Begum Nusrat Bhutto is no more in this world. But she would long be remembered for her great qualities with which she was blessed in abundance. She was a woman of substance, commitment and determination.
She was committed to the cause of democracy, determined to work for and ensure women empowerment and had a very soft corner for downtrodden people in general and the poor party workers in particular. She would walk into a hut or ‘jhuggie’ of a party worker with a smiling face and spend quite some time there inquiring about the welfare and well-being of the family members.
The role Begum Nusrat Bhutto played in politics and in the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD), particularly when her illustrious husband and first democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was overthrown and hanged by military dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, would always be remembered as a golden chapter in the country’s chequered political history. She took both the PPP and the MRD to new heights which even her political opponents have always recognised and appreciated then and even now when she lies in eternal rest along side her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and daughter Benazir Bhutto in the family graveyard.
But I was fortunate enough not only to have seen her in different capacities closely but also having the opportunity of working with her for several years as her Political Advisor.
She was strongly against corruption in politics. She also used to say in our interaction during tour of Punjab in connection with election that no corrupt Minister or bureaucrat should be tolerated under any circumstances. She was of the considered view that the corruption had spread during Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law regime like the kalashnikov culture and drug culture.
She was also the Chief Organizer of PPP Women Wing, a position which had afforded her much desired opportunity to work for women empowerment. Begum Nusrat Bhutto was so committed to the cause of democracy and democratic process , that one of the first things she had told me was that she wanted election of the PPP Women Wing held from down to tehsil level upto the Chairperson level all over the country. This task was accomplished over a period of three years from 1973 to 1976. She was herself elected unopposed as the Chairperson of PPP Women Wing.
Her life was full of struggles, sacrifices and sufferings. She had seen a lot of strife and hardship in her life but had stayed steadfast and undeterred.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto first lost her illustrious husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then her one son Mir Shahnawaz Bhutto, then second son Mir Murtaza Bhutto and furthermore, her eldest daughter Benazir Bhutto. But I don’t think that she was in the best of her mental and physical health conditions while living in Dubai when Benazir Bhutto was martyred in December 2007.
As a matter of fact, her health deteriorated after the assassination of her beloved son Mir Murtaza Bhutto, who was shot dead in Karachi. That was the beginning of the decline of the great woman who had already lost her husband and then her son. After this tragedy, she had gradually started showing no interest in politics and withdrawing herself to loneliness.
I was out of the country when Mir Murtaza Bhutto was shot dead in Clifton , Karachi , a short distance from his residence. On my return home, I went to the Prime Minister house offer my condolence. I had never before seen her in such bad shape before in all the years I had been associated with her as the Political Advisor, officially and then also unofficially.
She had stood firm and strong even when she was beaten up brutally by the police with batons at Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore, resulting in wounds to her head. She had faced all the rigours of military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq with courage, boldness and determination both as PPP Chairperson and as MRD leader.
She was made the Chairperson of PPP on the insistence of veteran political leader Shaikh Muhammad Rashid in view of the conditions then prevailing in the country as well as within the party. She had taken up the challenge very well and did not allow the fact that she was a woman to create any obstacles in discharging the duties and functions as PPP Chairperson despite losing her husband not so long ago.
As already mentioned Begum Nusrat Bhutto preferred to meet party workers whom she always treated with affection and as a loving mother. She was deadly against those party leaders who had betrayed Mr Bhutto and PPP in any manner and was of the view that such people should not be taken back in the party. I was with her in Noon house Lahore, along with Benazir Bhutto when Mr Bhutto was in the central jail undergoing trial at Lahore high court. During this period, she refused to meet a number of noted leaders who had betrayed Bhutto sahib.
It is a known bitter fact that after Mr Bhutto was hanged, his wife and daughter were not allowed to have his last glimpses and attend his funeral rites and were instead placed in detention at Sihala Rest House near Rawalpindi .
She despised General Ziaul Haq and even had been questioning Mr Bhutto as to why he had chosen such an unimpressive person as the Chief of Army Staff. She also did not like Zia-ul-Haq’s habit of flattery and feared that this person may cause some harm one day.
I also remember how kind she was even to animals. Begum Nusrat Bhutto was going in a vehicle to Jaranwala to address a gathering there. Ruksana Bangash and myself with her in the Pajero which was being driven by Tahir Niazi. Suddenly, a galloping horse appeared from one side of the road, sped past the vehicle hitting it slightly and disappeared. The vehicle, somehow, did not turn turtle. It was immediately stopped and Mr Niazi apologized to her for the incident. She asked me to go and find out whether the horse was safe and not injured after hitting the vehicle. She was relieved when I told her that the horse had disappeared which meant that it was not hurt.
There are many instances which I can quote here but for want of space it is not possible.
The writer is a PPP central leader and can be reached at his e-mail address fakharzaman21@yahoo.com