Book Review:Democracy the only Way for Pakistan

Book Review

Title of Book: Democracy the only Way for Pakistan

By Benazir Bhutto

Published By: Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Archives SZABIST, Karachi

Pages: 177

Price: 360 PKR

Reviewed By: Mubarak Ali Lashari

Living political History and Affirmative Stances

“and he would take us to the lands” she describes her political bringing up by the hands of her father Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, “and he would tell me, ‘Look at the way these people sweat that you will have the opportunity to be educated, and…And you have a debt and you’ve got to come back and pay that debt by serving your people”. And having the sense of heavy responsibility on her shoulders she did not bow down unless given her precious life in the name of stabilizing the democracy in the country where according to her ‘politics was a man’s world’. And in this way she continued to work as politician though entered reluctantly and accidentally after the hanging up of her father by a dictator and thus paid the heavy debt of it.

The book titled “Democracy the Only Way for Pakistan” of her interviews, a talk and articles, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto depicts a panorama of checkered Pakistani political history and her personal experiences and aspirations ranging from her childhood to the height of ruling country, remaining under male obsession, exiled life and dethroning conspiracies as well. She sometimes according to the interviewers skirts the issues directly but often speaks out openly and thoroughly though knowing that ‘Tomorrow they may decide to kill me because I know too much’, affirming.

            She according to her own opinions expressed, up to reaching the political dignity has sought the influence of two persons in her life which surely determined her political career and personal approach to face the challenges ahead. One of the influencing personalities was obviously her father, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who according to her was the person who showed the world according to her, to live a life of lion’s one day rather than the Jackal’s life of thousand. She seemed so much under the influence of Shaheed Bhutto and his political aspirations that in Pakistan’s later development she imagined his perspective and behaviors. On the other hand she admits the influence of, ‘my teacher in the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Mother Eugene’.  In affirmation of both the persons she says, “My father gave me a love for books. He loved reading books and he’d make sure that I bought books and he’d buy me books. And then Mother Eugene made my imagination run wild through Shakespeare~Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar~and Keats and Browning and Byron”.

By such perspective she comes to become determinant Benazir Bhutto to change the politics of Pakistan from ‘man’s world into human’s world’. In the course of her political career to lead Pakistan People’s Party, initially faces the ‘factionalism’ of her father’s party and legacy. Yet she according her acclamation did not loose her struggle because she says there is a natural process of the politics, ‘those who are with you stay with you and those who are not, let the parting come’.

Thus the book of her interviews and articles, in which 17 detailed and snapshot interviews and 6 most useful articles are included, seems like an umbrella covering the many facets of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s life, political career and the multifaceted political history of Pakistan, in which she describes detailed accounts of conspiracies and backdoor influences during her two term government. Not only to this, she has also honestly describes the acts that have been missed to materialize and were the stakeholder for the betterment of common people and country during her two tenures in government but she also gives a good future vision for establishing democracy and prosperous Pakistan in the world. When asked about the mistakes she committed during her two terms of governance, she openly admits, “The stories of corruption hurt. Foreign policy was hawkish. Defense purchases were controversial”. And she also gives her future vision if came in power, that can be a beacon light for the present PPP government. She manipulates her program as, “I hope to have the support of the press next time round through a more open policy enabling full facts to reach them and the public”.

The well-published book having standard paper and excellent title cover with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s live picture, in the due course is replete with the historical affirmations of the Martyred Leader of the country and appeals to read it thoroughly in order to understand the palace-conspiracies as well as the MI intervening in the political arena of Pakistan. For instance she says, “in December 1988, within a week of my forming the government, Brigadier Imtiaz working at the ISI Internal began contacting political parties to overthrow my government”. She also forms her opinion in interviews that she has been tortured on being a woman Prime Minster of a Muslim country where woman is a private property of man and lives within four walls of a house and been refused by some military personnel to accept her premiership and authority. In this perspective she enters into ‘fervor feministic rhetoric’ to justify her points.  Furthermore she has been saying ‘battling with presidents’ because they wanted presidential system of democracy in contrary to her parliamentary democratic aspirations. moreover, she complaints of being a victim of personal prejudice of the president Farooq Laghari during her second tenure when she quotes a relative of President Laghari saying that he (Laghari) could not tolerated the government of Ms Bhutto when her husband Asif Zardari made a video of one of his child. Thus the President’s ghairat did not allow him to continue her government.

In this book Shaheed Benazir Bhutto at the one hand complaints against internal military intrusion fiasco and on the other hand laments over immature political parties and their programs. But one thing is believable that she had an acute eye on internal as well as external affairs of the country. Because when President Musharaf goes to India for Agra Summit, she shows the concern of ‘legitimacy crises of the Musharaf government and backup. By the same time she looks into the economical and budget affairs as well.

Szabist, and Madame Nusrat Lashari have taken an admirable step to collect the interviews and valuable intellectual assets of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in publishing the book, which verily be an excellent addition in the political history of Pakistan.