With the death of Begum Nusrat Bhutto ends the political chapter of immediate family of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Begum saheba’s (as she was called out of respect) only surviving daughter Sanam Bhutto has chosen to remain apolitical. Nusrat Bhutto’s life was tragic and she suffered while she lived, having to endure judicial murder of her husband and two sons. Fate was kind to her in a sense that when Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto died, she had lost her memory to Alzheimer’s decease. Mir Murtaza Bhutto’s murder was a sorrow she could never come to terms with. She was greatly perturbed that Murtaza’s murderers were never apprehended and justice was denied to her family.
It is really sad that in spite of her death being announced on national television, the elected PM of PPP, found it appropriate to visit Ch Shujaat’s residence in Lahore to extend his felicitation on release of Moonis Elahi. This political visit could have been postponed as a gesture to the memory of a lady, without whose contribution, the PPP might not have survived.
Perhaps, Yousaf Raza Gilani cannot understand feelings and emotions of real and genuine jialas of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He is amongst those entrants to the PPP, who served under Zia-ul-Haq, the man responsible for the murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. How insensitive people can be, is shocking to those in whose memory Zulfikar Ali Bhutto continues to live and so does his message. This insensitivity becomes all the more repulsive and unacceptable because of the role of Ch Zahoor Elahi’s family in the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. May her soul rest in eternal peace!
ANEELA CHANDIO
Sukkur
(II)
Begum Nusrat Bhutto had rendered unprecedented sacrifices for the cause of democracy and restoration of basic rights in country. During the last days of first military dictator General Ayub Khan in late 60s, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) was arrested for leading movement for restoration of democracy. Begum Bhutto came into politics to fulfill the gap for time being.
During the regime of military dictator General Ziaul Haq, she led the protest demonstrations for restoration of democracy at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore when General Gillani was Governor of Punjab. She was brutally tortured resulting in severe bleeding from her head and face.
I still remember when late Jatoi was to take oath as PM under General Zia’s regime, she put a stopper to any such movement by issuing timely statement that any person who would become Prime Minister using PPP’s name, he should treat himself out from the party before the ink of his signature as PM becomes dry. Let us salute this great lady who made history through struggle for democracy in country.
MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL
Karachi
(III)
Begam Nusrat Bhutto’s natural death has broken the spell which had overshadowed Bhuttos for decades: many Bhuttos died unnatural death.
The sad but natural demise of Begam Bhutto reminds me of J M Synge’s ever cherished “Riders to the Sea.” In Irish playwright’s masterpiece drama all members of an islander’s family die by drowning in the sea one after the other. Their bodies are engulfed by the water and they remain deprived of land burial.
When the last son of Mauria, the protagonist, also dies young at the sea, luckily his body is retrieved. The mother at this tragic loss with tearful eyes and trembling voice rejoices that her son is going to have a land burial at least.
Bhuttos’ story is ridden with tragedies. The sufferings of Bhutto family, the protagonist of Pakistani politics, are even greater then the protagonist of Synge. All the well known Bhuttos suffered from unnatural and accidental deaths.
The charismatic ZAB was given the reward of his relentless services to the nation with his judicial murder. Then Shahnwaz was poisoned mysteriously and Murtaza was shot in Karachi when his own real sister was in office as PM. And then Benazir was killed mercilessly on December 27 when she had just addressed a huge gathering in Rawalpindi. Begam Bhutto’s demise is an end of an era and it has been rightly mourned by all and sundry.
TASSAWUR BOSAL
Mandi Bahauddin
With men like Gillani who had served under Zia and Babar Awan another hardcore anti ZAB, this coteire of PPP, for whom money is god, they could never understand that felicitating Ch Shujaat on Moonis Elahi's engineered release, could have waited. Perhaps they had not got the party line by than and acted according to their own feelings, where Nusrat Bhutto had no place
@ Aneela—Look at the hypocracy and staged mourning of this PPP, whose PM thought it fit and proper to extend congratulation to Chaudhry Pervaiz and Ch Shujaat by visiting their home hours after the announcement of Nusrat Bhutto's death. Yet in order to continue to play politics with dead bodies of unfortunate Bhuttos, the PM announced a nation wide holiday to mourn her death, having eaten sweets offered by the thugs from Gujrat on yet another of many successful heists of theirs.
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