Friday, December 28, 2007

The Bhutto family -a family accursed?

Benazir Bhuttos mother, Nusrat-now 78 years old - has lost her husband, elder daughter and two sons in tragic circumstances. Just one daughter, Sanam, survives.

Benazir Bhutto was the eldest child of
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto . She had two brothers and one sister. Her father Zulfikar was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s

Mr Bhutto was imprisoned by Gen Zia ul-Haq in 1977 following a military coup and charged with conspiracy to murder. Bhutto argued that the army had fabricated the evidence. Two years later he was executed.

His son Murtaza Bhutto fled to Afghanistan after his father's fall.
From exile in 1993 he won a seat in the assembly governing Sindh province. He returned home soon afterwards. On 20 September 1996 in Karachi, he was shot and killed along with six supporters during a clash with the police. Benazir Bhutto rushed to the city when told about the encouner. Begum Nusrat, mother of Murtaza, was in London.


Benazir Bhutto was the prime minister of Pakistan at the time of Murtaza Bhutto's killing. The brother and sister were political rivals at the time.
Ms Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari has spent a total of 11 years in prison on various charges without ever being convicted.

The youngest of the four Bhutto children, Shahnawaz, was also politically active.
He was found dead in his apartment in southern France in 1985. He died in mysterious circumstances.

Benazir, the eldest Bhutto child, had already survived an attempt on her life when she returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile in October.
c 130 people died in the twin suicide bombings targeting her homecoming rally in Karachi. Finally the assassin murdered Benazir in Rawalpindi on December 27th and succeeded in destroying the Bhutto political dynasty . It is difficult not to argue that a curse has befallen the family.

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