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MUMBAI:
Outspoken Pakistani writer and poet Fatima Bhutto joins CNN’s
Anjali Rao on TALK ASIA this weekend. The niece of slain Pakistani
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Fatima tells Rao about her childhood
memories of her aunt and why she blames her aunt for the death of
her father, Benazir’s brother. Fatima also condemns Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf’s current rule as a dictatorship
and criticizes his alliance with the U.S. in the War on Terror.
On
her instantly recognizable last name, the young writer says it’s
neither a blessing nor a curse: “It’s just a name, it’s
funny to be held accountable, to a surname, I think if you change
my name, it doesn’t change who I am…”.
Fatima
Bhutto has had an acrimonious relationship with her aunt and was
one of her most outspoken critics: “My criticism to her was
political, not personal. But when she died, it became very clear
to me that I knew two Benazirs, I mean I knew two very different
women.” Bhutto tells Rao: “I knew the other Benazir, who
was in power, and caused a lot of sufferings for the people of Pakistan,
presided over a large scale corruption, recognition of Taliban government,
human rights abuses and her negotiation for national reconciliation
ordinance with General Musharraf that was unrecognizable to me.”
Fatima
tells Rao, “…as for my father’s murder, yes, I did
blame her…”
On
fighting terrorism in Pakistan, Fatima says the United States should
“mind its own business…they don’t combat terrorism
by empowering a military dictator, they don’t combat terrorism
by arming Pervez Musharraf to fight his own people.”
Rao’s
conversation with Fatima also moves away from politics, towards
her other passion, her writings. She talks about her recent book,
a collection of first-hand accounts from the 2005 earthquake in
Pakistan: “It was a generation of young Pakistanis that were
wiped out. I mean 80,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake.”
The reason behind her putting this collection together: “I
found these young children, young boys and girls who were so desperate
to talk.” and “They’ve always been described passively
as victims, but they were very much survivors.”
To
get the full transcript of this interview and more information on
the program, go to www.cnn.com/talkasia once the show is first aired.
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