Fatima Bhutto...‘I am not doing a film...

Fatima Bhutto has managed to stay in the news. While Benazir’s niece refuses to be a part of dynastic politics, she is putting the life of the Bhutto family in a book. But is she doing a film as has been reported? Her answer: It’s funny!


Whether it was her very vocal opposition to her aunt Benazir or her writing or her opposition to dynastic politics, Fatima always makes to the headlines. And the latest is that filmmaker Ahsan Hyder wants to cast her in his Breaking Free and, as the media has reported, has even got in touch with her agent? Fatima laughs it off as she says, “That story is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve never heard of Ahsan Hyder nor do I have a secretary in Dubai, who apparently ‘reads’ me the scripts. In fact, I’ve never been offered any role in any movie. The last time I acted was in Class XI in an adaptation of The Odd Couple.”

‘I’m writing on the Bhutto family’:

I have been writing, travelling and speaking about Pakistan. I was in China and then in Cuba, where I had gone to write about living in the aftermath of the revolution and it was amazing. I am writing a book on the family at the moment. It’s been hyped as a lot of things; I don’t want to ruin the surprise by saying more.

‘Indian food is my weakness’:

I might not be doing a Bollywood film but I am very fond of India. I came there last for the Jaipur Literary Festival. I believe we’re sister countries. Like siblings, our similarities connect us far more than our differences tear us apart. I like the people, they have always been so kind to me, es pecially when they find out I’m from Pakistan. And I love the food… especially the thali. I’m a vegetarian so I really like South Indian food – dosas and idlis. There’s a place in Karachi that does South Indian food and chaat really well and I’m there embarrassingly often.

‘I and Benazir were never on the same side of any issue’:

My aunt is gone and I don’t want to drudge up the past. But people haven’t stopped comparing me with her. People see the fact that we’re both women, we both lost our fathers in violent ways, we were both educated abroad and immediately assume that we must be the same person. But those are completely cosmetic similarities. Benazir grew up in power, she grew up as
the daughter of a prime minister. I grew up in exile. She attended very pro-establishment, almost right wing universities, whereas I went to Columbia and SOAS, two of the most radically leftist and progressive schools around. As for our personal or political differences, there are far too many to count. Let’s just say, I’m not sure we stood on the same side of any issue.

‘I don’t believe in dynastic politics’:

I’ve never believed in dynastic politics, which has been as deadly for my country as dictatorships have been. I am political, very much so, but there’s so many ways to be involved politically and from what we’ve seen in Pakistan, government isn’t necessarily the most positive avenue. I work on several grassroots issues and I write about the corruption of the governments and the violence and poverty that has mired Pakistan’s people in this abject state.

‘I don’t know Bilawal well’:

I don’t know Bilawal well. Before his mother’s death, I last saw him when he was eight years old. He’s a young man and he’s been through a devastating loss. He is a student and I think he deserves some privacy.

Source: http://www.dilsedesi.co/forums/index.php?showtopic=4158

The Prodigal Daughter by GUNJEET SRA

A writer, an activist and the controversial heir apparent to a splintered political dynasty, Fatima Bhutto talks about being the unofficial voice of Pakistan's young woman

The was 14 years old when her father Mir Murtaza Bhutto was shot dead right outside their home in Karachi, in a political conspiracy that was termed as an encounter. Scared, she had turned to her aunt, Benazir, the then Prime Minister of the country only to receive cold comfort. It is no surprise then that 28-year-old Fatima Bhutto, who fought for 10 years to bring forth her father's story, should want to shun the history that has bloodied her lineage; a history very similar to the country that she calls home. Staying clear of her country's complicated politics, she has now carved an identity for herself. One that goes beyond power politics. Famously quipping that the comparisons between her aunt and her were largely cosmetic and going on to add, "In terms of political ideology, what we read, how we think, we are very different. I don't think that I'm anything like her."
Quite true, considering the fact that she is openly vocal about her dislike of the political and military elite that has ruled Pakistan for over six decades. In the 2007-2008 elections she chose to campaign door to door, educating women about their voting rights, visiting almost 300 homes a day, working from morning till at least 10 at night. She says that it was the most 'oddly' liberating experience for her. "I was there mainly to drive home the point that they had to vote. That if they didn't, someone else would cast a vote in their name and that they had a responsibility to ensure that rigging didn't happen on their names." It was also during this time that she was exposed to the incredible dispossession that women, more than almost anyone else, face in Pakistan.
During one such election campaign at the time, news broke of Benazir's assassination. Fatima went home and wrote a column for The News, a bittersweet farewell that started with the words, "My aunt and I had a complicated relationship. That is the sad truth," and ended with the hope that "In death, perhaps there is a moment to call for calm. To say enough… We cannot, and will not, take this madness any more." An outcry against the existing system and an urgency for change. Insisting on the fact that there are more than three choices that Pakistan has more than the PPP (Pakistan's Peoples Party), the PML (Pakistan Muslim League) and the army she says hers is the voice of a new generation of Pakistanis. "It's a voice that is not just secular, but moderate, anti-the war on terror and has yet to live through a period where Pakistan is in control over its sovereignty and its foreign policy." She fears that if the next generation is not given a chance to take part in the country, "then we are closing a door to them, a door that they will eventually abandon. They will leave and go to other countries," she says. It is perhaps this need for a new order that is keeping this young Bhutto away from formally being part of the public system.
Having done her Bachelors in Middle Eastern Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University, USA, and an MA in South Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, politics has always been a key area of interest, but it is writing that she is truly passionate about. Her first book was a collection of poems, titled Whispers of the Desert, written at the precocious age of 15. But it was only when she wrote her second book 8.50 a.m. 8 October, a collection of stories about the 2005 earthquake that killed 73,000 people in Kashmir and North West Frontier Province, did she finally enter the writer-activist mode. The shift from poetry to non-fiction is quite drastic, but she insists that poetry started as a school project. "There is a lot of fear and violence in those poems and I think this has carried through to what I write currently. This awareness of fear, thus the shift to prose or non-fiction wasn't much of a transit for me," she says.
Fear is a feeling that she is familiar with. It is perhaps what she felt when her father did not return home in 1996 to continue the basketball game he had challenged her to. It is the feeling of being abandoned by family. Of being told at school that there is a woman outside claiming to be your mother, while you lock yourself in the nurse's room trying to avoid the media and wondering how can you trust a stranger when the only mother you know is waiting for you at home the woman who brought her up like her own. The woman was Ghinwa Bhutto, her father's second wife, whom he married while in exile in Syria.

Her latest book, Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter's Memoir, is a tribute to her father and tells the story of the Bhutto family, and her father's life and death. It's set in the context of the whole canvas of Pakistan's history from Partition in 1947 onward.The book begins with its central event, her father's "encounter" outside the iconic Bhutto mansion, 70 Clifton in Karachi, where Fatima and her family still reside. The story revolves around the tragic split within the Bhutto family after the death of its patriarch, the charismatic social reformer Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was Pakistan's first democratically elected leader. This ultimately pitted his eldest child, Benazir Bhutto, against his eldest son, Mir Murtaza. She says her reasons for writing this book were more than personal. "Our history in Pakistan is written either by foreigners or by the establishment. There really isn't another layer, another transcript," she says, continuing, "What I hoped to do with this book was to write about that hidden transcript, the way people live, the way violence affects people, written by someone who watched it rather than by someone who perpetrated it," she says.

It is inherent patriotism that pushes her. "I talk and write about very serious issues that plague our country or the larger region, it's always been my choice to do so. I don't do it because I am someone's daughter. At some point, however, people suddenly realised that, I was a Bhutto and it meant something at that point," she says. But the love for her country is something that she attributes to her father. "Even while we were living in exile in Syria, my father would constantly have Bollywood movies on and even though he did not particularly like them, they just gave a sense of being home. Sindhi music was another strong influence," she says.
She admits that she could not understand her father's choking emotion for Pakistan initially. "We were in a limbo, we believed and inhabited a middle place. I didn't know for a long time, what he meant when his eyes would tear up, when he would talk about Karachi, his home. But when I went to Pakistan at the age of seven, everything made sense. I feel it now, especially since the book came about, I spend so much time travelling," she says with a smile and adds that her next book is all about Karachi.
Only time will tell if people's expectations will finally win her over, enough to cross over to the other side. Till then, she is happy to write about, rather than inherit, her political dynasty.

Source: http://www.magtheweekly.com/07may-13may2011/interview.asp

Trade between India, Pak around USD 2 billion: Bhutto

Thiruvananthapuram. Ms Fatima Bhutto, grand-daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and niece of slain former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, said trade between India and Pakistan is around USD two billion.

Ms Fatima Bhutto, who is in the city as part of the fourth edition of the Kovalam Literary Festival at Kanakakunnu palace here, said ”out of USD two billion, our volume of trade is a fraction, a single digit of the business that we do with strangers.” ”Described as ‘grim’ ‘unnaturally small’, we account for less than 0.5 per cent of your trade and you account for a little more than one per cent of ours as of 2010,” she said.

”This wasn’t always the case – in 1948-49, 70 per cent of our transactions were with you and 63 per cent of your exports were to us,” he added.

”Lazy economists casually float that trade could rise to USD ten billion in five years, or may be six. Or really may be 15 years. That’s just not fast enough. Especially if you consider that studies have shown potential for formal trade is 20 times greater than what we have – we should be hitting 40 billion. You don’t fight when 40-42 billion is in the way,” she observed.

”Our destinies are inexorably linked, just as our pasts were, and as they were largely peacefully. It is this that we must insist upon that for the course of our future. Justice is not outside ours border, it is within them collectively, we have to find a way to bring it out and guard it, protectively, fiercely. Our generations depend on it,” she noted. Agency

Source: http://jaipur.co/trade-between-india-pak-around-usd-2-billion-bhutto/

'Pakistan is a survivors' country'

South Asia | 05.10.2011

'To be silent makes you more vulnerable'

Fatima Bhutto is a young writer and journalist from Pakistan, a country she criticizes for its political corruption and violence. And yet, it is a survivors' country, she tells Deutsche Welle.

Fatima Bhutto (29) is a member of the Bhutto dynasty in Pakistan: she is the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the niece of Benazir Bhutto. Her father Murtaza Bhutto was assassinated in 1996. As a writer and journalist, she is an outspoken critic of Pakistan’s political elite, to which she herself belongs.

Deutsche Welle: You grew up in Pakistan, a country with huge disparities between the rich elite and the poor. What are your earliest memories of these disparities?

Fatima Bhutto: When you grow up in a place like Pakistan, you are struck by the gaps between people who have tremendous opportunities and privileges - and the millions who simply don’t. This is a nuclear country that couldn’t fight polio because it couldn’t freeze the vaccines… And seeing that from an early age makes you frustrated and helpless.

We have a government that hasn’t done dam maintenance for over 30 years, so we don’t have the infrastructure and have floods almost every year. I must have been in sixth or seventh grade and I remember seeing this flood, watching images on TV - and realising that nothing was happening. So with some friends, we started calling people and asked them for clothes and medicine.

Do you think collecting medicine and clothes is enough, particularly when you look at the spiralling violence in Karachi?

No, it’s never enough. But I think what you see that’s hopeful in places like Karachi is the community feeling. It's that when there is a tremendous amount of violence people don’t depend on the police or the state to protect them, but rather they depend on their community. And their community comes together to get the children off the roads in gang-infested areas and into tuition centres. And so, one thing is to support these community initiatives. But as you said, it’s not enough. What you need is an entire system overhaul so that these things are automatically provided for people.

What are the main problems facing Pakistan today?

'The government hasn't done dam maintenance in 30 years'The situation is getting much worse. Corruption seems to be a celebrated part of political ethics. Violence seems to be very easily absorbed by the state that thinks nothing of the fact that in four days a hundred of their people can be killed. And all the while the world watches. - The world watches because Pakistan is a front line state, so what does it matter if a hundred people die in the span of a day? What does it matter if children don’t have access to basic medical care and die of preventable deaths like malaria?

Corruption, violence, preventable deaths - is Pakistan in danger of becoming a failed state?

I always thought that was outrageous to call Pakistan a failed state because as a country, it is only 60 years old. The system of government is absolutely failed, yes. This government and the government before it, yes they failed. But the state itself cannot be a failure. If we look in Pakistan outside of the government, it is a tremendously hopeful place. It’s a rich country. Its full of natural resources. It has a large, young population. And it has a young country’s hope for what it can accomplish.

Pakistan’s foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, is young and she’s a woman…

What is sad about the political culture of Pakistan is that we don’t talk about ideas, we just talk about people. Gender is never a substitute for ethics or justice. I don’t care whether she is young or old, or a woman. I want to know what she is saying. And what she is saying seems to be exactly the same thing that people have been saying before for the last 30 years. What I want to know, is how can an independent country like Pakistan have a foreign policy that makes us subservient to almost every country we deal with? That to me is outrageous. How do you have a nuclear country, a rich country whose policy is based around begging for aid?

Khar, like yourself, is part of the small elite that rules Pakistan. Is there any space for democracy in Pakistan?

I think there is a problem with the dynastic culture of my country. Until democratic institutions are strengthened and run freely, something like dynasty just subverts the democratic process. I don’t think this will change in my lifetime. I think it needs generations to fix and a commitment to democratic ideas. We don’t see that in Pakistan. Making someone like Khar foreign minister sends a message especially to young people that the only way into politics in Pakistan is through families - and for a country of 180 million people that’s a really rotten thing to tell them.

You are very outspoken. Are you afraid something might happen to you?

Violence in Karachi You know I think everybody in Pakistan is afraid, because there is no recourse against state violence. And that’s historical: The violence ebbs and flows. Some governments are more violent than others. This is a period of intense violence. But in a place that is as dangerous when it comes to violence and freedom as Pakistan is, to be silent doesn’t make you safer, it makes you more vulnerable.

You’ve painted a picture of violence, of corruption, of poverty - what do you love about Pakistan?

I think it’s a survivors' country, I think it’s a place that survives against the odds: the ordinary people that make it run. I think that it’s a place that has always been open, in terms of hospitality, in terms of warmth, to new people, to new cultures. I think that it’s a place that struggles to build something that is more just, that is different than what is imposed from above. I think that is unique about Pakistan.

Interview: Naomi Conrad

Editor: Rob Mudge

Source:

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15435001,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

Fatima Bhutto slams Hina Rabbani Khar

Fatima Bhutto, granddaughter of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto criticized Hina Rabbani Khar for towing the line in her new role as Pakistan’s foreign minister.

Bhutto told Deutsche Welle in an interview that she was not concerned with Khar’s age or gender — what mattered for her was Khar’s work.

“What is sad about the political culture of Pakistan is that we don’t talk about ideas, we just talk about people. Gender is never a substitute for ethics or justice… I don’t care whether she is young or old, or a woman. I want to know what she is saying. And what she is saying seems to be exactly the same thing that people have been saying before for the last 30 years,” Deutsche Welle quoted Bhutto.

Answering a question about Khar being a part of the small elite that rules Pakistan, Bhutto said that if democratic institutions are not strengthened, dynasties that have ruled Pakistan in the past will supersede the democratic process.

Deutsche Welle quoted Bhutto saying “making someone like Khar foreign minister sends a message especially to young people that the only way into politics in Pakistan is through families – and for a country of 180 million people that’s a really rotten thing to tell them.”

Talking about the problems faced by Pakistan, Bhutto said that corruption has become a part of the political culture and violence has become an acceptable thing. However, she called Pakistan a survivors’ country.

“I think it’s a place that survives against the odds: the ordinary people that make it run,” Bhutto said.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/267597/fatima-bhutto-slams-hina-rabbani-khar/#comment-365017

People of India, Pakistan not enemies: Fatima Bhutto

Noted Pakistani writer, journalist and grand daughter of former Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fatima Murtaza Bhutto said that the people of Pakistan and India are not enemies and there is no enmity between the common people of both the countries.

She spoke with Arun Lakshman on the sidelines of the Kovalam literary festival, which she inaugurated on Saturday.

There has been vehement criticism that your book Songs of Blood and Sword is a work done to legitimise your father Murtaza Bhutto (son of former Pakistan premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and brother of Benazir Bhutto) and that it does not reflect the history, politics or the social situation of Pakistan in the right perspective?

The book is indeed a memoir of my father Murtaza Bhutto, but it does reflect the history and politics of Pakistan. I have done extensive research to cover the history and I feel I have done justice to the work. Regarding the political and social aspects of Pakistan, I have been clearheaded in writing it. Also, a major part of the history has been before I was born and I had to depend on lot of research material available for writing this book.

Noted Pakistani writer and political activist, who was once a student leader and then advisor the Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Raja Anwar in his book The Terror Prince. The Life and Death of Murtaza Bhutto has said that Murtaza was behind the Al-Zulfikar organisation and it was formed to avenge the death of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Your comments on this?

Raja Anwar wrote this book after the tragic death of my father. He should have written it well before my father was assassinated because then he could have defended the writings against him in the book. Now there is no such defence as my father is no more. Also, Raja Anwar was in a Kabul prison from 1982 to 1985 during the period when these incidents occurred, as claimed in the book. This means he has relied on hearsay and not on facts. There have been several other mistakes in the book including the name of persons and places.

Your book has been published in English, French, Italian and even in Hindi but not in the most popular medium in Pakistan, Urdu. Why is it so?

Urdu is the language used by the local and ordinary people of Pakistan, while English is used by the elite of the country. The elite is lazy and afraid, and does not act, so the rulers don't find it a major threat for a book published in a language read by the elite of Pakistan. But every ruler is afraid of the local people and rightly so; the Pakistani establishment also fears that. No Urdu publisher has come forward to print my work in the Urdu. No distributor was willing to sell this book.

Do you feel that the strong-arm tactics employed by the Pakistani establishment is the reason behind Urdu publishing houses not bringing out your work?

What else can be the reason? As a writer I want millions of Pakistani people who speak and read Urdu to read this book rather than the elite class, who are always afraid to act and speak out. If published in Urdu, local people will know and understand what happened to my father and where the country was headed to. This could have had a major impact on the society of Pakistan.

How is the young generation in Pakistan? Are they actively involved in cleansing the political system in your country or are they aloof from all this?

I can't say in one shot about the young generation of Pakistan. They are from different classes in different areas. For instance, the youth of Sindh province may be different from other areas and Sindh is a place that I know well. Here the youngsters are restless and want to change the system or rather want to move out and do something for the country. Throughout Pakistan youngsters are for freedom; to think freely, just like youth of any country.

Do you think Pakistan will see a youth uprising just as it happened in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and some Arab countries like Oman and Bahrain?

I don't see it is coming now, but youths want freedom and they want a corruption free democratic political rule and not a dictatorship or the corrupt administration of today. However, we cannot rule out the possibility.

How do you rate the present Pakistani government?

There is nothing much to say about the present Pakistani government and they are already into major acts of corruption and nepotism at the cost of the country.

Several Pakistani writers and authors and journalists have gone on record that the feared and dreaded Inter-services Intelligence has threatened them and that they were being followed. Have you ever been threatened by the ISI?

The ISI has never threatened me. But after my book Songs of Blood and Sword was published, there have been several actions by the establishment on my family that can be considered as a threat or more than that. In fact, the car in which my mother was travelling was shot at. Those who went to complain about this and to register a first information report were beaten up by the police.

Are these threats the handiwork of the Pakistani establishment as such or a single individual, Asif Ali Zardari?

I cannot say that. But Asif Ali Zardari is still an accused on the allegations raised by me and he can very well employ any means against me. Moreover, he is at present the President of Pakistan and is very powerful.

You are a vehement critic of social networking siteFacebook. Why is it so?

Facebookintrudes into our personal life and can easily produce all our details at a click of a button to any agency around the world. This is not good for a civil society. However,Youtube and messaging are excellent.Facebookalso intrudes the websites we visit.

Facebookhowever gave inspiration for the Jasmine revolution (2010-2011 Tunisian Revolution). Didn't it play a good role?

Of course. Other than Facebook other social networking sites, mobile messages and Youtube too have been used well. I do say that as freedom is ultimate, people are welcome to use anything that they like, but there is skepticism about Facebook,as it can provide any information it has to anyone or any country.

Do you feel that Pakistan is a failed state?

No, never. Pakistani people have self determination. Our country is rich and abundant in oil, minerals, gold, rice and other agriculture produce, and the people have the will to work. Around 60 per cent of the population is under 30 years of age. The handiwork of one or two corrupt and power-hungry individuals who run the country as their fiefdom is creating problems. So I think Pakistan has a good future and that it will rise to its potential and abundance.

What is the situation of the minorities in Pakistan?

The minorities do have their problems in Pakistan as they have in India. However, the nature of the difficulties varies from place to place. There are mandirs and churches in the Sindh area, but may be in other parts it is not seen much. The problems being faced by the minorities of Pakistan is the one faced in other countries also. Just before this visit I had entered the Swami Narayan Temple in Karachi and did not face any problems.

What about the situation in Balochistan?

Baluchistan is one of the areas of our country that is rich in mineral wealth. There are issues in Balochistan and there are thoughts that it is the handiwork of foreign powers. If the Baluch people are naturally uprising for their rights, then there is no wrong in it, but if there are foreign powers involved in it, then we have to know what their motive is.

There were uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya recently. Your comments on this?

The revolution in Egypt and Tunisia has been organic and from the locals. We know that students had taken to the streets in these countries to overthrow corrupt rulers and administrations.

In Libya, the situation is different. We don't know who is behind these forces who have led the movement. Is it the Al-Qaeda, is it some other forces? It is interesting to note that the American embassy has issued a notification that there is huge oil wealth in Libya.

You come from the famous Bhutto family. In India there is the noted Gandhi family. Do you find anything in common between these two families, as both have ruled their respective countries and there have been tragedies in both the families?

I can't say that there is anything in common between these two families. I am of the opinion that one should not enter into politics one fine morning claiming to be from a family which has political history and lineage. This is not the right thing to do in politics.

Any new book in the offing?

Yes, I am planning a book on Karachi. However, it will take time as I am presently in a tour to promote my new book Songs of Blood and Sword throughout the world.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-people-of-india-pakistan-not-enemies-fatima-bhutto/20111003.htm

Kovalm Literary Fest 2011: Pakistan, Peace And Prose

Fatima Murtaza Bhutto mirrors as well as hugs her homeland in her writings and seeks nothing less than peace as an absolute solution to the Indo-Pak cold war. Shameem Faruque in an exclusive chat with Fatima

She is not just a beautiful author, she is also an author who is beautiful. Totally at ease answering our questions, comfortable as she ties up her tresses, the liberal voice from Pakistan that she is, she is an intellectual and someone who is genuinely seeking peace between her beloved country and India.

Her pedigree is impeccable. Benazir Bhutto for an aunt, Murtaza Bhutto her father and her grandfather the very charismatic Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Yet this bold and the elegant Fatima is an author in her own right – truly an individual to reckon with. She means it when she says that “violence can never be the solution. Peace is the only way out.” She recognises that the countries that were born out of each other, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh face more or less the same problems which can be easily dealt with if they care to help each other out. She can’t fathom why both India and Pakistan refuse to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty when so many countries have.

Fatima Bhutto

Yentha caught up with the 29 year old Fatima after she had just delivered the 6th Annual K C John Memorial Lecture at the 4th Kovalam Literary Fest. She authored the poetry 'Whispers of the Desert' (written when she was 13) '8.50 a.m., 8 October 2005' (the accounts of Pakistan earthquake victims) and the ‘Songs of Blood and Sword’, a daughter’s memoir (published in April 2010).

When asked whether the memoir was a daughter’s gesture of repaying her father, Fatima says, “It is actually my promise to my father. I gave him my word that I will write this. This is what my father asked of me just a few hours before he was killed. He cannot bring one out like this when he is alive, he said. He told me to write after he is gone. And that is the memoir.”

She is a Bhutto - the most popular political family from Pakistan. Was she compromised when introduced as the niece of Benazir Bhutto? “I am listened to and I receive a warm welcome wherever I go,” quite diplomatically giving the question a skip. She has seen four of her family members assassinated but she still lives in her home at Karachi. As a woman how secure and free does she feel especially in a conservative society like the one in Pakistan? Her reply was quick “Where in the world is a woman safe, for that matter? Women, being the minority, have to face their insecurities in whichever part of the world they live. The same applies to Pakistan too. But I don’t change for the sake of the society in which I live. I remain the way I am.” The turmoil has not deterred this lady from being the crusader for her homeland, if we can call her one.

Under the umbrella of the Kovalam Literary Fest, two authors stand out not only for their books but also for opening doors to their homelands - Basharat Peer for Kashmir through his ‘Curfewed Nights’ and Fatima Bhutto for Pakistan through her memoir ‘Songs of Blood and Sword’. To the question whether she could be considered as a goodwill ambassador of her country, she smiles “Living in Pakistan, I see a side of the country which people normally do not see. So I try to bring that side in front of the world.”

She intently listens to your words as the cameras capture her various moods. Obviously she is gifted with a lot of charisma but she has an excellent educational background. A BA degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University, New York and a Masters in South Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London have made her dwell deeper into the socio-political as well as economic metamorphosis of not just her country but also countries around the world.

Fatima in conversation with Shameem

Basharat Peer talks about a new generation growing up in Kashmir ‘who have become far too intimate with war and fear’. Is the same happening in Pakistan? Fatima Bhutto nods, “What the youth see are the generals and today’s rulers. So there is a chance of the same happening there.” Pakistan is mired in controversies. But aren’t there people, alive, who are fit to guide Pakistan? She catches the pun quickly and pat comes her answer, “Sure, there are quite a few fascinating personalities in Pakistan, Muhammad Hussain for one.”

Fatima Bhutto

I just got time to thank this strong lady before Fatima was frisked away by the organizers. The room falls silent. An emptiness that seemed too serene to be ignored. I pick up my notepad and notice that I have hardly written a word. Words get imprinted in your heart sometimes that you hardly need to write anything. I wonder what impact her written words would have on me …

Source: http://www.yentha.com/news/view/4/13986

‘In Pak, it’s impossible to escape politics’

October 2, 2011 By Ayyappan Ramachandran

Fatima Bhutto, writer-niece of Benazir Bhutto who became embittered with her aunt following suspicions of her regime's role in her father’s assassination, is in Thiruvanant-hapuram for the Deccan Chronicle Kovalam Literary Festival. She talks to Ayyappan Ramachandran

What does it feel like to be a Bhutto? Does it bring a sense of responsibility towards your country? For how long can you keep politics at bay? Is some of your writing aimed to secure that end?

This is a point I’ve always tried to make. It doesn’t matter what one’s last name is; it should be the content of your work, your character, your ethics and principles that count. Thankfully, my brothers and I were raised to be sure that those were the things that defined us, not the six letters of our last name.
I genuinely believe that we serve our nations in many ways. Some may choose to do it through politics, others through art, through literature, through teaching. There's no proof in Pakistan that politics is the most progressive way to serve the country, or that it's the most positive way. I always wanted to be a writer. So the question of politics is urgent or looming in other people's minds, not mine.

Why do you think you memoir Songs of Blood and Sword has not yet been translated into Urdu?

It’s strange, though not surprising at all. Thousands of people read English in Pakistan, but millions read Urdu. It’s sad that the book has been translated into various other languages but has yet to find an Urdu version. But I hope that will change in time.

Being a vehement critic of the establishment, do you live in Pakistan for the most part, or abroad?

I don’t live abroad. I live in Karachi. I do travel a lot with Songs of Blood and Sword, speaking at festivals, and promoting it in the countries it’s been published. But Karachi is home. It’s always been risky to speak out against the establishment in Pakistan, but I do believe that silence is far riskier.
After the hugely successful memoir, what are you working on now?

A book on Karachi, but it’s still in very early stages.

A lot of good new writing in Pakistan is in English. Is there anything interesting happening in other languages — Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Baluch?

There's always been fascinating work published in Urdu - whether poetry or plays or satire. And the same goes for the other regional languages. Sindhis, one can tell immediately, are very attached to their language, for example. They make sure it is taught in provincial schools and that it is a living, breathing, language and not relegated to the back of bookshelves. But really, the problem in Pakistan is illiteracy. It’s a tremendous barrier and there are no efforts to change what is a dismally low literacy rate… the qualification for literacy is the ability to sign one’s name, so official numbers are grossly inflated.

Do you read your Pakistani contemporaries’ writing in English? What about Indian writers? Have you met any?

Yes, of course. There’s such wonderful work coming out of Pakistan, and, as you say, out of South Asia in general. A really good book that flew sort of under the radar a few years ago was Children of Dust by Ali Eteraz. I’d recommend it as it’s a rare offering of non-fiction. Indian writers — I’ve admired the work of Basharat Peer, Suketu Mehta and Tishani Doshi in terms of current authors.

Why does so much of the Pakistani writing have to do with politics, indirectly or directly? Are there historical or social novels, or novels about love, chiclit, in Pakistan? Are good short stories and plays being written?

It’s impossible to escape politics — the best art thrives under difficult political situations. People don’t have a lot of forums open to them — they don’t have political spaces where they can express themselves. Those spaces are shut off except to the very few. So you find that people’s writing becomes an outlet for political thought. There’s also people’s art, some really fascinating and really brave art is being created in Pakistan at the moment, especially by women.
I think artists like Faiza Butt and Sana Arjumand in the art world are tremendous because they don’t shy away from difficult issues. Your question seems critical of the presence of politics, but I think it’s urgent and necessary and very inspiring to witness. Imran Aslam is a great playwright in Pakistan. He’s very witty and very political again, he’s a big favourite of mine.

How do you feel when you visit India? Does it seem like Pakistan, or different? Have you been initiated into the charms of Bollywood?

I am always very happy to come to India, it feels like home. The people are very warm, very friendly, and really I can’t say I feel as welcome as a Pakistani anywhere else. There are so many things that are similar to Pakistan - we’re the same people, we have the same attitudes, the same language, the same culture, the same history. There are differences of course, but what defines India for me is its warmth. That is true for Pakistani people too. I wish it was easier for people to have access to each other, to travel freely to each other’s countries. It would break so many barriers and be so powerful to see the two countries work in harmony together.

What stops Pakistan from being friendly with India? What do you think should be Pakistan’s priorities?

That’s a two-way street. I think when it comes to Pakistan-India relations, priorities of both our nations must urgently centre on peace. We are sibling countries, we are far stronger together than we are against each other. Our destinies are linked, the three of us — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and my generation has had no part in the hostilities that has defined South Asia. We want peace, we want to connect with each other, we want openness. We must stand strong when it comes to those values, to the values of non-violence, and of solidarity with each other. I hear it all the time in Pakistan, and I hear it whenever I am in India too.

Source :

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/editorial/op-ed/%E2%80%98-pak-it%E2%80%99s-impossible-escape-politics%E2%80%99-807

I want to establish as a writer : Fatima Bhutto

Thiruvananthapuram: Noted Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto said she did not want to enter politics, but would like to establish herself as a writer. She is here to attend the two-day long "Kovalam Literary Festival".

Fatima, granddaughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, told reporters dynastic politics in her country had not produced anything progressive in the last 30 years and it was important for the Bhuttos to be kept out of politics.

She said she did not subscribe to the view that her country is a 'failed nation', though governance was a failure.

"Pakistan is not a small or failed nation. But the system of governance there is a failure. It has nothing to do with people in Pakistan," Fathima said.


"People in Pakistan aspire for hundred per cent democracy and there should be fair elections," Fatima said.

Fatima, 29, who has penned three books including collection of poems "Whispers of Desert" and "Songs of Blood and Sword", said "the question of 'why I did not become a politician' is just like why I did not become a dentist."

Fatima, also the niece of slain Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said she had good memories about her aunt before she had entered politics. "She was a courageous woman" who stood for some values and standards.

On freedom of expression in Pakistan, Fatima said she had written books and columns in newspapers. But she had to stop her columns since 2008 when the new government came to power.

Her book "Songs of Blood and Sword" was published in India and they were later circulated in Pakistan. "A large number of good literary works and films come from Pakistan these days and the"difficult conditions there have produced a major chunk of them," she said.

A best-selling author, Fatima said her new book would be on Pakistan and Karachi. It would not be a story about herself, but about a 'misunderstood place. "I visited Mumbai and Delhi before.Now I want to see another side of India and learn more about south India. That's why I have come to Kerala. People here are warm and welcoming," she said. Asked about 'accumulation' of arms by Pakistan, she said not only Pakistan, but none in the world should do so.

Source:
http://english.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/contentView.do?contentId=10162195&tabId=18&channelId=-1073865025&BV_ID=%40%40%40

Fatima Bhutto draws road map for India-Pakistan peace

By IANS,

Thiruvananthapuram : The road to peace between India and Pakistan will have to be mapped by building on the shared heritage and the common social malaise confronting the two nations. And the onus of the task lies on the youth, author and peace activist Fatima Bhutto said here Saturday.

"We (people of India and Pakistan) are the same."

"You are like me. We need more people-to-people contact to promote peace. Our destinies as countries are inextricably linked as our past were... Justice is within the borders and not outside it," the Karachi-based writer said.

She was delivering the sixth K.C. John Memorial Lecture on "India and Pakistan: Road to Peace" at the Kovalam Literary Festival 2011. The two-day festival began Oct 1 at the Kanakakunnu Palace, a former summer retreat of the erstwhile rulers of Travancore, in the capital.

"Despite being separated at birth and shared heritage, India and Pakistan have created enormous gulf between their people. They cannot visit each other's country without going through enormous official procedures," Fatima said.

Fatima harked back to the 5,000-year-old civilisational roots of the people of India and Pakistan along the Indus Valley to emphasise the need to hammer out common policies to battle hunger and underdevelopment.

"India and Pakistan over the centuries have shared something hopeful, peaceful - a joint heritage that modern day hostilities could not erase," she said.

"But there is lack of coordination," she lamented. "We could develop policies together... But we don't do that - instead we feed the world when the hungry in our country starve."

Analysing the areas of serious conflicts, Fatima said there were "three countries in the world that did not sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty - India, Pakistan and Israel."

"India and Pakistan are still suspicious of each other while the Israel government has managed to get itself out of it," she said.

And the suspicions were very elementary, she added.

Fatima is the grand-daughter of slain Pakistan prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the niece of Benazir Bhutto, the country's first woman prime minister, who was killed in 2007. Fatima's father Murtaza Bhutto was gunned down in a political battle in 1996.

Fatima said "India and Pakistan have the largest migration history in the world with the biggest displacement... When we parted, the world shook".

"The freedom movement was iconic but the only problem was that we quickly turned on ourselves. What Pakistan did to India, Bangladesh did to Pakistan. Punjab was almost a holocaust," she said.

She said Bangladesh and Pakistan have one of the uncertain food policies and "terror has displaced millions of people who are hungry".

"But nearly 50 percent of the world's hungry are in India," she said identifying the problems endemic to both the nations.

"Trade between India and Pakistan is a fraction of the trade that we do with strangers. Trade between the two countries was much larger and we should be giving 40 billion dollars in trade. Many other arch rivals have better trade ties," she said.

The young Indians and Pakistanis had made peace a reality, she said. Clad in one of her grandmother's saris, Fatima stole the show with her appeal for lasting peace across the border.

Fatima is the author of three books, including a new biography of the Bhutto clan.

Source:

http://twocircles.net/2011oct01/fatima_bhutto_draws_road_map_indiapakistan_peace.html

Kovalam Literary Festival inaugurated by Fatima Bhutto

The fourth edition of the popular Kovalam Literary Festival was inaugurated on Saturday by Fatima Bhutto, the author of Songs of Blood and Sword.

Bhutto, in her inaugural speech, said that both India [ Images ] and Pakistan have a common heritage and nothing can separate that rich legacy.

The world shook when Pakistan and India were divided, said Bhutto, adding that this happened again when Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan in 1971.

India and Pakistan shared a rich cultural background and the unified strength of the two countries could beat the world, she said.

Noted writer Paul Zachariah and Binoo K John, director of the Kovalam Literary festival, were present among the audience.

Bhutto's address was followed by a detailed discussion on Binoo K John's book Last Song of Savio De Souza with journalist and writer Suresh Menon and the author.

Aswhin Sangi spoke about his work Chanakya's Chant and shared his experiences with the audience.

Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunathilake spoke about his book Chinaman that is based on cricket.

Authors Mohammed Haneef [ Images ], Meena Kandaswamy and Paresh Mehrotra are expected to participate in the festival on Sunday, the last day of the festival.



Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/kovalam-literary-festival-kicks-off/20111001.htm

Kovalam Literary Festival: Fatima Bhutto Unplugged

Hailing from arguably the most powerful political family in Pakistan, Fatima Bhutto sees her visit to God's own country as a learning experience | By Yentha

Trivandrum: The fourth edition of the Kovalam Literary Festival is sure to be highlighted across the world with some help coming from the latest emerging name from the Bhutto family – 29 year old Fatima Bhutto. Unlike her predecessors this young and talented woman has earned her name through her prowess in transforming words to grasp the imagination of literature loving people from around the globe. In a glittering ceremony held at Hotel South Park, Fatima Bhutto was introduced to the media by Binoo K John, founder, Kovalam Literary Festival.

Talking to the media, Fatima Bhutto said that this was her first time in Kerala and that she was excited to be here. “There are not many South Indians who have visited Pakistan, and there aren't many from Pakistan who have visited this part of the world. So I see this as a learning experience and expect some cultural exchange. Kerala has a great culture and equality among its various religions. It has a high rate of literacy and of course you have great food.”

As a recognisable name in contemporary world literature, Fatima Bhutto holds high regard for Indian literature. “Everybody reads Indian novels nowadays,” she noted.

Belonging to the younger generation in the world of literature, Fatima Bhutto raised many eyebrows with her candid remarks on her dislike of Facebook. “Facebook intrudes into people's privacy and the people willingly surrender themselves to this intrusion. As a person who respects privacy, I am not a fan of Facebook.”

Talking about her view point on the political legacy of the Bhutto family, this young Bhutto opined that it was time for the Bhuttos to restrain from politics
“Bhuttos need to be outside politics to let the field to open up in Pakistan. As for me, I have not envisioned politics as an option in my career anytime.”

She also answered questions regarding the current state of chaos prevailing in the political and social scene in Pakistan.

“It would be absurd to term Pakistan a failed nation. But the system of governance we have there has certainly been a failure. The country is called a democratic state because public elections are held every five years. But it is only when these elections are conducted in a fair manner that the nation can be truly called a democratic nation. Also, there is the need for peace both in the national and international scene for the development of a country. I am against the accumulation of weapons by anyone anywhere in the world.”

When asked about her next book, the young Bhutto replied that all though she is yet to begin work on it, the book will be 'about Pakistan, about Karachi, about a place that's highly misunderstood by the rest of the world.'

The Kovalam Literary Fest is to commence at Kanakakunnu Palace grounds on Saturday, October 1. Fatima Bhutto will be delivering a lecture on politically relevant subjects between India and Pakistan at 10 in the morning. The festival is open to public and will also have book reading sessions by renowned authors like Shehan Karunatileke (Chinaman) and Mohammed Hanif (Our Lady Of Alice Bhatti). The festival will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of New and Renewable energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah.

Source: http://www.yentha.com/news/view/1/13985

Pakistan not failed state: Bhutto

Pakistan is now lorded over a by a man Fatima Bhutto calls 'my aunt’s oleaginous husband', but she insists the country is not a failed state.

The moment Asif Ali Zardari took over the reins of Pakistan her column in The Nation was discontinued, but Bhutto says Pakistani aspirations have always been democratic.

“Governments might have failed, systems might have failed. But Pakistan is a country that could be immensely rich,” she says.

Bhutto is in Kerala to inaugurate the fourth edition of Deccan Chronicle Kovalam Literary Festival on October 1.

“Don’t mistake what you see in Pakistan today as democracy. The country is notorious for its corruption and mismanagement. While the country is reeling from the onslaught of two consecutive floods, the government has the gall to put out a $3-million advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. You can’t call this democracy,” she says.

Politics seems to repel this young Bhutto. “I don’t see politics furthering anything progressive. I never wanted to be a politician. I always wanted to be a writer,” she says.

Bhutto keeps Face-book, too, at an arm’s length. “The intrusion is tremendous. Amid all the fun, people willingly surrender their privacy. Facebook is not my favourite medium,” she says.

Bhutto’s memoir Songs of Blood and Sword might not have been translated to Urdu, but it can be found in Hindi. Among Indian writers in English, she loves Rushdie and Naipaul.

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/kochi/pakistan-not-failed-state-bhutto-618

Govts have failed, not Pak: Fatima

Pakistan is now lorded over a by a man Fatima Bhutto calls “my aunt’s oleaginous husband” but she insists that Pakistan is not a failed state. The moment Asif Ali Zardari took over the reins of Pakistan her column in the Nation was discontinued but Ms Bhutto says that Pakistani aspirations have always been democratic.

“Governments might have failed, systems might have failed. But Pakistan is a country that could be immensely rich,” said Ms Fatima Bhutto on Friday. She is here to inaugurate the fourth edition of the Deccan Chronicle Kovalam Literary Festival on October 1. “Don’t mistake what you see in Pakistan today as democracy. The country is notorious for its corruption and mismanagement. While the country is reeling under the onslaught of two consecutive floods, the government has the gall to put out a three million dollar advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. You can’t call this democracy,” she said.

Politics seems to repel this young Bhutto. “I don’t see politics furthering anything progressive. I never wanted to be a politician. I always wanted to be a writer,” she said. She keeps Facebook, too, at an arm’s length. “The intrusion involved is tremendous. Amid all the fun, people willingly surrender their privacy. Facebook is not my favourite medium,” she said.
Fatima has her differences with Benazir Bhutto but she still harbours soft feelings for her aunt. “She was a courageous woman who held steadfastly to certain values. It is these memories of her that I treasure the most,” she said. She has a special place for India, too. Her memoir Songs of Blood and Sword might not have been translated into Urdu but it can be found in Hindi. Among Indian writers in English, she loves Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul.

And on the day, Ms Bhutto was found flaunting the most Indian of symbols: a blazing red bindi. “It’s is the first time I am applying one. The staff at the hotel where I stay did this,” she said.

Source: http://www.asianage.com/india/govts-have-failed-not-pak-fatima-196