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:
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