Benazir Bhutto - SZABIST

called Benazir, which will continue to fight the shadowy dark forces in this miserable land. Siyasi
murshid siyasi pir, Benazir, Benazir.
The writer served as nazim of Khairpur district from 2001 to 2005, and has now been nominated by
the PPP on a reserved seat for women in the National Assembly. She is currently also a doctoral
student at Oxford University
To Benazir, in the heavens
The News
January 6, 2008
Ghazala Minallah
Following a statement by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto regarding the judiciary in early December, I had
written an open letter to her and also sent it on her email address. My letter came in several
newspapers and is on the Internet. Mohtarma, much to my amazement, replied the next day. Her
response had some information which made me not to reveal it. Now that she is gone, it can be made
public but I have to do it with another open letter, which may reach her in the Heavens, if so.
My Dearest Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto,
Somewhere in the Heavens
It has taken me three days to muster up the courage to write to you. When I wrote to you on December
2, it was because of the belief I had in you and the unrealistic expectations I had from you. When you
returned on October 18 I truly and honestly felt that you would join and lead us in the struggle we
began on March 9 for an independent judiciary. I believed that since you and your family had suffered
in the past due to another dictator and a corrupt judiciary, you would be the first to raise your voice.
Your statement that individuals were not important made me feel betrayed. I considered you to be a
kindred spirit and I reacted emotionally because I lacked your ability to look at things in their broader
perspective.
Bibi, I turned to you then and I turn to you now. I did not make public the reply you sent to me on
December 3 for obvious reasons. You did me the honour of replying promptly despite your busy
schedule. The few lines you wrote were so powerful and had such depth, that other than a few close
friends, I did not reveal the contents. But now I feel that I owe it to your memory to reveal what you
wrote to me.
I was touched by the fact that instead of being angry at me, you took the trouble to try and explain to
me the reason for your unpopular statement. You wrote: "Dear sister Ghazala, I had to force my tears
back while going through your letter. It pains and saddens my soul to see that such perceptions are still
held about me, in spite of what I and my family have gone through and the personal sacrifices. I still
remain committed to the freedom and vitality of democracy, as the great Quaid-e-Awam had dreamt
of. Yes, it is true that you have to deal sometimes with the Devil if you can't face it, but everything is a
means to an end. I have great respect and admiration for the judiciary both bench and bar". My lips
were sealed after that because obviously this was sensitive information. I feel that now it is important
to share this with my fellow Pakistani's for whom your ultimate sacrifice has immortalized you. Your
reply reveals your maturity and compassion. You could have ignored my letter, or sent me a scathing
reply, or snubbed me for jumping to conclusions. But you chose not to.