Islamabad, Pakistan.
Aitzaz
Ahsan to file two billion rupees damages suit against General Musharraf
Islamabad May 16, 2007: Aitzaz Ahsan, MNA
and lead counsel of the Chief Justice of Pakistan has announced that he will
file a damages suit for Rs. Two Billion (200 Crores) against General
Musharraf for falsely attributing the Karachi violence to him and the Chief
Justice.
Announcing his decision outside the Supreme Court after the hearing of the
Chief Justice’s petition against the President, Aitzaz Ahsan said that he
and the Chief Justice had traveled from Peshawar to Lahore through several
large and densely populated towns without any violence even though at least
ten million people came out to welcome the CJP along the entire route. Not a
blade of grass was broken, he said. Although all the political parties of
the opposition participated in the welcoming crowds, there was no violence
and no one resisted. These visits, along with the visits to Sukkhur and
Hyderabad, were on the invitation of the Bar Associations.
But when they arrived at the Karachi Airport on May 12 at the invitation of
the Sindh High Court Bar Association they learnt that four people had
already been shot dead in various parts of the city, Aitzaz said. Their
hosts were not at the airport because all roads to it had been blocked by
the Sindh Government by placing huge containers across them. An attempt was
made by the administration to kidnap the CJP. Then a hostile MQM rally
arrived at the airport and blocked their exit. They remained incommunicado
at the airport for 10 hours until Aitzaz Ahsan and other lawyers were
deported from Karachi.
Aitzaz said that the violence was a direct result of the MQM’s insistence to
take out a rally in opposition to the Chief Justice’s visit to Karachi on
that very day. Being an integral part of the Government, the MQM rally was
sponsored by the Sindh government. What right did they have to prevent any
Pakistani from visiting Karachi, what to say of the Chief Justice of
Pakistan? But the Government of Sindh even cordoned off the Sindh High Court
where the Chief Justice was to address the members of the Bar. Several
thousand lawyers were locked inside. Judges had to jump over the boundary
walls to enter the High Court premises.
The government’s insistence, through its integral ally the MQM, to take out
a counter-rally on the very same day led to the violence. Could the MQM-government
not have taken this rally out one day before or after? What right did they
have to stop people, any people, from going to receive the Chief Justice? he
asked. Now the MQM and the Government say that if the Chief Justice had not
come, or had traveled by helicopter, there would have been no violence. They
can only say so because they were themselves the authors of the violence.
In the evening on the same day that Karachi was burning, Aitzaz said,
General Musharraf celebrated with drums and dancing horses in Islamabad. Now
he has attributed the violence to Aitzaz and the Chief Justice. This amounts
to defamation and slander.
Karachi, he said, needed a healing hand not recriminations and false
allegations. The MQM government should admit its fault and mal-intent. It
should declare now that it will desist from any counter rally or resistance
when the Chief Justice is next invited to Karachi by the Bar Association.
Let those who want to come to receive him do so freely. Let those who donot
want to greet him exercise their free choice of not doing so. Let there be
no coercion or bitterness. Let there be peace. Let the confidence of
Karachi, the premier city of Pakistan, be restored.
Meanwhile since General Musharraf had directly implicated him, Aitzaz said,
he was constrained to sue Musharraf for damages in a court of law in the sum
of Rs. 200 Crores (two billion) for libel, recover the amount from
Mushrraf’s personal assets and estate and then donate the recovered amount
to the people of Karachi to help heal the wounds.
Regime
criticized for callousness towards victims of May 12 mayhem in Karachi
Islamabad May 16, 2007: Pakistan Peoples
Party has criticized the regime for its callousness towards the victims of
May 12 mayhem in Karachi perpetrated by a coalition partner of the regime of
General Pervez Musharraf.
In a statement today PPP leader Syed Khurshed Shah said that the people were
shocked to see that even after the passage of four days neither General
Musharaf nor Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had the sensitivity to visit the
families of the victims or the injured of May 12 mayhem in Karachi.
He said that on May 12 as the blood soaked dead bodies of youth lay
unattended on the roadside in Karachi General Musharraf, standing behind
bullet proof screen in Islamabad, raised his fists as contingents of rent a
crowd danced to the beat of drums. The photographs of the mayhem in Karachi
and celebrations in the federal capital on the same day will never be erased
from public consciousness, he said.
Syed Khursheed Shah said that it was all the more shocking that instead of
trying to heal the wounds of victims General Musharraf called a meeting of
coalition members of Parliament exhorting them not to abandon the MQM in
this crisis. The General also asked them to elect him as President from the
same assemblies and they should not worry about their election as he would
take care of it.
The PPP leader said that the regime appeared to see the killing of innocent
people as a " victory " but warned that it will turn out as its defeat.
Family
wants PPP leader freed
ISLAMABAD, May 16: Family members of
detained Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Rao Mohammad Tahir have
appealed for his release.
In a statement issued here, they said that Mr Tahir was a heart patient and
required regular medication.
Mr Tahir, PPP’s Sargodha district president, had been detained earlier this
month under 16-MPO to prevent him from participating in opposition protest
rallies during the judicial crisis.
They said he was arrested from Sargodha along with several other party
workers, all of whom have been released, however, Mr Tahir was shifted to
Mianwali Jail.
The government, they claimed, was forcing him to negotiate his release, but
he (Mr Tahir) was adamant on securing an unconditional release.
Destiny’s
Daughter
From The Times - April 28, 2007
Benazir Bhutto’s life has been a
rollercoaster of high political drama, acute personal loss, early triumph
followed by downfall and charges of corruption. Ginny Dougary meets her in
exile in Dubai, as she plans her return to power in Pakistan
The story of Benazir Bhutto is dramatic enough on paper but becomes almost
fantastic in person. Her pampered-princess start in life, raised at her
father’s knee in the ancestral estate on heady tales of the Bhutto family’s
political dynasty; her education at Harvard and Oxford, where she was
president of the Oxford Union; her heartbreaking return to Pakistan when she
was unable to save her beloved father – despite intense international
pressure – from being hanged in 1979 by General Zia’s military dictatorship,
whose coup had toppled Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s democratic government. Her
subsequent years of solitary confinement, as the new leader of the Pakistan
People’s Party (the mantle passed on to her by Bhutto Sr, who founded the
socialist party in 1967), in the squalid, inhumane conditions she had last
seen her father calmly endure; the isolation of house arrest with virtually
no visits or phone calls; her escape to Britain in 1984, campaigning in
exile against the injustices of the Zia regime, and triumphant return to
Pakistan two years later, where she was greeted by a staggering one million
supporters and elected prime minister at the age of 35, in 1988, the
youngest person and first woman to hold that position in any modern Muslim
nation.
Within two years, her government was controversially dismissed by the
military-backed president and an election called, in which the PPP (in a
democratic alliance) was defeated. In 1993, she was re-elected, only to be
dismissed once again three years later by another president on the grounds
of mismanagement and corruption. Since 1999, Bhutto has been in exile in
London and, latterly, Dubai, where she was reunited with her colourful
husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who was released from prison in Pakistan in
November 2004, having spent eight years awaiting trial on corruption and
murder charges.
Two years earlier, the present president, General Pervez Musharraf, who
continues to remain head of the military – seemingly impervious to
widespread public criticism of his dual role – introduced a new amendment to
Pakistan’s constitution, banning prime ministers from holding office for
more than two terms. This should disqualify Bhutto from ever resuming that
position and also her old rival, Nawaz Sharif. But in Pakistan, anything can
happen, and Bhutto is planning to return to her country – regardless of the
numerous corruption charges which she and her family still face (as well as
the couple’s separate, ongoing money-laundering case in Switzerland) – to
fight the allegedly free and democratic elections which have been promised
by the end of this year. As she says, her own life has mirrored the history
of Pakistan and that is why, at such a pivotal time in the West, it is both
fascinating and important to hear what Benazir Bhutto has to say.
The four hours spent in her home in Dubai are a rollercoaster of copious
laughter and floods of tears, noncommittal cautiousness and breathtaking
openness, plain-speaking to the point of impertinence and insinuating charm,
high-handed loftiness and affectionate intimacy. Bhutto is the most
extraordinary woman who says the most extraordinary things, veering wildly
between self-aggrandisement and a knowing, sometimes humorous, recognition
of how she can come across.
Although she declines to name names – saying that “it’s better not to give
the impression that you’re trying to fire political shots over somebody
else’s shoulder” – it is clear that there have been high-level discussions
behind the scenes in Washington, where Bhutto is frequently invited to give
speeches, and perhaps the UK. There continues to be widespread speculation
in the press about the possibility of a deal being struck between
Musharraf’s “people” and Bhutto’s party. Her response to these reports is
that although “there have been ‘back-channel’ contacts with Musharraf for
some time, they have not led to any understanding. And so all this talk of
an ‘understanding’ I find very confusing.” It is also confusing that while
Bhutto does not shirk from criticising Musharraf at every opportunity, she
also makes it clear in this interview that she would be prepared to work
alongside him as long as certain conditions were met.
In her riveting autobiography Daughter of the East, published in 1988 and
recently reissued with a new preface and conclusion, she tells us that her
father advised her never to lay all her cards on the table. Although there
may have been a time when she found it difficult to stick to his advice – “I
always lay my cards on the table” she maintained – I certainly find it
difficult to pin her down on her current political agenda. It requires an
exhausting degree of Paxmanesque persistence, repeatedly asking the same
question, to elicit this response on the possibility of a Musharraf-Bhutto
alliance: “You have asked me an important question and I want to give you my
answer, since my followers will read this and they haven’t heard me speak
like this before,” Bhutto finally allows. “Firstly, I plan to go back to
Pakistan by the end of this year whether Mr Musharraf would like it or
whether he would not like it. And I believe that the [corruption] cases must
all be dropped, which categorically has not happened. Not one single case
has been dropped and you will please note that between my mother, my
father-in-law and myself there are about 20 charges or more. And what I feel
and my party feels is that for more than a decade these charges have been
used to hobble the opposition? to undermine my leadership and the PPP, and
they should be dropped because none of them has been proven, and if they’re
not dropped then it creates an unbalance as we enter the elections of 2007.
And we feel outraged that government funds have been used on a politically
motivated investigation that has borne no fruit over ten years.
“But I also believe there are other important issues for the people of
Pakistan to consider, which is would Musharraf continue to keep his uniform?
And would there be a balance of power between the president and the prime
minister, because at the moment we have shadow-boxing, where the prime
minister is technically the head of the government but the substantive
decisions are taken by the presidency or the military.” The current state of
play, she goes on to say, is that General Musharraf’s ruling party has said
that “they can rig the election so there’s no need for free elections or a
future parliament headed by the PPP? Which is why it’s premature to talk
about working alongside General Musharraf at this stage, although in the
past we have worked jointly on certain issues such as the Women’s Bill.
“At the same time, I want you to know that we are also partners with Mr
Nawaz Sharif [in exile after he was deposed by Musharraf’s military coup] in
something called the charter for the restoration of democracy, so we are
talking about a new democratic process in which the people of Pakistan are
allowed to choose their leader and put together a coalition. And for that we
are calling for a robust international monitoring team to ensure that these
elections are fair and free because obviously if they’re not, the ruling
party will still be in the driver’s seat and the creeping Talebanisation of
Pakistan will continue.”
Bhutto does not rule out the possibility that she might become prime
minister again: “If the people vote for my party [she remains chairperson of
the PPP, which received the highest number of votes in the last
parliamentary election in 2002] and parliament elects me as prime minister,
it would be an honour for me to take up that role and General Musharraf
would be there as president, so I think that a good working relationship
between him and me would be a necessity for Pakistan.” What a pragmatist she
must be. “Yes, I would have the choice of either respecting the will of the
people and making it a success or being short-sighted and putting my
personal feelings about past events ahead of the national interest, and what
I want more than anything is for Pakistan to prosper as we make a transition
to democracy,” she says.
I put a number of questions to Senator Tariq Azim Khan, the Federal Minister
of State for Information and Broadcasting, to establish the Pakistan
Government’s position. He was affable and helpful on the telephone and sent
me his answers, as requested, in writing. Yes, he wrote, there are a number
of cases still pending in various courts in Pakistan against Ms Bhutto and
her husband, Mr Zadari – and these cases (almost all 10 to 11 years old)
have not been dropped. No, it is highly unlikely that she will be arrested
upon arrival in Pakistan. She will nevertheless have to apply for bail in
the cases where she has been convicted while abroad. And, lastly, for Ms
Bhutto to become the prime minister for the third time, the constitution
will have to be amended and this will require a two-thirds majority in
parliament.
Pakistan has been ruled by the military for so many years since it came into
being in 1947, that I wonder whether democracy will ever have a chance to
flourish. “Democracy can work in Pakistan if the West stops upholding
military dictatorships through their financial and political support,”
Bhutto says. “Our tragedy has been that the military has been able to
exploit the West’s strategic interest in Afghanistan for almost two
decades.” And you and your party would like that support? “Of course, we
need that economic assistance and diplomatic support and we didn’t have it.”
Do you think there is any likelihood of you ever getting it? “Pakistan is a
critical country,” she says.
Musharraf is undeniably under siege at the moment, which has grave
implications beyond his own country. There have been violent protests
against his dismissal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on the flimsiest of
grounds, provoking fears that the government is attempting to muzzle the
independence of the judiciary, and newspapers such as Dawn – set up by the
lawyer and founding father of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah – have been
alerting the international media community about unacceptable levels of
government control.
Meanwhile in the same capital, ostensibly the very stronghold of government
power, we witness the strange spectacle of stick-waving, burkha-clad
schoolgirls – like a fundamentalist version of St Trinian’s – kidnapping
suspected brothel-keeping madames (an elderly woman, her daughter,
daughter-in-law and six-month-old granddaughter), and then the police
officers themselves who came to release the captives. But the more one reads
about this incident, the more alarming it becomes. In Feburary, 3,000 of
these female students from the hardline Jamia Hafsa madrassa connected to
the Lal Masjid mosque, occupied the only children’s library in Islamabad,
where they remain, saying that any action to remove them will be met with
violence. The black-shrouded girls have also been seen in the company of
male students carrying Kalashnikov rifles. During their protests, the
students chant the names of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the Taleban
leader.
The headquarters of Pakistan’s intelligence security agency – the ISI – are
close to the mosque and it has been reported that several of its members are
regulars there. Some believe that there are rogue elements within the agency
who have strong ties with al-Qaeda and the Taleban. Ever since Musharraf
chose to back America’s War on Terror, there have been calls in the mosque
for his death.
Even to those of us in the West who are not nuanced in the labyrinthine
historical intricacies of the politics of Pakistan, there is a growing
concern that what happens so many miles away has the potential to make a
devastating impact on our own lives. Dutiful English-born boys, often from
blameless Muslim families, continue to travel to Pakistan – some already
radicalised but not all – to one or other madrassas, emerging from those
religious schools with a hatred of their parents’ adopted country, and we
are all too aware of where that can lead.
It was my understanding that Musharraf’s inability to control the Taleban-controlled
Waziristan – on the Pakistan border of Afghanistan – was an inevitable
source of disquiet for his American backers and likely to make them at the
very least question his leadership qualities. Benazir Bhutto’s response to a
recent treaty which had been negotiated was: “My party would not have
allowed the Taleban to become such a huge force that they would need to sign
a peace treaty.” What the West wants to avoid at all costs is the
possibility of the fundamentalists seizing power. And according to Bhutto,
who is, of course, hardly an impartial observer, Musharraf, far from being
weak, is strategically catering to the extremists in order to convince the
US that unless they continue to back him their worst fears will be realised.
Does Bhutto know whether Musharraf is anxious about losing US backing? “The
indications are that he is confident that he has the support of the White
House and that because of the situation arising with Iran’s stand-off with
the West he feels that he will continue to be a key ally,” she says. “In
fact, as far as General Musharraf is concerned, I think he feels that he’s
got the West in his hands.” A provocative remark fully intended, one feels,
to pack a well-aimed punch.
Bhutto believes that the PPP is feared by the current powers that be because
“my party has a modern agenda, speaks for the ordinary Pakistanis and has
grass-roots support,” she says. “And they dislike me because I’m a woman and
because my father was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. And they have a hatred for the
Bhutto family, stemming from the fact that my father was able to defeat them
in the elections – and the only political party that has defeated this army
slate or generals’ slate in my father’s time and my time has been the PPP.”
When she was first elected in 1988, there wasn’t an awareness of what was
really happening in the madrassas – “But by the time I became prime minister
for the second time in 1993, Pakistan was on the brink of being declared a
terrorist state and my government worked very closely with the international
community to reform the madrassas and restore law and order.” None of this
was painless, she says, “there was bloodshed in the streets of Karachi
[which was flooded with Afghan refugees in the Eighties and Nineties, and
there were terrible scenes of political and sectarian violence] and I can’t
tell you how awful it was getting daily reports of 30 people killed and 20
people killed, but I ended the army operation there after one year, and in
the second year the raids went down and I remember how happy I was when I
got my first report of ‘zero deaths’. These militant terrorists hold whole
cities and towns and villages hostage, and it’s not easy confronting them.”
Bhutto represents everything the fundamentalists hate – a powerful,
highly-educated woman operating in a man’s world, seemingly unafraid to
voice her independent views and, indeed, seemingly unafraid of anything,
including the very real possibility that one day someone might succeed in
killing her because of who she is. Her father brought her up to believe in
their Islamic faith’s certainty that life and death are in God’s hands.
Perhaps it is also her sense of destiny – the daughter, rather than her
brothers, groomed from such an early age to be the political heir to her
father, despite her initial reluctance – which explains her equanimity in
the face of death. “My father always would say, ‘My daughter will go into
politics? My daughter will become prime minister’, but it’s not what I
wanted to do. I would say, ‘No, Papa, I will never go into politics.’ As
I’ve said before, this is not the life I chose; it chose me,” she says. “But
I accepted the responsibility and I’ve never wavered in my commitment.” Does
this unshakable certainty make it easier for her to accept whatever happens
to her? “Yes, in a way, because I don’t fear death. I remember my last
meeting with my father when he told me, ‘You know, tonight when I will be
killed, my mother and my father will be waiting for me.’ It makes me weepy,”
she says, as her eyes fill up, “but I don’t think it can happen unless God
wants it to happen because so many people have tried to kill me.
“Let me tell you, the World Trade Center was attacked twice, although most
people only remember the second one. But the first time, in 1993, it was
Ramzi Yousef and the second attack was by [his uncle] Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, who has confessed and is in American custody, and both these men
tried to kill me and failed. So they succeeded with the World Trade towers
but they didn’t succeed with me.” This is quite a bravura statement, despite
its matter-of-fact delivery. But then she does have an occasional tendency
to express herself in hyperbolic terms, which makes her sound rather
grandiose. In the new preface of her autobiography, she compares herself –
in the context of her drawn-out reluctance to get married – to Elizabeth I,
“who had also endured imprisonment and remained single”.
When we discuss her initiative to privatise the public sector in Pakistan,
inspired by Margaret Thatcher’s policies (an unusual role model for a
socialist, particularly one whose father introduced nationalisation to his
country), she makes a point of saying: “Very few people realise that it was
my government [in 1988-90] that was the catalyst for the privatisation of
South Asia? And now when you look at socialism, it is redefined even in the
Scandinavian countries and in England. But I redefined socialism. I was
simply doing what other socialists were going to do – and ten years before
Tony Blair.”
At one point, I try unsuccessfully to draw Bhutto out on her social life at
Harvard and Oxford, where she cut such a glamorous figure in her racy yellow
sports car, and she explains why this whole area is so difficult for her to
discuss: “When I returned to Pakistan, I was held on a pedestal. I was
neither man nor woman. I was regarded as a saint.”
Bhutto may be to some a somewhat tarnished saint by now, her reputation
sullied by the corruption charges, of which the most damaging is the ongoing
court case in Switzerland, (“Oh, they’ve gone on endlessly,” she sighs),
regardless of the eventual outcome. But she is still a force to be reckoned
with, as witnessed by the febrile speculation over her comeback. She
maintains that had her government remained in power, most of the world’s
terrorist tragedies would not have occurred – since the trail so often leads
back to Pakistan.
“I really do think that there is at least some degree of causality that most
major terrorist attacks took place when the extremists did not have to deal
with a democratic Pakistani government, when they operated without check and
oversight,” she writes in the new conclusion to her book. “I believe that if
my government had not been destabilised in Pakistan in 1996, the Taleban
could not have allowed Osama bin Laden to set up base in Afghanistan, openly
recruit and train young men from all over the Muslim world and declare war
on America in 1998.”
Bhutto knows that in returning to her homeland, she may be arrested or
killed the moment she steps off the plane. This is why she is still careful
not to discuss her travel arrangements: “I feel very jittery even if my best
friend asks me when I’m leaving? I think the threat very much remains
because my politics can disturb not only the military dictatorship in
Pakistan, but it has a fall-out on al-Qaeda and a fall-out on the Taleban.”
Do all these thwarted attempts on her life make Bhutto feel weirdly
immortal? “No,” she says. “I know death comes. I’ve seen too much death,
young death. My young brothers I have buried and my security guard who was
like a brother to me was brutally gunned down, two years ago. I’ve been to
the homes of people who have been hanged and people who were shot in the
street so, no, I don’t feel that there’s anything like immortality.”
As we sit in Bhutto’s study talking about death and torture and mayhem,
servants come and go bearing cups of green tea fragrant with cardamom. She
is dressed up for the photographs in a dazzling emerald-green shalwar kameez,
with matching power-shouldered blazer, and her hair is free of the white
headscarf she dons in public. When I ask her whether she has expensive
jewellery on, she laughs prettily: “Yes, I do. I confess.” There are
sapphires and pearl rings, all presents from her husband, as well as a
socking great man’s watch – “I like big watches? All the better to see you
with, my dear” – the face packed with oversize diamonds. The cheapest ring,
a simple metal band, was a gift from a follower intended to ward off evil
omens.
Her mother, Nusrat, marooned in her lonely descent into Alzheimer’s, is
somewhere in the house; the only sign of her existence is an empty
wheelchair behind the sweeping staircase. Bhutto mentions her often, and it
is clear that this once stunning Iranian beauty has left as much of an
imprint on her daughter as the father. Over lunch – I am served curry while
our hostess abstemiously sticks to broth and tinned tuna – Bhutto
surprisingly tells me that she is envious of the way I have let myself go.
“My mother was always telling me that if I ever got fat, my husband would
leave me for a younger woman,” she says. A Pakistani friend of mine told me
that in her country, this direct way of speaking is considered quite normal
among upper-class society women and is not meant unkindly.
When she was a little girl, Bhutto’s father used to say: “Well, if Nehru’s
daughter can become prime minister of India, my daughter can become prime
minister of Pakistan.” He was always telling her about women leaders, and
that was where her radicalisation began: “Of course, I come from a region
that has produced women leaders, and so he would talk to me about Indira
Gandhi and Mrs Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, Golda Meir and also Joan of Arc.”
These were remote figures for her as a girl and it was Margaret Thatcher’s
rise to power, which Bhutto was in England to witness, that really inspired
her.
At Harvard, she joined the protests against the Vietnam War and read all the
feminist bibles: “I was certainly emboldened by their writing because at
that time at college there was still a debate between those women who wanted
to get married and those of us who wanted to have careers.” When I ask her
whether she calls herself a feminist, she looks uncomfortable: “I consider
myself a defender of women’s rights, yes.” You don’t like the label? “Well,
feminist has connotations of people burning their – ah – underwear in the
streets.” So did you burn your bra? “No, I never did,” she smiles, “and that
[bra] is another inappropriate word not used by good Muslim women!” It is at
times like this that you catch a glimpse of what fun Bhutto can be, when she
goes “off-message” and is distracted from the pressing concerns of her
political future. She says that some of the best years of her life were at
university: “Because I was free and in a different culture and the shops had
all nice things and it was a different world, but that world ended when I
returned to Pakistan in 1977.”
Bhutto, like most people, is full of contradictions. For all her
intelligence and determination, she definitely has her fragile side. You
don’t expect such a fierce spirit to quote Dale Carnegie as a fount of
wisdom or to say that she reads self-help books “to try to cope with stress
and anxiety”. In her library, the different categories denoted by
hand-written paper stickers, four shelves are devoted to self-help, with
titles such as Women Who Love Too Much, Self Help for Your Nerves, Secrets
about Men that Every Woman Should Know and The Art of Being a Lady.
This last book could have been penned by her mother. While Benazir’s father
was preparing her to be a political leader, Nusrat was instructing her
daughter on how to dress for success. “She was very strict about exercising
and her weight, and was always telling us that we had to groom ourselves
properly and be neat, tidy and smart,” Bhutto says. She still remembers the
time when she was 13 and her mother, speaking to her relatives in Persian,
complained “‘Oh, Benazir has got so fat’ in such a disappointed way that I
at once redoubled my efforts to get thin.” But it was years later, when she
was already being half-starved in prison, that she became anorexic.
Now that Bhutto is 53, she finds herself tempted to relax about her
appearance, the grooming and the nails. It’s not in her nature to worry
about such things and she doesn’t like it, but it’s become a discipline –
and she’s always on one diet or another. She talks about food like an
addict, with her love for Ben & Jerry’s caramel fudge ice-cream, chocolate
cake and meringues: “I eat for comfort. If I want to reward myself, I eat.
If I’m unhappy, I eat. I love my food. It’s the one thing that doesn’t
complain to me or nag me or cause me any immediate unhappiness.” Sometimes
she fantasises about what it would be like to have a different life: “It
would be so nice to have the luxury just to laze. So nice not to have to
always get up and get dressed for some occasion. Always having to move from
here to there, where everything is scheduled and even having lunch with my
kids on their Easter break has to be slotted in. Maybe one day...”
It’s hard to know what part Bhutto’s husband would play in this fantasy
life. I asked Benazir whether they were separated, as he has been living in
New York since 2005, but she denies any rift, saying that he needs to be
there for medical reasons (hypertension, diabetes, a heart attack) and she
flies out to visit him at least once a month. In the past, Bhutto has
conceded – and it has been put to her so very often – that her husband has
been a political liability, with his nickname of Mr 10 Per Cent and his role
as his wife’s investment minister. But she also says that she is a human
being as well as a politician and so, unlike Tessa Jowell, whatever the
fall-out, she continues to stand by her man. Perhaps as a Muslim woman in
the political spotlight, it is useful to have a husband in tow – however
problematic he may be – but I catch a glimpse of genuine affection when she
describes his arrival at their home in Dubai, after his last eight-year
incarceration.
“You know, out of the 19 years that we have been married, he has spent 11½
in prison,” she says. “And although we were all excited and the children had
put out lights and balloons, I was obviously a little apprehensive about
getting to know him again. It had been such a long period of time and life
is all about shared experiences and I was wondering whether he was the same
person I knew.?” And?? I ask expectantly. “And I was very happy to see that
he came in with the same jaunty smile,” she says, and for a moment she looks
quite different, and almost youthful, with her flushed cheeks and bright
expression.
Bhutto’s mother was always trying to line her up with “good husband”
material, who would be dutiful and not cause her any problems. When she was
finally ready to submit herself to an arranged marriage – as distinct from a
forced marriage against the woman’s will – what appealed to her about
Zardari was that he seemed to be his own man, unafraid to stand up to her
but confident enough in himself, presumably unusual in a Muslim man, to take
a supporting role to his wife.
Was there ever a moment when she fell in love with her husband? “What is
falling in love and what is love? You know, I love my husband and he loves
me,” she says. “I liked his humour and his looks. I liked the sense he gave
me of protection and I Iiked the respect he gave me, OK?” Her husband cut
new ground, she says, because people weren’t used to a male spouse
