The Other Bhutto

Watch out Benazir Bhutto! There’s a challenge growing on your home turf. Fatima Bhutto, the young and gorgeous daughter of Murtaza Bhutto

Watch out Benazir Bhutto! There’s a challenge growing on your home turf. Fatima Bhutto, the young and gorgeous daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, is much beyond her 25 years. It might not be very long before this demure lady jumps into the fray posing a grave challenge to her aunt and getting due justice for her slain father. The granddaughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fatima has dealt with the morbid side of life as a teenager whose clan played petty politics at home to gain supreme power of the land. Benazir Bhutto’s manipulative moves and allegedly murderous ones too against Murtaza remain fresh in Fatima’s memory and along with her mother Ghinwa Bhutto and 17-year-old brother Zulfikar Bhutto, she awaits the judgement that will bring justice to her assassinated father.

Right now, Fatima is watching the political game unfold in Pakistan before she decides on her subsequent moves. She’s not a front-runner in politics as yet. A columnist with The Daily Jung and The News, Fatima keeps herself abreast with global affairs and of course, the turn of events in Pakistan. Her columns spare none of those who do not adhere to the diktat of keeping the common man’s interest in mind. The stunner is presently in touch with her people and her trips to the remote villages of Sindh are a common sight.

In an interface that spans the length and breadth of her action-packed life, Fatima unravels the dramatic turn of events in the past 11 years that evoked a riot of emotions in her and brought her face-to-face with the real world at an age when she should have been living life to the hilt… just like any other teenager.

Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan, followed by the Emergency, is keeping Fatima on her toes. On General Pervez Musharraf’s iron fist ruling, Fatima says, “The emergency is a very troubling situation in Pakistan, notably the treatment of the journalistic community which I am a part of, and the thousands of arrests. We are all waiting and watching the situation unfold with great sadness for our country but the Pakistani people are very brave and resilient and we will, I believe, overcome this. The conditions are so very complicated that those outside Pakistan cannot fully grasp the real situation on the ground. The media focus is constant in portraying Pakistan as a country on the brink of great violence when that is not really the situation. As with all countries, there are moments of instability and trouble but the people here are, as I said, very brave and are being very active in raising their voices against what is happening and in support of increased freedom and tolerance. The government will not be able to crush the people; they never have and we will struggle through this as we have done in the past.”

As for Benazir’s return to the soil in pursuit of power, the estranged niece fumes, “Benazir is desperate for power and not only that, she’s desperate to come back with an assurance of power at our cost. Why didn’t she come back on her own and face the consequences? She made a deal with Musharraf and asked for three things: She got him to push forward an ordinance through law that would erase corruption cases since 1986. She bypassed the judiciary and this is very dangerous for Pakistan. Secondly, she asked him to mend the constitution that allows two terms as the prime minister. She wants it to be three terms. This has not yet been done. Lastly, she has asked him to change another article in the constitution that allows the president to remove the prime minister. Benazir’s return and its dangers remain to be seen. Not only us but the whole country is at risk from her pro-Bush, neo-con politics. She has placed Pakistan in a very precarious situation and all our lives are at risk.”

Fatima has been following Benazir’s political moves closely and unsuccessfully tries to find logic in them. Some issues do warrant a redressal. For instance, she points out, “When she returned to Pakistan in 1996, there were 1.3 million people to receive her but this time, truckloads were brought to the airport to receive her. Her party spent around Rs 700 million on the media campaign. They told every party bearer to bring people from their constituencies. The people at the airport had not come voluntarily. Her supporters were bragging, ‘We brought so many people.’ She said later that she knew about the threats to her life. If she knew that, why didn’t she stop people from coming to the airport? They died because of her. Which responsible politician will do that? She has said that if she comes to power, she’ll let the US crack down on the Al-Qaeda—how can she allow another country to get on her soil and take away their enemy? Which country allows that?”

The young girl also sees a plan in Benazir’s Dubai visit on the eve of the Emergency being declared in Pakistan. “I don't know exactly whether Benazir did or did not know but sources claim (Tariq Ali for example) that she was informed of the Emergency and that is why she left the country two days before it was declared. Benazir is benefiting greatly from the Emergency. Under the new system, all ordinances passed prior to it can no longer be contested and that includes the National Reconciliation Ordinance that wipes clean her corruption cases and that of her party workers. This is what she has always wanted. She will also benefit from a speedy election because it will crush the smaller parties who need more time to organise as they do not have the massive funds she does at their disposal.”

On the news chips that float from time to time about a patch-up between the two sides of the Bhutto legacy, a very emphatic Fatima puts forth a clear perspective, “I live in my grandfather’s home and have no interaction with Benazir. Her people often like to say that there’s been a reconciliation but that’s not true.”

What exactly led to the widening rift between the siblings so much so that the families splintered and are still drifting away from each other? She explains, “Our differences started when my father was alive. He was politically opposed to Benazir as she had abandoned my grandfather’s policies. For example, my grandfather took Pakistan out of the Commonwealth but one of the first things she did when she came to power was getting associated with it. He nationalised economic policies and she privatised them. Everyone knows that it can only help the rich and not the poor. Also, she took corrupt people into the party. So my father broke away from the Pakistan People’s Party and started his own faction called PPP-Shahid Bhutto.”

Fatima has lots more to add, “Benazir and her government made things difficult for us. When Papa returned from Syria, she got him arrested at the airport. He was in jail for eight months. Papa didn’t ask for a deal as Benazir did when she returned now. Papa returned because he wanted to come back to his soil and people. Our party supporters were harassed in tandem. Benazir didn’t give Papa a ticket for elections so he ran as an independent from Larkana in Sindh. I can’t say anything about the rumours that say Asif Zardari, Benazir’s husband, was responsible for getting my father killed but that’s what we are in court for.”

As for the possibility of reconciliation, it seems remote if Fatima’s points are any indication. She clarifies, “On a personal level, Benazir has been very cruel and her harassment continues but we’ll fight. We’ve lost the one man who mattered to us though. That Benazir is fond of Zulfi and me is a lie. She’s been filing cases against us ever since Zulfi was eight and I was 14. She filed property cases against us and held up our inheritance case for 11 years. She got my biological mom, a woman I have absolutely no relations with, to file for my custody when I was 16 years old. She did that for pure harassment. She’s caused immense financial and emotional disturbances in our lives.”

On an emotional note, Fatima reminisces, “I was 14 when my father, Murtaza Bhutto, was assassinated and it shocked me to the core. It felt like losing myself as well; more than half of me died with him but I had to pull out, for him. We still haven’t received justice and none of us have come to terms with the violent way of his death. I grew up very fast; I had no choice,” says the Karachi based young girl, adding, “He was not just a parent but a best friend. We spent time reading books and watching movies. When Papa wrote the manifesto for PPP-Shahid Bhutto, he asked me to read it and give an opinion. I gave suggestions on improving and enhancing women’s rights and empowerment. Not only did he take them seriously, he also incorporated them in the manifesto.”

Harassment for Fatima, Ghinwa and Zulfikar started from September 20, 1996, the day Murtaza was shot dead. “Benazir Bhutto’s government refused to let us file an FIR, a criminal case. The policemen who fired at Papa and his seven supporters were not arrested. In fact, they were cleared in the internal review, reinstated and duly promoted. Two witnesses died in police custody. The 72-100 cops who were posted on the spot and who fired were also not arrested,” she recounts. Even as she gives a point-by-point account of the events leading to her father’s assassination, Fatima gets a tad emotional, “It was a pre-planned cold-blooded murder. The streetlights were shut and roads were blocked. Papa was shot at point blank range.”

In spite of 11 unyielding years passing by, Fatima’s belief in the judiciary remains intact though the undergraduate from Columbia University has her doubts. “Most probably, the case might never be solved. The Benazir Bhutto government showed no interest in bringing the men who killed Papa to book. The subsequent governments of General Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif also showed no interest in solving the case.”

To Fatima, the findings of a tribunal that was set up to probe into the shootout are extremely important. She relates, “Benazir made a tribunal headed by three very senior judges of Pakistan but gave it no legal sanctity. It had no right to send anyone to jail. This was a stalling technique but the tribunal’s findings are very important. It concluded that Papa’s death was an assassination and that it was a pre-meditated murder. Another important conclusion was that the police used excessive force considering that my father was not taken to the hospital and was in fact, left to bleed. The incident could not have happened without the approval of the Benazir Bhutto government, the tribunal felt.” The verdict of the tribunal gave ample solace to Fatima, Zulfikar and their Lebanese mother, Ghinwa who’s been a pillar of strength and support to both the kids ever since they lost their father. “She may not be my biological mom but she’s my real mom in every sense of the word,” says the doting daughter.

Recounting the rampage that was rampant during Benazir’s regime a few years back, Fatima says, “During Benazir Bhutto’s power, thousands of men were killed by the state forces and my father was just one amongst them. When I talk about justice for Papa, I also talk about thousands of other victims who died a similar death. The police was heavily engaged in target killing and ethnic killing was at its prime. I don’t know if we’ll ever get justice but I do hope we get it.” She has valid reasons for this apprehension, “History has very few cases of justice given. In our case, apart from my father, my grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was denied justice and there’s been no headway in the Shah Nawaz Bhutto case (my father’s younger brother).”

The striking beauty is also a well-established poet, having first published her book at the age of 15. “I’ve been writing since I was 12. Whispers of the Desert was released in 1997. My papa encouraged me a great deal. He particularly loved my poems and often said that they should be published. Whispers…was published in his memory. It was all about death, love and sadness—it’s a little eerie because I don’t really know why I wrote them; they seem to be about him. I don’t know why at that young age I wrote them. They came to me that way. My second book, 8:50 am, released last year, is about the earthquake that shook Pakistan in October 2005. It’s based on the amazing survivors of the earthquake. The media did not reflect their actual plight. There was extreme compassion fatigue. Both the books were published by Oxford University Press, Pakistan.”

Strangely, though dynastic politics is the rule around the globe, the Karachi-based heir to the Bhutto dynasty refuses to succumb to such norms. The 1982-born Bhutto heir is not keen to jump on to the political bandwagon in the near future. Fatima adds, “I don’t consider it my birthright to enter politics. Just because I belong to the Bhutto legacy, it doesn’t give me this right. I want to make a positive difference to the scenario. I am not running for polls now though I’ve completed 25 years of age and am qualified to do so. I don’t even hold a position in the PPP-Shahid Bhutto party. There’s still a lot to learn. I don’t campaign but travel a lot with mom and get to know first-hand of what the people need. She’s contesting from Larkana in Sindh, 25 kilometres away from Mohenjodaro. Whenever there’s a calamity, I do visit such places because it helps me connect better with the people. I’m very interested in politics and keep myself abreast with the global affairs. What I do is anyway political—right now writing is the best way to be in politics. I write on social and political issues in my column. During the Lebanon war, I happened to be on the spot as we were visiting my ailing grandmother. The English press was not reflecting about the actual prevailing situation. In turn, I was very vocal about life on the ground. This January, I went to Tehran to assess the situation because there were thick rumours were that the US could attack Iran any time.”

The lady is not even looking at marriage right now. Instead, she could opt for a doctorate any time soon, conditions in her country permitting of course. The Gemini girl details her future plans, “I have a Masters from the School Of Oriental and African Studies, London. I want to do my PhD but I want to be around in Pakistan as the developments are getting interesting by the day.” On the personal front, her centre of attraction is three-and-a-half year old Mir Ali. “My mother adopted him when he was a month old. He’s very cute and loves to take my attention. It’s nice to have a baby in the house,” she says. As for Zulfikar, Fatima clarifies that he’s not under any pressure from the family to take up the political mantle. She adds, “Zulfikar is doing O-level and not being groomed for anything as such. We leave his future choices completely up to him. As it is he is very committed to helping environmental causes and cares deeply for human rights issues.”

Though living in one of the most pessimist phases that Pakistan has seen, the young leader-in-the-making sees people’s power in Pakistan soon. She concludes, “Pakistan has a hopeful future ahead but one thing is necessary for this to happen—power must return to the people. It is not an issue of the president being powerful or the prime minister having more power. For us, they are not the issues. We want a true democracy and that means that real rule returns to the authentic rulers—the citizens. I think we will be able to achieve this, but it will take time. The press is reporting that elections will indeed be held by the end of January or early February. It seems they will happen, but whether they will be free and fair, we will have to wait and see.” Whether Pakistan goes to the polls or not, it’s time for young minds like Fatima to take it upon themselves to restore peace and people’s power in the law perforated country.

Source:Stardust 18/12/2007