Murtaza Bhutto

to them let me write a letter to Fati. Give the letter to her. If she said she did
not want to see me then I would leave. They took the letter to Fati and a few
minutes later she came into the office.
It was a very emotional encounter. I wanted to tell her so much but just
couldn't. Some time later Ghinwa also came and began to talk to Fati in
Arabic. Fati herself told me that she wanted to see me in the evening. I
agreed. But Ghinwa told her that she had a biology test. Fati said 'It's OK I
will stay up like a vampire and study.' But Ghinwa said, 'No that's not
possible. Maybe you could meet tomorrow at Salma's house,' (perhaps a
friend). She warned me not to talk to anyone or the media otherwise I would
never see Fati. I told Fati how she was taken away from me. She had tears in
her eyes. I told Ghinwa that I am not here to create any problems. My
intention was to see Fati. Fati asked if it had anything to do with her aunt
Benazir. I assured her that this was not the case.
Q: Did Benazir know about your visit or did you speak to her during the
visit?
Fowzia: No. Benazir didn't know anything about it. As a matter of fact, I am
also surprised that nobody from her (side) has called me so far. They have my
US phone number and always kept in touch with me in the past through
Mark Siegal (former lobbyist for the Benazir government). One week after
Murtaza's killing when Benazir came to the US to attend a UN session, we
were invited to meet with her in New York. Well, coming back to the Karachi
story, the next day when I called Ghinwa's house in Clifton, her secretary told
me that she had left for Larkana, but Fati was still in Karachi. Later in the day,
when I called again they told me that Fati was also in Larkana. I was shocked.
I could not believe she would lie to me in such a way. Well, I found out the
phone number in Larkana. Ghinwa came on the line. I asked her how she
could do it. She said, 'It's been a long time. You need to build a relationship
with Fatima. Lots of things have happened.' But I told her, 'How could I build
a relationship with her if I am not allowed to see her? For God's sake try to
understand. You are also a mother.' But she said Fatima could not come on
the phone. She told me to call after half an hour. When I called back the
phones were busy, off the hook. I called the operator but she said she couldn't
help. I called the next day and it was the same; the phones were busy. Then I
called the Press. They came right away. And the next morning, it was
published all over Pakistan. It was a big story. Then Ghinwa issued a
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