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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Senators pay rich tributes to former first lady</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/283030/senators-pay-rich-tributes-to-former-first-lady</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/283030/senators-pay-rich-tributes-to-former-first-lady#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Oct 11 05:26:44 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[qamar.zaman]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Controversy narrowly avoided between the PML-N and the PPP.]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Senate on Wednesday passed a unanimous resolution to condole Begum Nusrat Bhutto’s demise and eulogised her services and sacrifices for democracy.


The proceedings of the house were cut short to pay homage to the former first lady but a potential skirmish between the PPP and the PML-N was defused by Chairman Senate Farooq H Naek. The house offered dua for Begum Bhutto and passed a resolution which stated she was an icon of democracy and championed the rights of the oppressed and for women’s empowerment. Her leading role in the Movement for the Restoration of Demo­cracy was greatly appreciated. When the PPP’s Sabir Baloch was given the floor, he asked PML-N senators including Raja Zafarul Haq to follow Javed Hashmi’s example and apologise for supporting dictators.  However, Haq reminded the chairman that the purpose of adopting a unanimous resolution was to avoid controversial debate in the house. “Our history is full of controversies, let’s not dig them out,” he said. Consequently, chairman Senate refused to provide Baloch an opportunity for rebuttal.

Senator Haji Adeel from the Awami National Party (ANP) condemned Muammar Qaddafi’s execution and referred to UN conventions which guarantee fair trial.  He was seconded by former law minister Dr Babar Awan. Senator Neelofar Bakhtiar said the house should pass another resolution to commemorate a young man who set himself on fire in front of Parliament House and a railways pensioner who died before he could collect his pension. She requested the chairman to allot her a seat on opposition benches.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Mourning Begum Nusrat Bhutto: PPP Central Executive Committee pays homage</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/283058/mourning-begum-nusrat-bhutto-ppp-central-executive-committee-pays-homage</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/283058/mourning-begum-nusrat-bhutto-ppp-central-executive-committee-pays-homage#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Oct 11 04:24:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sarfaraz.memon]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=283058</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Zardari, Bilawal chair meeting; discussion on PML-N, Mirza noticeably absent.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Amidst tight security, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Central Executive Committee meeting held in Naudero paid homage to the party’s former chairperson Begum Nusrat Bhutto and adopted a resolution in this regard.


Speaking on the occasion, PPP Co-chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, presiding over the meeting with Co-chairperson President Asif Ali Zardari, paid rich tributes to his grandmother. Bilawal said that she was a symbol of courage and sacrifice for party workers and in particular, female workers. Begum Nusrat Bhutto was a woman who never gave up her struggle for the restoration of the democracy, the PPP chairman said. Apart from being a great leader and a brave woman, she was a very loving and caring grandmother, he added.

President Zardari, referring to the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in which Begum Nusrat Bhutto played a central role, said the movement represented the start of the reconciliation process.

Political pundits had expected that the meeting would also discuss a number of other issues on the party’s agenda, but the meeting solely discussed the contributions of the late Nusrat Bhutto. It was expected that the fate of former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza who has in recent months spoken out several party leaders and in particular against Interior Minister Rehman Malik would be discussed. It was also expected that the meeting would brainstorm on how to tackle the ‘protest movement’ launched recently by opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>One funeral to another: Zardari leaves Bilawal to receive mourners</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281985/one-funeral-to-another-zardari-leaves-bilawal-to-receive-mourners</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281985/one-funeral-to-another-zardari-leaves-bilawal-to-receive-mourners#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 11 20:05:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sarfaraz.memon]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=281985</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[President flies to Riyadh with PML-Q chief for burial of Saudi crown prince.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[President Asif Zardari left his son Bilawal on Tuesday to handle the scores of people offering condolences for Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who was buried the day before in Garhi Khuda Baksh, home of the Bhutto family mausoleum, near Larkana.


Zardari flew to Saudi Arabia, along with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), to attend the funeral of crown prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz. The funeral took place at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.

Earlier, Zardari met a six-member delegation from the PML-Q, who offered their condolences over the loss of his mother-in-law. Five members of the PML-Q went to Garhi Khuda Baksh and offered prayers for Nusrat Bhutto.

The delegation, which comprised Mushahid Hussain Syed, Ghous Bux Mahar, Mohammad Ali Malgani, Naseer Mengal and Haleem Adil Shaikh, later visited Naudero House to offer condolences to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other family members. The delegation also visited Al-Murtaza House in Larkana to condole with Ghinwa Bhutto, Zulfikar Bhutto Jr and Fatima Bhutto.

Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, the former Sindh home minister, reached Garhi Khuda Baksh on Monday night. Later, he went to Naudero House and condoled with Zardari and other family members. According to sources, Mirza stayed the night in Naudero, but not at Naudero House.

A large number of PPP workers visited Garhi Khuda Baksh on Monday and offered prayers for Nusrat Bhutto. According to reports, party workers were not allowed to enter Naudero House, though thousands gathered at Al-Murtaza House.

Zulfiqar Jr and Fatima Bhutto, the son and daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, were tight-lipped in front of the media. Sources claimed that the ‘chief’ of the Bhutto clan, Sardar Aamir Bhutto, had tried to persuade Zardari to hand the body of Nusrat Bhutto over so that the funeral could take place at Al-Murtaza House.

Ghinwa Bhutto spoke of her family’s grief, adding that Zulfikar Jr and Fatima would make a decision whether to enter politics or not after completing their studies.

Shujaat belittles PML-N’s tactics

Meanwhile, the head of the ruling PPP’s biggest coalition ally - Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q - used the funeral of Begum Bhutto as an excuse to portray the opposition, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as callous for continuing their efforts to dislodge the government at a time of national mourning.

In his comments to the media at Sukkur airport on Tuesday, Shujaat appealed to the PML-N to postpone its protests in the wake of the death of Nusrat Bhutto.

Shujaat also stated that his party would contest the general elections under its own banner, rather than as part of the Pakistan People Party. He did not rule out seat adjustments, however.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The death of an icon</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281684/the-death-of-an-icon</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281684/the-death-of-an-icon#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 11 15:49:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shirin.sadeghi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=281684</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Iranian-born Ispahani was a political mind in her own right, skilled in the diplomatic arts and politically informed.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Begum Nusrat Ispahani, also known as Nusrat Bhutto, the Iranian-born second wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was from Esfahan’s wealthy Hariri family dynasty, a merchant line whose family name originates from the word ‘harir’ — a quality silk fabric — and which has prominent branches across the Middle East, notably in Syria. She married Bhutto in 1951 and long after he was executed would speak of their mutual affection.

Though she grew up in pre-Partition India (in what later became Pakistan), she was raised with Iranian culture in her home; learning fluent Farsi, eating Iranian food and practicing Iranian traditions, including the celebration of the ancient Iranian New Year, Nowruz.

She taught all four of her children, including Benazir, Farsi (which they not only understood, but spoke, according to a 2010 interview I did with Ispahani’s granddaughter, Fatima Bhutto) and also raised them with Iranian culture. Nonetheless, she was quite assimilated into Pakistani culture as well, esteemed as a style icon for her glamorous saris, immaculate hairdos and fine jewellery. She was, like most of the Iranians who settled in Karachi in the early 20th century, fluent in Urdu and Sindhi and is prized by Pakistanis as one of their own.

With her death, the only living member of the original Bhutto political family is Sanam, Ispahani and Bhutto’s youngest daughter. As the only Bhutto not involved in politics, Sanam was long presumed to outlive her other family members. With Ispahani’s death, however, the political fallout of the Bhutto dynasty is far from over. In the hours following her death, the most vocal of her family members, granddaughter Fatima Bhutto, and Fatima’s adoptive mother, the Lebanese Ghinwa Bhutto, have come forward saying that they had been denied access to Ispahani and hadn’t even been given the courtesy of being informed privately of her passing.

Many experts agree that it was Ispahani who gave Zulfikar Ali the boost he needed to rise from being a successful junior lawyer in Karachi to Pakistan’s youngest delegate to the United Nations in 1957. It was, after all, the first president of Pakistan, Iskandar Mirza, married to an Iranian woman, Naheed Begum, who appointed Bhutto to the UN role. And it was through Naheed’s friendship with her fellow Iranian living in Pakistan, Ispahani, that this significant door to the highest levels of Pakistani politics was opened. President Mirza’s ties to the Iranians were so strong that after his 1969 death when then Pakistani President Yahya Khan denied him burial in Pakistan, his body was flown to Tehran where it was given a state funeral under the Shah.

But it wasn’t just Ispahani’s high-powered Iranian friends in Karachi (Naheed Mirza’s being just one of several pivotal friendships during Bhutto’s rise to power) that helped Bhutto’s political career. The Iranian-born Ispahani was a political mind in her own right, skilled in the diplomatic arts and politically informed. She eventually became the head of the Pakistan Peoples Party that her husband left behind. She is still remembered by many Pakistanis for participating in street demonstrations — photographs of the baton beatings she endured during one political protest are still circulated on social networks by young Pakistanis.

She publicly supported son Murtaza (father of Fatima) over Benazir to be the successor of the PPP following their father’s execution and publicly denounced her prime minister daughter for, according to my 2010 interview with Fatima, “attacking her own mother’s house” after a 1994 incident during which police surrounded the famous Bhutto residence in Larkana and shot and killed several people in the house. Ispahani later openly accused Benazir of complicity in Murtaza’s assassination, also during Benazir’s premiership.

It was not long after that assassination that Ispahani was whisked away to Dubai, never to be seen or heard from again by the Pakistani public or the family she left behind. Fatima, in particular, has often described her affections for her Iranian grandmother and the heritage she garnered from her. She dedicated her first book, Songs of Blood and Sword, to Ispahani (the book’s title is derived from a famous revolutionary poem by Iranian poet Khosro Golsorkhi) and told me that “Benazir took her in 1997 and they haven’t allowed us to see her since” because “she’s held incommunicado”.

She was visibly moved by talk of her grandmother. “It’s always been a part of the shadows of our lives, this Iranian side,” she told me. “Whether it’s the poetry, or the music, or… my grandmother”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Highest civilian award for the woman who fought dictators</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281393/highest-civilian-award-for-the-woman-who-fought-dictators</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281393/highest-civilian-award-for-the-woman-who-fought-dictators#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 11 04:19:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Grieved PPP leaders pay rich tributes to Begum Bhutto.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s highest civilian award, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, was posthumously conferred upon Begum Nusrat Bhutto on Monday.


While President Asif Ali Zardari organised Begum Bhutto’s funeral prayers in Naudero House, Acting President Farooq H Naek approved the award in his absence.

“Begum Nusrat Bhutto has been conferred with the highest civilian award for her relentless fight against dictatorship that spanned over decades,” said a statement released by the Presidency to announce the award, which is usually announced on the Independence Day in August.

“In recognition of her struggle for democracy and the agonies suffered for the cause, the government has also conferred on her the special title of Madar-e-Jamhooriyat (Mother of Democracy),” the statement said.

Paying tribute to the woman who single-handedly kept the party together, Pakistan Peoples Party’s estranged members – former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza and Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik – insisted that there must be no talk of political differences on this sorrowful day.

“Today is not a day for politics. This is the house from where we learnt everything – from personal integrity to political acumen – and today, there is sorrow in that house,” Mirza told The Express Tribune outside Naudero House, where he had come to meet the president and condole with him.

Malik chose to restrict the conversation to praising the police and Rangers for foolproof security arrangements and honouring Begum Bhutto’s life. “If there were a title more honourable than that of Mother of Democracy, we would have given that to her,” he said. “Her courage in her struggle for restoration of democracy is commendable and for everyone to see.”

PPP’s fierce opponent PML-N’s Sindh head Ghouse Ali Shah said that for this day, all differences had been put aside. “We have come to condole with President Zardari and he was a gracious host. We will also go and meet Ghinwa Bhutto and her family,” he said.

Former information minister Sherry Rehman, who is known for her close association with assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, said that Begum Bhutto’s struggle for democracy will be remembered forever as will her work for women’s rights.

“She was an Iron Lady. She established a women’s wing in the PPP and trained Benazir Bhutto to fight against army rule and restore democracy in the country,” Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan told reporters at Sukkur Airport.

(With additional reporting by Ahmed Jung in Naudero and Sarfaraz Memon in Sukkur)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>In respect: Diwali celebrations put off</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281193/in-respect-diwali-celebrations-put-off</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281193/in-respect-diwali-celebrations-put-off#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 21:49:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=281193</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Hindu Council arranges a musical night every year at Diwali.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Diwali celebrations scheduled for October 29, Saturday, have been postponed by different organisations in part out of reverence for Begum Nusrat Bhutto.


The annual Arts Council event will now be held on November 14 instead, said Raja Chauhan, the founder and organiser of the group Culture Creators, while talking to The Express Tribune.

The triumph of good over evil, colorful rangolis and firecrackers are the highlights of the Hindu festival, but for the people of Sindh this year’s celebrations have already been marred by two tragedies - the flood and the death of Begum Nusrat Bhutto - a family much loved and supported by the Hindus.

The Pakistan Hindu Council arranges a musical night every year at Diwali but it has been cancelled. Instead, the council will hold a combined wedding ceremony for needy couples on November 12. Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who is the patron in chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, explained that the spirit of celebration was already low because of the floods. Numerous Hindu families living in Sindh’s countryside have been severely affected by the floods and are internally displaced at the moment, he said. But the death of Begum Nusrat Bhutto has further lowered spirits among the Hindus of the province as they have always been great supporters of the Bhutto family.

He said that in view of the dismal state of flood-affected families the council is planning to arrange a combined wedding ceremony for as many couples as possible. “We are gathering resources to marry off as many as 120 couples this time, which is more than previous years.”

In Karachi, temples will, however, mark the occasion with pooja ceremonies. The largest gathering usually takes place at the Swami Narayan Mandir near the city courts, said Raja Assermal.

There are four more temples that attract people as well. They include the Temple of Laxmi Narayan at Native Jetty, Hanuman Mandir at Soldier Bazaar, Sheetla Mata temple at Bheempura and the Shiv Mandir.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The making of Garhi Khuda Buksh</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281272/the-making-of-garhi-khuda-buksh</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281272/the-making-of-garhi-khuda-buksh#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 21:09:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Bhuttos’ final resting place - two designs and almost two decades in the making.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[At night, powerful beams light up the domes of the ‘Taj of Garhi Khuda Buksh’, casting a glow of simple splendor over its surroundings.


The history of the mausoleum at Garhi Khuda Bukhsh in Larkana began in 1979 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was laid to rest here. Though little known at that time, this was the ancestral graveyard of the Bhutto family.

Though the graveyard dates to before the British Raj, it was not until 1993 that Benazir Bhutto decided to turn it into an official mausoleum.

Describing her brother Shahnawaz’s funeral in her autobiography ‘Daughter of the East’, Benazir wrote: “And Sanam and I still had to pick out the site for his grave. We hadn’t been able to do that for my father. This time I wanted to be able to plan the space, to place Shah far enough away from my father so there would be room later to build mausoleums for both of them.”

As an edifice over the graves of Bhutto family elders already existed, a competition was held to decide the best design for the mausoleum.

Former Larkana nazim Khursheed Junejo, who supervised its construction, told The Express Tribune how Zaigham Jaffery was initially appointed the architect from 1993 till 1997. After that, construction work paused for a while and Benazir expressed the desire for a more Islamic style design. In 2003, the project was restarted and a second competition was held.

A committee was formed and Benazir looked at 11 shortlisted presentations by both national and international designers.

Finally, the proposal made by architect Waqar Akbar Rizvi came out on top as his design received the committee’s unanimous approval. His design, however, did not sit too well with the original architect, Jaffery, who told The Express Tribune of his original vision for the mausoleum.

“They told me that Benazir and Nusrat Bhutto had looked over all of the designs personally in Islamabad,” he recalled. “She got in touch with me immediately after.”

The first of their hurdles came up soon after. “The graves of the Bhutto gentlemen were not laid out in a precise order so it was difficult to stick with the original design which was meant to cover her immediate family.”

The extended Bhutto family members then insisted that the entire gravesite should be constructed properly as it was, after all, a family graveyard.

“When I started working on the site, Benazir asked me to visit Ayatollah Khomeini’s and Kemal Ataturk’s mazaars and draw some influence from them. I went on my own expense and tried my best to incorporate what I saw there.”

“I tried to incorporate the Shalimar Gardens into the structure. My original design did not have any domes in it, I don’t know who gets credit for that now but it wasn’t my idea,” he explained. “What I had wanted were five arches - which would reach out like arms, they represented the five great things Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had done.”

Master Plan: Circles and squares

The main concept was to incorporate the existing ground level structure while integrating an Islamic style dome in keeping with local culture. The best way to do this was to reinforce the existing structure and to use a lightweight material for the main mausoleum to avoid overloading.

The main theme revolves around squares and circles - a square platform, with a central dome encircled by four smaller domes. The number of domes, five, was picked for its significance in the Islamic world. The domes, circular at the base with huge pedestals on top, are steel structures covered by light ferro-cement concrete.

The mausoleum - main building

The main entrance is from the West to East staircase, there are two more staircases at the front while another two are on the inside. The ground sinks down right below the main dome and the floors all around it are raised with hanging balconies and verandas at all four corners for visitors. The floors are of gleaming white marble tiles with floral borders.

The external surface of the building is coated in the same super white marble with a combination of golden marble. The interior and artwork were planned separately and glazed tiles inscribed with calligraphy and fresco work and based on Sindhi Hala patterns have been used inside and outside the mazaar.

During her last visit to the mausoleum, Benazir sat beside the grave of her father and read the Holy Quran and expressed the wish to also be buried there. Now, she and her two brothers, Murtaza and Shahnawaz lie there beside him.

External development

There are 58 acres of land surrounding the mausoleum. In accordance with Benazir’s wishes there are a total of five entrances developed into a compound wall - two on each side and a main entrance. Each doorway is covered with a beautifully designed burj. The compound is large enough to house huge gatherings on the anniversaries.

As you enter the compound from the main entrance, the central aisle leads to the main stage made for public addresses on such occasions. The aisle is flanked with fountains and decorated pavements.

The courtyards are replete with pole lights and flowerbeds while the main mausoleum is lit up with floodlights mounted on high-rise towers - a breathtaking view at night.

The entire structure is designed for large public gatherings, which is why toilets, huge car parking spaces to the right and left of the compound and a helipad were factored in.

Deceased Bhuttos: Buried at Ghari Khuda Baksh

Sir Shah Nawaz Khan Bhutto and his wife, Lady Khurshid

Sikander Bhutto

Imdad Ali

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Shahnawaz Bhutto

Murtaza Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto

Nusrat Bhutto

With writing by Tooba Masood and Husna Anwar and images and additional information published in Archi Times’ December 2008 by Architect Syed Raza Abbas

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan mourns death of 'mother of democracy' at candlelight vigils</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281042/pakistan-mourns-death-of-mother-of-democracy-at-candlelight-vigils</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/281042/pakistan-mourns-death-of-mother-of-democracy-at-candlelight-vigils#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 17:08:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[owais.jafri]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Members of political parties, lawyers and civilians gather in Islamabad and Multan to pay tribute to Begum Bhutto.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) along with members of the civil society arranged a candlelight vigil in Islamabad and Multan late on Monday to pay tribute to former First Lady Nusrat Bhutto, who passed away in Dubai on Sunday.

People held placards and banners referring to Begum Bhutto as the ‘mother of democracy in Pakistan.’ The participants at the gathering, joined by members of other political parties, lawyers and civilians, said that the Bhutto family has sacrificed their whole family for the sake of democracy in Pakistan.

They said that nobody can fill the vacuum opened after her death.

The mourners also urged the political parties to get united for strengthening democracy in the country.

Representatives of the minority groups were also present at the vigil, who said that they will remember Begum Bhutto for her sacrifices for women, minorities and democracy in Pakistan.]]>
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			<title>A tribute to Pakistan’s iron lady</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280841/a-tribute-to-pakistan%e2%80%99s-iron-lady</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280841/a-tribute-to-pakistan%e2%80%99s-iron-lady#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 16:51:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[yaqoob.khan.bangash]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280841</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nusrat Bhutto's steadfastness, perseverance, loyalty and commitment which made her the ‘iron lady’ of Pakistan.]]>
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				<![CDATA[October 23, 2011 saw Nusrat Bhutto breathe her last. Even though she had been hidden from the public eye for more than a decade, her death is a great loss for our country. Nusrat Bhutto belonged to an age when Pakistan was still a young country, full of promise, hope and aspirations. When she married the dashing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1951, Pakistan was barely a few years old, and had just overcome the initial pangs of birth. Within her lifetime, Pakistan emerged from the shocks of Partition, became an Asian tiger, was split in two, saw three military regimes and ultimately attained its current semi-anarchic state. But together with seeing the slow and painful destruction of her adopted homeland, Nusrat also bravely faced the execution of her husband in a travesty of justice and the untimely death of three of her four offsprings. Her steadfastness, perseverance, loyalty and commitment are qualities which indeed made her the ‘iron lady’ of Pakistan.

Nusrat Bhutto’s merit was that she did not seek limelight for herself. Rather, she supported her husband as first lady and then her daughter, Benazir, when she sought elected office. This ‘supporting role’ was critical for these two prime ministers, as they found in Nusrat a confidante and guide.

Nusrat Bhutto’s main contribution to Pakistan was when she stood up against a dictator when no one was ready to do so — that is when she showed her real mettle as a principled and inspiring leader. Amidst the depth of Ziaul Haq’s repression of the political parties, judiciary, and even the general population, it was Nusrat Bhutto who started the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD). The MRD, which was composed of the Peoples Party and several other smaller parties, was the only voice of the people of Pakistan, when it seemed that the country had almost lost its soul due to the draconian polices of the Zia regime. Nusrat led the cause of democracy when several political leaders had left the country and no one was ready the to face the wrath of a vengeful dictator. Nusrat persevered through arrests, beatings, and almost daily disappointments, to finally witness the demise of the Zia regime and the ascendency of her daughter Benazir to power. Certainly, as Benazir later reiterated, democracy was the best revenge.

Nusrat Bhutto was also a strong example for women in Pakistan. When she married Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the majority of Pakistani women had few rights — most were still treated as second class citizens and expendable commodities. As late as 1975, Nusrat noted: “Women here (in Pakistan) are treated like pieces of furniture… we are human beings, and we should be heard”. Nusrat, therefore, joined the ranks of women like Fatima Jinnah and Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, strong emancipated women who inspired, and continue to inspire, generations of women to stand up for their equal rights. Her Persian charm, erudite conversation, fine sense of fashion and, above all, self-confidence, made Nusrat Bhutto a model for women in Pakistan to follow.

In the end, Nusrat Bhutto was simply a good person — a good wife, mother, grandmother, principled politician, an inspiring feminist and a tireless worker. Seldom do such qualities converge in a single person.

It was perhaps divine grace that Nusrat Bhutto retreated from the public eye in the late 1990s. The current state of Pakistan would have certainly broken her heart. With her death, the older generation of seasoned people and politicians has almost come to an end. We now have politicians who have no principles, no morals, no integrity and no sense of commitment. Even in her illness, Nusrat Bhutto was an example of courage for us; let us not forget what she and her daughter stood for.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Nusrat Bhutto: The fashion icon</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280904/nusrat-bhutto-the-fashion-icon</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280904/nusrat-bhutto-the-fashion-icon#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 15:17:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[taneeya.hasan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fashion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280904</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The former first lady’s demise left a fissure in the fraternity of chic politicians.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Nusrat Bhutto passed away in Dubai on October 23 at the age of 82. Bhutto, the widow of former Pakistani president and prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), had been suffering from cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. She had been living in Dubai since 1998 with her daughter Benazir and her grandchildren Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Aseefa, and had largely been kept out of public eye.

Nusrat Bhutto was known as a style icon, the personification of grace under pressure and a sharp politician in her own right. She was ZAB’s second wife, and played a pivotal role in kick-starting his political career, using her Iranian heritage to win favour for her husband with then president Iskander Mirza. She took over the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after her husband’s government was ousted by General Ziaul Haq in 1977.

Apart from being a shrewd politician, Nusrat Bhutto was also one of the style icons of Pakistan. From experimenting with soft pin-curls and fox fur boleros to sporting her signature pearl necklace and bold rouge-stained lips — the very manifestation of grace since British colonisation in India — at numerous public appearances, Bhutto’s modish style statement challenged all those who believed that politicians can’t be fashionable. The former first lady’s peaches and cream complexion was the courtesy of her Iranian lineage, while her voguish poise was an outcome of her effort to be the perfect emblem of her almost-royal Bhutto tag.

Many of us associate Hollywood veterans like Sophia Lauren with pencil-thin, high-arched eyebrows, but are not aware that Bhutto was one of the very few women of Pakistan during the 1970s epoch to adopt this statement and carry it with confidence. Even though most of her fashion footprints got lumped into the trend wave of 1970s, and were overshadowed many a times by the glitz of highly advertised Hollywood beauties of that time, Bhutto still managed to retain her roots and subcontinental disposition through her iconic saris and flared shalwars.

An interview published in The Pittsburgh Press in 1973 states, “The begum wears native dress and appeared at the interview in a filmy sari of chiffon. She admitted the material came from Paris but added quickly that ‘Every stitch is stitched in Pakistan. We make beautiful materials — cottons, silks, everything’.”

The same interview stated that, “Nasra Hassan, an assistant at the embassy, wearing a chic black velvet pants suit and a turquoise in her nose, said, ‘In 1972-73, Pakistan was the number one exporter of cotton thread in the world’.”

To which begum replied, “We wear saris at night in my country and shalwars during the day. Shalwars are those trousers suits. They are baggy pants, caught at the ankles worn with a tunic or shirt and a little thin scarf around the neck. Very gauzy, you see.” Begum added with big smile, “In my country we do not show our legs. We show a little here,” she said, gesturing toward her neckline, “and a little here”, pointing to her midriff, “But not our legs. We do not have the miniskirt in Pakistan, you know.”

Deeply tied to her half-Pakistani and half-Iranian descent, the sophisticated and stylish lady embraced international fads by adding a Pakistani hue to them.

Journalist Fifi Haroon recalls, “Her style was an inspiration for the women of that era. The country had just started to recover from the partition of Bangladesh, so Mr Bhutto with his awami suits and Nusrat Bhutto with her saris were an inspiration that young people looked up to.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Ten feet tall</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280844/ten-feet-tall</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280844/ten-feet-tall#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 14:58:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[nasim.zehra]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280844</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[We need to credit Begum Bhutto for laying down the foundations of Pakistan’s difficult struggle against...]]>
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				<![CDATA[Begum Nusrat Bhutto’s death has forced us all to refocus on the almost forgotten icon of Pakistan’s democracy. As the Bhuttos — especially Sanam, Fatima, Zulfikar Jr and the rest — deal with the pain of her death, there is bound to be some bickering, power struggle and politicking. But there is a larger canvas that deserves recall.

Prolonged illness had meant that the woman who bravely and resolutely led the resistance against Pakistan’s most toxic dictatorship, who was the head of the PPP’s women’s wing and subsequently became its chairperson and a senior minister in the government, has largely been absent from Pakistan’s political narrative. Among the few known written accounts of Begum Bhutto’s role in Pakistan’s democratic politics are the ones written by the widely respected Bashir Riaz, now a chronicler of the Bhutto family.

It was this iconic figure who carved out a path of resistance and subsequently of a collective democratic struggle in the shape of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy — something that her equally brave daughter, Benazir, followed.

Until repeated tragedy broke her and she went into exile with her daughter, Begum Bhutto remained active on the domestic and international scene. In June 1993, she led, on then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s invitation, Pakistan’s delegation to the World Human Rights’ Conference in Vienna, and held her own with dignified ferocity. I was a delegate and saw her take up the cause of the Kashmiris with great conviction. In fact, she strongly chided the Foreign Office team for “trying to water down” her own text of the speech condemning Indian atrocities in the Valley. From the podium, in a hall full of delegates, Begum Bhutto shouted down the Indian delegates, who sought a right of reply to her very hard-hitting speech.

And when the Indian press raced towards her as she walked away from the podium and asked her question about Pakistan’s politics, she hit back saying “Do not try and divide us, here for the Kashmir cause we are all one.”

Begum Bhutto bore the brunt of repeated pain, of her husband’s trial and execution and finally after the violent deaths of her two young sons and subsequent intra-family pressures, Alzheimer’s pulled her away from public life. Burdened with these unbearable tragedies, it seems fate intervened with this memory-losing illness, as if to ease her pain.

Begum Bhutto and many others rose to the challenge of fighting a state that was most callous and ruthless and she came away walking tall. She has left us and our children a legacy of resistance and struggle that we will always be proud of. At the same time, we should never forget the times that she lived through because these were periods when the lives of many individuals were destroyed and when the country’s potential of a bright future was hijacked.

For Pakistan, the costs of dictatorship have been devastating. While there are many commentators who talk of the economic benefits of stable dictatorships, how do we ignore the yamounting and destabilising effect that they have on the nation? Dictatorships in Pakistan have delivered many a serious blow to democracy, derailing the one system that could hold our leaders and various state institutions accountable. Another point to note is that these dictatorships have contributed to the creation of our public narrative, which, thankfully, is now gradually being challenged.

We have to realise that the only way forward is a democratic system that allows us to hold accountable all those who are in positions of power and authority. Take the case of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who had to make an agreement with the opposition. General Zia felt no such need because dictatorships are not held accountable. Empowered by a vindictive capitalist class, which saw itself as being wronged by Bhutto, he drove us away from what would have been a semblance of a functioning system.

Dictatorships rob us of our stars in their prime and we are left to lament them. The irony is that only now in her death are we extolling her and applauding her for what she did and endured through her life. Rising above all other divides, we need to give credit to the one woman who helped lay down the foundations of Pakistan’s most difficult and yet most principled struggle against dictatorship. She must be given her due place in Pakistan’s democratic history.

This is why she should make all of us feel ten feet tall.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Reunited after 32 years: Begum Bhutto joins ZAB in Garhi Khuda Bux</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280784/ppp-leaders-gather-at-garhi-khuda-bux-for-begum-bhuttos-funeral</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280784/ppp-leaders-gather-at-garhi-khuda-bux-for-begum-bhuttos-funeral#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 13:00:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ahmed.jung]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280784</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[President Zardari, Bilawal lower body into grave as Ghinwa, Fatima organise prayers in absentia.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A final farewell for a woman who had been out of the public eye since the ’90s ensured that she will be remembered for many years to come.

The iconic Begum Nusrat Bhutto, the former first lady who has been christened the Mother of Democracy, was laid to rest in the Bhuttos’ ancestral graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bux, right next to her husband, Pakistan’s first democratically-elected prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Her sons Mir Murtaza and Shahnawaz and her daughter, two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto, are buried in the same compound.

Begum Bhutto’s only surviving progeny, Sanam Bhutto, arrived at the Sukkur Airport half an hour after the plane carrying Begum Bhutto’s body arrived from Dubai, where she passed away on Sunday.

Sanam was accompanied by her sister Benazir’s husband, President Asif Ali Zardari, and children Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik also accompanied them, while Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani landed shortly at the airport with a group of federal ministers, including Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar.

After a hurried guard of honour at the airport, Begum Bhutto’s coffin was taken by helicopter to Naudero House, where funeral prayers were scheduled to be held.

Funeral prayers and burial

Grief-stricken jiyalas and leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party, including members of the party’s Central Executive Committee and Sindh ministers, descended upon Naudero House to pay their last respects to the woman who had kept the party together after the PPP founder was hanged by General Ziaul Haq’s regime.

Rivals and allies alike reached Naudero to attend the funeral prayers. A four-member delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, comprising Ghouse Ali Shah, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Babu Sarfraz and Salim Zia, arrived at Naudero while a seven-member delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, including Dr Farooq Sattar and Dr Sagheer Ahmed, was also present.   An ambulance then took Nusrat Bhutto’s body to Garhi Khuda Bux, a 15-minute drive from Naudero, where her son-in-law Zardari and grandson Bilawal lowered it into the grave.

A number of attendees, including the prime minister, returned to Naudero House immediately after the burial while the president and his children stayed at the mausoleum, receiving mourners.

Former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza, whose recent public rift with the president and interior minister had made headlines, did not attend the funeral prayers but was present at the Garhi Khuda Bux mausoleum and later went to meet the president at Naudero House.

Funeral in absentia

But while Begum Bhutto successfully kept the party together after her husband’s death, she could not bring her family together in death.

Her older son Murtaza’s daughter Fatima Bhutto and wife Ghinwa Bhutto, who heads the PPP-Shaheed Bhutto faction, refused to attend the funeral and organised one in absentia at Al-Murtaza House, Larkana.

“No one informed us about her death,” Ghinwa told reporters. “My children even went to Dubai many times to meet their grandmother but how could PPP leaders arrange a meeting for them in Dubai since Zardari had held her hostage?”

Her son Zulfiqar Ali Junior, she said, was willing to attend the burial but couldn’t reach on time as police at Sukkur Airport created hurdles.

“She was my mother. It is extremely sad that her body will not be buried by the Bhutto family. It should first have been brought to 70 Clifton before being taken to Garhi Khuda Bux,” she said.

However, Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that Zardari had invited Ghinwa and her children to Naudero House for the funeral. “There should be no politics over her death. Everyone regardless of political and family differences is welcome to participate,” he quoted the president as saying.

(Read more: Nusrat Bhutto – the woman, wife and mother)

(With additional reporting by Hafeez Tunio in Karachi and Sarfaraz Memon in Sukkur)

Edited by Zainab Imam

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Sindh mourns as Begum Bhutto passes away at 82</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280564/sindh-mourns-as-begum-bhutto-passes-away-at-82</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280564/sindh-mourns-as-begum-bhutto-passes-away-at-82#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 04:37:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280564</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Public holiday to be observed across the province on Monday.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Security around the 70 Clifton residence of Begum Nusrat Bhutto was tight on Sunday. Her photo stood at the end of a long drawing room, propped up on a chair next to a Pakistan Peoples Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB) flag. At the entrance, a black flag marked the start of mourning.


The woman affectionately known as ‘Begum Bhutto’ became the first of Zulfikar Bhutto’s immediate family to pass away of natural causes. As the news spread, mourners gathered at the house to pay homage to the former first lady of Pakistan - the same residence that had been besieged by soldiers 30 years ago to make sure she would not escape.

“Begum Bhutto hid herself in the trunk of a car,” recalled Azhar Jameel, a Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) activist from the 1980s. “She was a woman with a strong will. There was no stopping her.”

Nusrat Bhutto launched the movement in 1981 against the military regime of General Ziaul Haq whose strategy was to suppress the opposition using force.

Regarded as a woman with a dynamic personality, Nusrat is credited with singlehandedly bringing political parties from the right and left of the ideological divide together. “That was her special quality. She had a way of bringing different groups together.”

When the movement gained strength, and the authorities became wary of her and tried to stop her, she had to conceal her identity. “I remember how she slipped unnoticed to Lahore in a train wearing burqa,” he reminisces, speaking to The Express Tribune over the phone.

The mood at her home, now the PPP-SB head office, was sombre with a hint of resentment. The family felt sidelined as the Bilawal House has taken over all funeral preparations.

Sikandar Ali Bhutto, a former PPP-SB Saddar Town president, chose to loudly vent his frustration at President Asif Ali Zardari and his proposed funeral arrangements. “No one is talking to us,” he shouted. “This is the place from where she left for Dubai and this is where her body should be brought.”

“The Bhutto’s home is empty now,” sobbed granddaughter and Benzair Bhutto’s estranged niece, Fatima Bhutto, “we were not even informed of her death.”

Inside the large house, Seema Rafiq, a PPP-SB activist, wept uncontrollably. “She treated us like her own kids. Her whole family was wiped out and now she is no more either.”

The mother who lost three of four children to violent deaths will also be remembered for the way she carried herself - with confidence and grace.

Dr Humaira Aziz, a friend of Benazir, remembers being awestruck by her friend’s mother. “I used to get so excited when I saw the things she used to wear, with so much elegance.”

Yet, with all that poise and glamour, Nusrat was a natural person. “She was a simple lady who was also really brave,” muses Aziz. “I was at their house every day in my younger days and she would come, sit and dine with us. I don’t know why, but that’s the time I remember the most clearly.”

However, Nusrat suffered  of mental torment after her son Murtaza passed away. “Even though the loss of Shahnawaz was a major blow, the death of Murtaza broke her completely.”

In a condolence message, Meraj Muhammad Khan, a founding PPP member, said that Nusrat played a major role in creation of the PPP. “She contributed even more for the restoration of democracy. Pakistan has lost another brave lady.”

Sukkur and Garhi Khudda Bux mourn

Business centres and public places in most of upper Sindh, including Larkana, Jacobabad, Thul and Ratodero were shut down immediately after the news of Nusrat Bhutto’s death spread like wildfire. Sources claim that some stores were forced to shut down by aerial firing. They pointed out Sindh Local Bodies Minister Agha Siraj Durrani had reached Garhi Khuda Bux and would be making arrangements for the funeral.

Hundreds of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and PPP-SB supporters have started to make their way towards Naudero Presidency and Al Murtaza House. The PPP-SB chairperson Ghinwa Bhutto is said to reach Al Murtaza House today. While talking to The Express Tribune, DCO Larkana Abdul Aleem Lashari, who was in Garhi Khuda Bux, said that a grave was being dug on the left side of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s grave. Sources claim that Nusrat Bhutto’s body would most probably be flown directly to Moen Jo Daro Airport and then taken to Garhi Khuda Bux for the funeral. Heavy contingents of policemen and Rangers have been deployed in Larkana, Naudero and Garhi Khuda Bux.

With additional reporting by Sarfaraz Memon and PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>A tribute: Begum Bhutto lived fighting, died fighting</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280716/a-tribute-begum-bhutto-lived-fighting-died-fighting</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280716/a-tribute-begum-bhutto-lived-fighting-died-fighting#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 04:32:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[wajid.shamsul.hasan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280716</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[It was Begum Bhutto who dared to challenge when they hounded her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Very few women in a nation’s history have left such an indelible imprint on sands of time as Begum Nusrat Bhutto. She lived fighting for the rights of her people and she died fighting with an incurable disease. She was one of the most outstanding, brave and courageous female leaders in the post-partition political history of the subcontinent. Indeed, likes of her are not born everyday.


Unlike many of her male counterparts who showed instant preference to surrender at the first crack of the military dictator’s whip, it was Begum Bhutto who dared to challenge when they hounded her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.  And it was during one of the public protests that she was baton-charged and received a bleeding head injury that remained unattended due to denial of proper medical care leading to gradual deterioration later.

I had met her when she was wife of Pakistan’s most dynamic young foreign minister ever — ZAB. I was a young journalist and both she and ZAB took an affectionate liking for me — a family relationship that continues to this day. It was May 1976 when I was getting married to Zarina, both Bhutto Sahib and Begum Sahiba graciously accepted to grace our wedding. Unfortunately, Bhutto Sahib could not come due to a big mishap at Tarbela Dam but Begum Sahiba flew in especially to bless us. My son Zulfikaur was born in March 1977 and she named him after Bhutto Sahib — a great honour that we cherish to this day.

I saw her last on her 81st birthday (March 23) Begum Bhutto’s gaze remained stuck on the horizon. She seemed overly blank but her once beautiful mien still retained its noble grace but the lines were full of tales not only of her eventful and yet tragic life, these were also a clear manifestation of her sufferings and a catalogue of crimes and follies of undemocratic rulers that have permanently scarred the pristine face of her beloved country.

It was, indeed, a historic coincidence that in the year 1929 on March 23 Isphanis of Karachi were gifted a daughter -Nusrat Khanum - who was chosen by destiny to be the great woman behind a colossus of a man that her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was and to their “dearest daughter” who was to blossom as the pride of Pakistan, Muslim world’s greatest leader.

An Iranian Kurd by origin tracing her ancestry to the legendary Islamic hero Salahuddin Ayubi - Nusrat Bhutto was endowed with an enormous store of compassion, grit, dauntless determination and courage. And her dynamism, love and care for humanity matured her into a young lady who would strive, seek and not yield at a challenging time when loads and loads of trains packed with refugees from India were pouring into Karachi in the aftermath of partition of the subcontinent. I, too, as a six-year old member of a large family led by my father late Syed Shamsul Hasan - were received by young volunteers.

Later when I saw Begum Sahiba’s picture I remembered her as one of the young members of Women’s National Guard set up by Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan.

By rare qualities of leadership and selfless service she inspired others and strengthened young nation’s will to survive despite the odds-a fact recognised and acknowledged by both Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and Begum Liaquat Ali Khan. Quaid, too, was proud of such Herculean services to aid the afflicted. Looking at their gigantic performance he had remarked that “no odds, no challenges, no difficulties could overawe a nation” that had youth like Nusrat in the field.

Her marriage to ZAB was also a great turning point in his life. She enabled him to harness his energies in the service of the nation to lead it onto pastures new. While he made his mark in politics, his wife stood behind him as a rock, through thick and thin--to see him travel rapidly in the realms of one success after the other. He was no doubt a gigantic leader in the making and the great woman behind him was Begum Bhutto. So was Benazir, fortunate to have her as her mother. She provided her strength to face the heaviest odds. Alas she is no more. We have been orphaned by her death. She will always live in our memory as the great lady who inspired hope in the darkest hours faced by the nation. May her soul rest in peace and Allah, the Most Compassionate bestow upon her His choicest blessings.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Nusrat Bhutto: The  embodiment of commitment</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280715/nusrat-bhutto-the-embodiment-of-commitment</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280715/nusrat-bhutto-the-embodiment-of-commitment#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 04:30:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qamar.zaman]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280715</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Political allies and foes come together to condole the gracious lady’s demise.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Begum Nusrat Bhutto, the mother who outlived the tragic deaths of three of her four children, was a maternal figure for many.

Political allies and foes came together to condole the death of the inimitable woman who continued her husband’s struggle.

“Begum Bhutto was a great lady. Despite facing torture, her resolution to spearhead the party did not shake for a single moment,” said senior PPP leader Naheed Khan.

In Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s death, she said, PPP workers had lost a father. “In her’s, they have lost a mother because the legacy of Bhutto revolves around her.”

“Her strong personality as a leader, a mother and wife remains a motivating force and a source of strength not only for her family but also for the entire nation,” said National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Information Secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan expressed grief as he condoled with the only surviving child Sanam Bhutto, Murtaza’s son Zulfiqar Ali Junior and other members of the bereaved family. “She had faced many hardships in her life including the long illness that she had suffered.” he said.

“Begum Nusrat Bhutto is the symbol of commitment as she remained by her husband’s side during the most enduring times and faced his killing with courage,” said Senator SM Zafar of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.

Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel of the Awami National Party termed her demise a great loss to democracy while Haider Abbas Rizvi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement remembered her as a lady who struggled throughout her life, even when her own companions abandoned her.

Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan also expressed grief over her death as he remembered her services for the cause of democracy in the country. All Pakistan Muslim League Chief and former president Pervez Musharraf expressed sorrow, in a message released by the APML central secretariat.

“It is the end of an era,” said Senator Professor Khursheed Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami, while condoling with the bereaving family. Paying a tribute to her lifelong struggle, he said she will always be remembered.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Nusrat Bhutto: The woman, wife and mother</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280714/nusrat-bhutto-the-woman-wife-and-mother</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280714/nusrat-bhutto-the-woman-wife-and-mother#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 11 04:21:45 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280714</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nusrat took on political roles while her husband was still in power.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Described as one of Karachi’s “most beautiful debutantes”, Begum Bhutto, nee Nusrat Ispahani, died in Dubai on Sunday.


Nusrat was born on March 23, 1929 to parents of Kurdish-Iranian heritage and was pampered by her elder sisters. She completed her senior Cambridge exams at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Bombay, but did not go to college.

In a 1975 interview, Nusrat said she refused to go to college because her grandfather insisted she will have to wear a burqa. “Women here (in Pakistan) are treated like pieces of furniture,” she said. “We are human beings, and we should be heard.”

Nusrat’s family migrated to Karachi in 1947. Nusrat joined the Pakistan Women’s National Guard, knew martial drill and learned to drive trucks and ambulances.

She met Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1949, when he returned to Karachi from Berkeley to attend his sister’s wedding. They were introduced by his mother when they ran into each other at a bank, and then later at the wedding, where Zulfikar kept dancing with Nusrat. Zulfikar proposed to Nusrat but she “took it as a joke” because she knew he was returning to college.

Bhutto’s parents objected to the match because Nusrat was not Sindhi and her father was a businessman. According to Fatima Bhutto’s book Songs of Blood and Sword, the headstrong Zulfikar decided to elope with Nusrat, enlisting the help of a friend who raced around Karachi trying to find a Shia cleric to conduct the nikah. Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto later hosted a reception for the couple.

Nusrat spent some time in London with Zulfikar and returned to Karachi for the birth of their first child, Benazir. The couple had three more children – Murtaza, Sanam and Shahnawaz.

Nusrat took on political roles while her husband was still in power, including a position in the cabinet.

Journalist Fifi Haroon recalls first meeting Nusrat at a women’s festival in Karachi in the 1970s, where Haroon was volunteering. “She suddenly looked at me and said, ‘are you one of the Haroon girls?’ It is the last thing you’d expect that the prime minister’s wife would approach a young schoolgirl and talk to her. She was a very gracious and dignified person.”

But when Bhutto’s government was deposed and he was imprisoned by General Ziaul Haq’s regime, Nusrat was faced with a choice – go abroad or live in Pakistan but stay out of politics. Nusrat chose to continue her husband’s legacy and struggle for his release.

“Many important political figures had left the party, so Begum Bhutto renewed the party,” longtime PPP activist Taj Haider said.

The 1970s and 1980s were marked with numerous house arrests and detentions for Benazir and Nusrat and the Zia regime did not allow her to attend her husband’s funeral after he was executed in 1979.

Nusrat’s health began to deteriorate and in 1982, she was finally allowed to leave the country for medical treatment after doctors suspected she had cancer.

In 1987, Haroon recalls, joy finally came to the Bhutto household when Benazir was married to Asif Ali Zardari. “Nusrat was very happy and was very involved. I would go to 70 Clifton almost every day and Benazir would be trying on different styles of make-up. She would look and say, ‘There is no way you’re doing this … it isn’t right or it’s too light.’.”

Kamal Azfar, who worked closely with Zulfikar and Benazir Bhutto, recalled Nusrat as a wonderful person and hostess and recalls how caring she was as a mother.

“Her son was the apple of her eye,” Azfar says. Nusrat and Benazir’s relationship took a turn in 1993, when Murtaza announced he would return to Pakistan. Nusrat was split between her two children and in 1994, she blamed Benazir for the firing and teargas shelling by security forces as Nusrat led a procession in Larkana. Nusrat, who had outlived the deaths of her husband and one of her sons, never recovered after Murtaza’s assassination in Karachi in 1996.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>A life of sacrifices</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280219/a-life-of-sacrifices</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280219/a-life-of-sacrifices#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 11 17:20:30 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nusrat Bhutto will be fondly remembered not only by the PPP but by all Pakistanis.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Unlike in countries like the US, the wives of heads of states in Pakistan tend to stay away from the limelight and rarely join their spouses in campaigning and day-to-day politicking. Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who passed away in Dubai on October 23 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, was a notable exception. Her political career was forged and defined by tragedy. When her husband, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was executed by military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, Nusrat Bhutto took over the chairmanship of the PPP. It was a post she would hold for four years, during the party’s darkest days. Daughter Benazir had been anointed the heir apparent but was still too young to take the reins. Had the PPP been led by a lesser person, it may well have disintegrated.

It was Nusrat Bhutto’s destiny as the wife of a politician, who would rise against the prevailing status quo in Pakistan, to be surrounded by death and oppression. Her two sons Murtaza and Shahnawaz and her daughter Benazir all took the struggle against military rule in their differing ways. Such is the ruthlessness of politics in Pakistan that she outlived all of them, and only the apolitical daughter Sanam Bhutto is still alive. After Zia was assassinated and Benazir took over, Nusrat Bhutto became the symbol of the hope the PPP had inspired in millions. She took over the traditional Bhutto parliamentary seat in Larkana. Unfortunately, the growing political rivalry between Murtaza and Benazir forced their mother to take sides and she chose Murtaza. Still, she reconciled with her daughter after Murtaza’s tragic death.

Ultimately, Nusrat Bhutto will be remembered for her sacrifices, both personal and political, in the struggle for democracy. She took her fight to the courts, forcing the Supreme Court in 1977 to acquiesce to the unconstitutional takeover by Zia-ul-Haq. When the courts proved pliant to military adventurism, she took to the streets suffering beatings at the hands of Zia’s goons and was regularly jailed or placed under house arrest. She bore the indignities heaped on her by a military dictatorship with courage. For that, she will be fondly remembered not only by the PPP but by all Pakistanis.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Twitter Alert: Nusrat Bhutto 'faced Zia like a rock'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280221/twitter-alert-nusrat-bhutto-faced-zia-like-a-rock</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280221/twitter-alert-nusrat-bhutto-faced-zia-like-a-rock#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 11 13:42:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280221</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[&quot;Her picture after being clubbed in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore remains a strong symbol of struggle for democracy.&quot;]]>
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				<![CDATA[The death of Nusrat Bhutto, widow of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and mother of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto sent a wave of sorrow among Pakistanis online, with many recalling anecdotes of the First Lady and her struggle for democracy amidst tragedy.

While condolences streamed online, Twitter users also acknowledged Nusrat Bhutto’s sacrifices and suffering during the era of General Ziaul Haq.

Twitter updates

SaimaMohsin

Sad News, Begum Nusrat Bhutto has passed away - a woman who has witnessed much of Pakistan's brutal history

abbasnasir59

I recall with admiration Begum Bhutto's defiant attempt to break the cordon around Pindi jail and get to ZAB. She faced Zia like a rock.

marvisirmed

She was second to only Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah in impacting Pakistani politics #BegumNusratBhutto

marvisirmed

Ijazul Haq offering condolence for #BegumNusratBhutto on Geo TV. Mr. Haq, do you apologize for what your father did to her? Yes or no?????

sarataseer

Dad at the wheel, BB &amp; Begum in the back, ppp workers hand got stuck in the window &amp; Begum gave BB a smack 4 hurting the worker unknowingly.

sarataseer

Looked at @SalmaanTaseer, he looked at me..."the PM just got smacked" I whispered...peels of laughter

khsyedaliraza

Her picture after being clubbed in #Gaddafi Stadium Lahore remains a strong symbol of struggle for democracy. RIP #NusratBhutto!

xaynabnaqvi

The first natural death in bhutto,s family ..#nusratbhutto

Saba_Imtiaz

@fbhutto, on Geo right now, says that Nusrat's grandchildren were not even told of her death and found out on TV.

NasimZehra

Begum Nusrat Bhutto dies. Few would have gone through as much pain as she did. May Allah bless her soul. Ameen.

Read more tweets by searching Nusrat Bhutto on Twitter.

Follow the Tribune Twitterati list to stay updated on local news and current affairs.]]>
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			<title>Nusrat Bhutto, doyenne of MRD, dies at 82</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280205/nusrat-bhutto-passes-away-in-dubai</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/280205/nusrat-bhutto-passes-away-in-dubai#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 11 11:31:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hafeez Tunio]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=280205</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Body of former prime minister’s wife will arrive from Dubai today.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Begum Nusrat Bhutto, former first lady of Pakistan and the mother of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, died at a Dubai hospital on Sunday afternoon. She was 82.

Nusrat was the wife of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first democratically elected prime minister of Pakistan. She was suspected of suffering from cancer in 1982, the year when she left Pakistan for medical treatment. For the last several years of her life, she had also been suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, an ailment that causes severe memory loss and cognitive impairment.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Nusrat Bhutto’s son-in-law, cut short his official trip to Jordan and will be escorting her body from Dubai to Pakistan on Monday (today) on a chartered plane. Nusrat’s only surviving child, her daughter Sanam Bhutto, and grandchildren, including Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar and Aseefa also rushed to Dubai from London to accompany her body, which will be buried next to that of her late husband in the family graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Larkana. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced a public holiday on Monday, as well as a ten-day mourning period. The ruling PPP, the party founded by Nusrat’s husband, announced that it will suspend all political activities for the next 40 days to mourn her death.

Nusrat had been elected to the National Assembly twice and served as cabinet member in her daughter’s government in the 1990s. She rose to political prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when she led protests and demonstrations against the military dictatorship that had overthrown her husband’s government.

In the mid-1990s, particularly after the death of her son Mir Murtaza Bhutto in 1996, she withdrew from public life. Party sources suggest this may also have coincided with the time that she began to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Her disease was so advanced that she did not even know of the assassination of her daughter, Benazir, said one senior party leader, adding that she was on a ventilator most of the time during her final days.

The news of her death spread like wildfire in Sindh, a province that has been enamoured by the Bhutto family. There was some confusion, however, as to when the funeral prayers would be. A spokesperson for Bilawal House, PPP headquarters in Karachi, said that the funeral would take place on Monday, whereas officials at the Presidency in Islamabad were under the impression that it would take place on Tuesday. Pakistan International Airlines will be running special flights from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to Sukkur, for those who wish to attend the funeral.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the government will posthumously award her either the Hilal-e-Pakistan or a human rights award in recognition of her struggle for democracy in the country.

Nusrat Bhutto outlived all but one of her four children. One of her sons Shahnawaz was found murdered in an apartment in France. Murtaza, her elder son, was killed in a police shootout outside the family house in Karachi in 1996. And her daughter Benazir was assassinated in December 2007.

Nusrat’s death has once again highlighted the rift between her children. While the main funeral will be in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, PPP-Shaheed Bhutto, a faction created by Mir Murtaza Bhutto, made separate arrangements.

“We have made arrangements at Al-Murtaza House, Larkana and 70 Clifton, Karachi, which are the real homes of Begum Bhutto,” said Ghulam Hussain Khawaja, the party spokesperson.

He added that Fatima and Ghinwa Bhutto, Murtaza’s daughter and widow respectively, had already left for Larkana, but Zulfiqar II, his son, will arrive from London later.

According to Mumtaz Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s cousin, Nusrat wanted her son Murtaza to have a more prominent role in politics. “Many times, differences developed between Benazir and Begum Bhutto on the issue,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Govt to undo Hyderabad district’s division</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/11990/govt-to-undo-hyderabad-district%e2%80%99s-division</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/11990/govt-to-undo-hyderabad-district%e2%80%99s-division#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 May 10 06:55:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[aijaz.shaikh]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=11990</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that division of Hyderabad district will be restored to its original form. 

This suggestion has been received with suspicion by coalition partner, the MQM, which says that it is being treated as a political opponent and not an ally.

Chairing the second convention of PPP workers from Hyderabad division on Saturday, the prime minister made it clear that the PPP would take all coalition partners into confidence on the matter.

Terming the decision to bifurcate the division wrong, the prime minister said that the government would protect people’s rights. “Hyderabad will once again be made into one district. We are also one of the stakeholders. We cannot antagonise our own party workers. We will not allow any damage to the party. All such decisions will be taken in consultation with our coalition partners,” Gilani said.

The district was bifurcated during the reign of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, a controversial Sindh CM.

Gilani dispelled the impression that Sindh had been deprived of 300 megawatts of electricity and said it was part of a disinformation campaign.

 MQM Reaction 

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has reacted strongly to the prime minister’s statement, with the party’s chief Altaf Hussain saying that some leaders and ministers of the PPP wanted to damage harmonious relations between the PPP and the MQM through their provocative statements.

In a statement issued from the MQM International Secretariat in London, Hussain said that the prime minister’s statement about Hyderabad had disheartened hundreds of citizens but they should not feel desserted. Hussain said the prime minister should avoid making any decision about Sindh without taking his coalition party into confidence.

He appealed to President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani to take immediate notice of confrontational statements by some leaders and ministers and to avert a conspiracy to end unity among the two parties.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gilani chaired another highlevel meeting which discussed ways and means to increase harmony between coalition partners. The security situation in Sindh and local government elections were also discussed.

Balochistan Leaders

In a major development in connection with dissidents in Balochistan, Prime Minister Gilani on Saturday ordered the authorities to exclude names of all Baloch leaders from the Exit Control List (ECL).

He also urged Baloch leaders to end their exile and return to the country.

Speaking to the media after meeting influential Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Attaullah Mengal at his residence in Karachi, he said the government was willing to take practical steps to remove grievances of people of the province.

The prime minister was accompanied by Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

The move, political analysts said, might pave the way for the return of prominent Baloch dissident leaders, including Nawabzada Brahamdagh Bugti and Nawabzada Ghazan Marri, who are leading armed resistance from abroad.

Prime Minister Gilani said Sardar Mengal “is right in calling for practical steps to be taken by the federal government about missing persons and for addressing the deprivation of the Baloch people.”

Gilani said he has instructed the commission set up for the implementation of constitutional reforms to meet Sardar Mengal.

Dialogue Stressed 

Reiterating the government’s commitment to rectify past mistakes, he said the government did not believe in victimising anyone and urged all Baloch leaders to return to Pakistan so that issues related to the province could be addressed through talks.

During the hour-long meeting, the prime minister requested Mengal to help the government in its efforts to “bring angry Baloch leaders back” to the negotiating table. According to Online news agency, Sardar Mengal said that the removal of names of Baloch dissident leaders from the ECL was essential for creating an environment conducive for talks. (ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES)]]>
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