The assassination of former prime minister of Pakistan and chairperson Pakistan People’s Party Benazir Bhutto left all eyes soaked. A lot many controversies started to image regarding the cause of the killing and the manner in which the former prime minister was brutally murdered. Weekly Pulse had a detailed interview with the husband of the slain leader and co-chairperson of PPP Asif Ali Zardari. Pulse inquired about the question raised by a segment of politicians and retired military top brass regarding a possibility of US hand in the catastrophe, something that he refuses to buy.
Q: Do you think that you will be able to keep Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) united after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto keeping in view the fact that there are a lot of allegations against you. And do you think that an ordinary PPP worker will accept your leadership?
A: We will follow the footsteps of Benazir Bhutto and the party, too, will toe the policy line given by her. I will try to keep the party workers and friends together, and Insha Allah (God permitted) we will succeed. The party leadership and the workers have not just accepted my leadership according to the will of Benazir Bhutto, they are also working along with me. As far as the accusations against me are concerned, they carry no value as I have spent more than eleven years in prison during different governments, but till date, none (accusations) was proven in any court of law. Such allegations are nothing but mere propaganda against popular public figures.
Q: Do you think that Bhutto factor holds a very strong meaning in Pakistan People’s Party as you have also added Bhutto to the name of your children. When do you think that Asif Ali Zardari will switch to the same surname?
A: Bhutto is no more a caste; it is more an identity now that includes people from various ethnic backgrounds, the rich the poor. They are all counted as Bhuttos. The PPP doesn’t believe in Baradarism (family politics). Bhuttoism stands for an ideology and a mission. That is why it is the most important factor of our politics. The leaders and the workers of Pakistan People’s Party will carry this forward. I haven’t asked my children to add Bhutto to their names; it is their thinking as Quaid-e-Awam Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was their grandfather. Their mother, too, carried the same surname and now the children have decided the same. They are young and the new generation has all the right to take decisions. I don’t have any reservations. I want to draw your attention to the fact that there are so many people in Pakistan who have no relation with the Bhutto family, still they are called by the same surname. If Bilawal has decided to carry forward the political mission of his grandfather, then his using the surname should not surprise anyone.
Q: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q leadership is pointing fingers at you in the Bhutto’s assassination; you too called them Qatil (Murderer)-League. Don’t you think that such a swapping of accusations will help the real culprits go Scot-free?
A: I do not believe in politics of accusation for the sake of accusation, nor am I in favour of keeping animosities on the basis ideological or political differences. Benazir Bhutto had pointed out the murderers during her lifetime. The murderers are in front of everyone. Those pointing a finger at me cannot dupe the masses nor can they save the real murderers. The people now recognise the faces of the murderers.
Q: Different theories about the way Ms Bhutto was murdered are in the air. What is your opinion; whether she was hit by a bullet; was it the lever of the sunroof; or was it a target killing? A lot of questions are surfacing regarding the various videos.
A: The government is deliberately complicating the situation. You do not understand what is the purpose of this Parda Dari (hiding facts). Thousands are witness to the killing of Benazir Bhutto. She was not the only one, many party workers were also killed along with her. One of the PPP workers, Tauqir, was the only son of his parents. He told Ms. Bhutto that he had come to sacrifice his life for her and he fulfilled his promise.
We are demanding investigations under the supervision of the United Nations so that the murderers cannot escape and the factors behind the murder of Ms Bhutto are brought to the surface.
Q: A number of top political leaders in Pakistan have died in mysterious circumstances. The investigations and the factors behind their death didn’t come to the fore. Will the same happen in the case of Ms Bhutto’s murder or do you have any hope?
A: It is true that the murderers of all the big political leaders in Pakistan have never been arrested. As far as the death of Benazir Bhutto is concerned, this is not the killing of a person, it is the murder of an ideology that wished welfare of the people and the country, prosperity of the people, education and development in the country, and true democracy. The assassination of Ms Bhutto is the murder of the country and an attack on the federation as she was a chain between the four provinces. We will sacrifice our lives but will never let the chain break.
Q: If investigations are not carried out under the UN then what course of action your party will adopt?
A: The Pakistan People’s Party has put forward its demand, and if the present rulers do not fulfill this, then we will do it ourselves after coming to power with public support. For us, the rule of the poor people in the country is the best form of revenge. Aab Raaj Karey Gee Khalq-e-Khuda, Jo Tum Bhi Ho Ju Main Bhi Hoon (Now the common people will rule, including you and I).
Q: A lot of questions have surfaced regarding the will of Ms Bhutto. When would you make it public so that people can get an answer to their questions?
A: The political will belong to the party, and regarding that concerning the assets and other issues, the directives of Ms Bhutto are the trust of the heirs. We are not answerable regarding that. The part of the will regarding political affairs has been shown to the Central Executive Committee. Now it is in the power of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the members of the central executive committee as to what decision they what take about it. If they consider it necessary, they will release it to the press.
Q: Do you think that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be able to run the party. His nomination has been made on political basis or to keep up the family traditions?
A: Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the moment is completing his education. After that he will take full charge of the party. Bilawal has seen politics since his childhood. He has seen his parents in the corridors of power, in prisons, and at courts on hearings. He has been brought up by Ms Bhutto who was a leader of international stature. Bilawal’s nomination has been made by the party’s central executive committee, cent per cent on merit and time will prove that Bilawal was the true heir to his mother and grandfather.
Q: It has been in the air that the PPP has backdoor contacts with the President’s House. Will you endorse such contacts? When do you plan to meet the president?
A: Politics is not the name of fighting with a sword or a gun, rather it is about talks and mutual discussions and properly solving disputed issues. The rulers and the politicians are all Pakistanis and humans. Talks and negotiations between them are natural. As far as I am concerned, no contact has been made with me, nor are there any talks in this regard. A question regarding meeting with the president is before time. Till the Chaleesvan (40-day mourning) I am at Naudero.
Q: How would PPP run its election campaign. Will you address public meetings? When would you start this campaign?
A: The PPP candidates are fully prepared for the elections. After the assassination of Ms Bhutto, there is mourning. Every eye is weeping. It’s for the party to decide when the election campaigning would be launched. However, the first meeting will be held at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi, so that we pick up things from where Benazir had left them.
Q: How hopeful are you that the elections will be fair and transparent?
A: The PML-Q has done complete planning to rig the elections. For the past eight years, they have been working at hijacking the elections. Voter lists were engineered, constituencies were unnaturally crafted and rules were ignored in the process. The PPP and PML-N have been allowed to jump into the election arena with their hands and feet all tied up. The Sharif brothers were not allowed to contest the elections. Many leading figures were forced to stick with a particular party in Punjab and Sindh through the use of emergency. As soon as the emergency was lifted, these figures decided to contest as independent candidates. At the moment, the government wishes to run away from polls. Such a situation is being created so as to further delay the elections. But we, in spite of the death of Benazir Bhutto, wish to complete her mission by contesting polls. Our party candidates and workers are prepared to face all sorts of circumstances. They will stand as a wall against rigging. They will take their Sister’s (Benazir’s) portrait to the Prime Minister’s House.
Q: Some circles are pointing at American involvement in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. What is your opinion about this?
A: Keeping in view the ground realities and evidences I can say that America is not involved in the Rawalpindi catastrophe rather the American administration kept expressing its concern to the government of Pakistan over the security provided to Ms Bhutto. In spite of all the reservations the government failed to provide security to Ms Bhutto. So as to reach to the culprits it is imperative that investigations are carried out under the supervision of the United Nations.
