My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhutto

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NEW DELHI: Fatima Bhutto, niece of slain former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, says her "blood froze" on the day Asif Ali Zardari became the country's president and prompted her to send away her younger brother from the country fearing for his safety.

Zardari was accused of plotting the murder of Fatima's father Murtaza Bhutto but had been acquitted of the charge.

"On 20 September, 2008, on the 12th anniversary of Papa's death, Asif Zardari took his oath as president of Pakistan. The ceremony had been scheduled for the day before, the 19th, but had been moved on the orders of the new president, who rescheduled his big day for Saturday, Papa's barsi," Fatima writes in her just-released memoir "Songs of Blood and Sword".

"As he stood in front of parliament, which had voted him into the post almost unanimously (in the same highly democratic way that General Musharraf was 'elected' president), he paused in his speech and asked for a moment of silence to mark the occasion of his brother-in-law's death. My blood froze. It was as if he was taunting us.

"But that would be nothing compared to what would follow. On Zardari's first Pakistan Day as president he would honour Shoaib Suddle, one of the most senior police officers present at the scene when my father was killed. Suddle was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz, a national medal in recognition of his services to the people of Pakistan. Shoaib Suddle was then made the head of the Federal Investigation Bureau," Fatima writes.

Murtaza was killed Sep 20, 1996, when Fatima was 14, in a shootout with police near his Karachi residence. On Dec 3, 2009, a Karachi court acquitted 20 policemen charged with the killing.

After Benazir's government was dismissed in 1996, Zardari was detained for having a part in Murtaza's assassination. However, no charges were ever proved for want of evidence as the scene of Murtaza's assassination was wiped clean before police investigators could arrive.

Zardari's ascendancy also saw Fatima packing off her younger brother Zulfi. In the epilogue, dated April 2009, Fatima writes: "As I finish this book, it feels as though the world around me is slowly collapsing. There is a peculiar sense of deja vu as I write about the death of my father. There is a similar danger, a tangible feeling that we are not safe. Seven months ago, I packed my bags and flew to see my brother off in a foreign country.

"Zulfi had enrolled for the start of his A-level year, twelfth grade, at a private school not far from our house in Karachi. Some of his friends had got into the same school. They had made plans for a more relaxed year in which they would be treated like college students. In the autumn of 2008 Zulfi had just turned eighteen and was aware how precarious our situation had become since Asif Zardari had acquitted himself in our father's murder case. He was aware that because of our history with the man now called president, we weren't safe in our country any longer.

"When Zardari announced himself as the PPP's unanimously chosen presidential candidate we knew he would stop at nothing to reach the pinnacle of power. There was no turning back for him. Against all odds, he was going to rule Pakistan. We made the decision to take Zulfi out of the country. It was decision we had been avoiding, hoping it would not be necessary, since Benazir was killed in December 2007.

"But as Zulfi was the only surviving male heir of the Bhuttos, we couldn't take the risk of leaving him vulnerable. Besides Zulfi, the only remaining Bhuttos are (cousin) Sassi and I. We don't live in a country with a free press, we don't live in a country with an independent judiciary - or any judiciary for that matter. We have no safeguards against a violent and vindictive government," Fatima writes.

The book comes at a time when Zardari is set to be deprived of his sweeping powers through a constitutional amendment being tabled in parliament Friday to transfer to the prime minister major powers like the appointment of armed forces chiefs and reduce the president to a titular head of state.

The Bhutto family has had to contend with violence for the last four decades, losing one member every decade. Fatima's grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979 after what many consider to be a kangaroo trial. This was after he had been deposed as president by then army chief Gen Zia-ul Haq.

Her uncle Shahnawaz, 27, was found dead in Nice, France on July 18, 1985 under mysterious circumstances and the Bhutto family firmly believed he was poisoned. No one was brought to trial for the murder.

Her father, Murtaza, Shahnawaz's brother, was killed Sep 20, 1996, and her aunt Benazir was assassinated December 27, 2007.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 756517.cms
 
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gazoomartian

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

Bhutto family definitely had its share of curse. There has never been peace in that famil from the day ZABhutto played a major role in separating East Pakistan due to his arrogance, and lust of power.

All he had to do is give Mujeeb his justified and deserved power, saving my land of Mashriq. Bengalis would have most likely thrown Mujeeb out soon after anyway...

So Allah key mulk sey ghaddari karogey, saza paogey. History proves it....

Also, Fatima is trying to sell her memoire. One would wonder if she is trying to pave her way to get in Pak politics
 
S

shagi

Guest
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

Bhutoo was the most intellegent and capable leader this nation ever produced since its creation. No doubt he was the only polititian who had lasting effect on peoples of Pakistan and its politics. His legacy will survive along with this country. He is a legend. He may have done mistakes but his good deeds are far more than his trivial shortcomings. Actually putting blame on him of fall of East Pakistan is unfair. East Pakistan's fall was a direct result of policies and descions taken during marshall law and millitary rule in 60's. Pakistan is again trying to counter separatists feelings in blochistan and elsewhere hiped during Musharaf era. His positive impact on Pakistan is so deep that cashing his legacy will continue throughout the life of this country......and hopefully will live till end of time.
 

Raaz

(50k+ posts) بابائے فورم
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

gazoomartian said:
Bhutto family definitely had its share of curse. There has never been peace in that famil from the day ZABhutto played a major role in separating East Pakistan due to his arrogance, and lust of power.

All he had to do is give Mujeeb his justified and deserved power, saving my land of Mashriq. Bengalis would have most likely thrown Mujeeb out soon after anyway...

So Allah key mulk sey ghaddari karogey, saza paogey. History proves it....

Also, Fatima is trying to sell her memoire. One would wonder if she is trying to pave her way to get in Pak politics

Agreed!
 

Chaudhry_1960

Minister (2k+ posts)
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

Fatima should come out to save the party his grand father started. If she is such a big well wisher of the country as she pretends to be, she should go and spend some time in the root of PPP in Gadhi Khuda Baksh every month and be part of the people who are the true Bhutto loyalists and she should try to emerge from the real birth place of PPP. She need to come out her Palace in 70 Clifton and work like Benazir did. But NO, I dont think Fatima has the courage of Benazir, Fatima likes to stay in the luxury of her Palace and gather sympathies by being the daughter of a murdered leader and cash her father's death. She needs to come out and take Bhutto's party back from Zardaris.

Fatima if you really are the grand daughter of ZA Bhutto... PROVE IT.
 

gazoomartian

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

Chaudhry_1960 said:
Fatima should come out to save the party his grand father started. If she is such a big well wisher of the country as she pretends to be, she should go and spend some time in the root of PPP in Gadhi Khuda Baksh every month and be part of the people who are the true Bhutto loyalists and she should try to emerge from the real birth place of PPP. She need to come out her Palace in 70 Clifton and work like Benazir did. But NO, I dont think Fatima has the courage of Benazir, Fatima likes to stay in the luxury of her Palace and gather sympathies by being the daughter of a murdered leader and cash her father's death. She needs to come out and take Bhutto's party back from Zardaris.

Fatima if you really are the grand daughter of ZA Bhutto... PROVE IT.


well said [clap]
 
S

shagi

Guest
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

Chaudhry_1960 said:
Fatima should come out to save the party his grand father started. If she is such a big well wisher of the country as she pretends to be, she should go and spend some time in the root of PPP in Gadhi Khuda Baksh every month and be part of the people who are the true Bhutto loyalists and she should try to emerge from the real birth place of PPP. She need to come out her Palace in 70 Clifton and work like Benazir did. But NO, I dont think Fatima has the courage of Benazir, Fatima likes to stay in the luxury of her Palace and gather sympathies by being the daughter of a murdered leader and cash her father's death. She needs to come out and take Bhutto's party back from Zardaris.

Fatima if you really are the grand daughter of ZA Bhutto... PROVE IT.
So that she is also killed.
 

rakeem82

Banned
Re: My blood froze when Zardari became president: Fatima Bhu

gazoomartian said:
Chaudhry_1960 said:
Fatima should come out to save the party his grand father started. If she is such a big well wisher of the country as she pretends to be, she should go and spend some time in the root of PPP in Gadhi Khuda Baksh every month and be part of the people who are the true Bhutto loyalists and she should try to emerge from the real birth place of PPP. She need to come out her Palace in 70 Clifton and work like Benazir did. But NO, I dont think Fatima has the courage of Benazir, Fatima likes to stay in the luxury of her Palace and gather sympathies by being the daughter of a murdered leader and cash her father's death. She needs to come out and take Bhutto's party back from Zardaris.

Fatima if you really are the grand daughter of ZA Bhutto... PROVE IT.


well said [clap]


Well said? Did'nt Benazir Bhutto cashed sympathies of her dead father in order to garner sympathies of Pakistani fools[who only believe in caste-based, language-based politics], lived abroad and used it to get power in 1988[ which Fatima Bhutto mite never achieve] then kicked able party members and Bhutto friends like Mairaj Khalid and Mubasher Hasan out of the party. Recently Ghulam Mustafa Khar admitted that Benazir Bhutto was offered by military generals for a safe passage for Z.A. Bhutto before he was executed in order to save face of Pakistan which Benazir Bhutto declined, whether this report is true or not, Peoples Party stands for the feudals, lives in its own world negating awam's[poor and needy] daily suffering, if in trouble uses British policy of divide and rule, the most polarising party in Pakistan. Pakistan cannot exist forever on the idea and fantasy dreams this party invokes when groud realities are much different, 68 % of Pakistan is below poverty whereas the rest mite join taking the total to 80%. Anyhow when Pakistani fools vote for them then they also should suffer them. Israel, US and India would LOVE Peoples party to remain in power for years as in the garb of Pakistani party they are damaging Pakistan from within.