Capturing moments: If you want to see Benazir driving a golf cart, visit Zafar Ahmed’s exhibition

Rare photographs of Bhutto family on display at Arts Council till Sunday.

KARACHI: The rare sight of a young Benazir Bhutto driving a golf cart along with Chaudhry Fazal Elahi, the fifth president of Pakistan, in Moen jo Daro was captured by none other than Zafar Ahmed in 1973.

Nearly 40 years later, the photographer displays his collection of Bhutto family moments, which he has been collecting since 1968, in an exhibition at Arts Council of Pakistan. The three-day exhibition started on Friday.

Ahmed has also managed to capture numerous other memorable photos of Benazir’s father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, her mother Begum Nusrat Bhutto, and other Bhutto family members at various historical and personal occasions.



Hundreds of such photos are displayed inside the Manzar Akbar Hall - with Zulfikar Bhutto’s pictures taking the left side of the hall and his daughter’s taking up the right side. A few pictures of Begum Nusrat are also displayed on the front, while a few pictures of Sanam and Shahnawaz Bhutto along with their father are also attracting visitors.

Zulfikar Bhutto can be seen in black-and-white photos with party workers, making stylish gestures during public gatherings, meeting national and international personalities, such as Yasir Arafat, former Libyan president Colonel Muammar Gadafi, Sheikh Mujeebur Rahman, poet Ahmed Faraz, Hakim Ali Zardari, Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan, Pir Elahi Bakhsh, Syed Abdullah Shah and others.

Ahmed also managed to capture the birthday celebrations of Zulfikar Bhutto in 1975, when he went hunting. He is also seen offering Eidul Fitr prayers along with his youngest son, Shahnawaz Bhutto, at Naudero in 1973. His photos with young Sanam and Shahnawaz are the few rare ones that Ahmed keeps safe. “[Zulfikar] Bhutto had a great personality,” said Ahmed, talking to the media. Bhutto tried the hardest to provide basic rights to people of all provinces, he added.

Further along the exhibit are photographs of Benazir with her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, her mother Nusrat Bhutto, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, and other occasions when she made public appearances. Ahmed also captures the moment when Benazir is looking at the coffin of her brother, Shahnawaz. She is also seen along with Zulfikar Bhutto’s first wife, Ameer Begum, while the two are casting their vote in the general elections of 1988.

The three-day exhibition, which attracted a significant crowd, was inaugurated by Sindh Minister for Culture Sharmila Farooqi. While appreciating the work of Ahmed, Farooqi said that he had served the Bhutto family honestly. “His work is appreciated.”

Farooqi said that the photos of the Bhutto family also indicated that the family had not compromised on public issues but had, in fact, faced a tough time. Some people prefer going to the hospital instead of facing the court, she did not hesitate to add.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2014.