Benazir Bhutto - SZABIST

Bibi, how will the wounds caused by your departure ever heal.? It breaks my heart when I recall the
last days of your beloved father. When I reminded you of your last meeting with him, when the tyrants
did not let you hug him, it was actually a desperate attempt on my part to jolt you into reality. But how
naïve I was to imagine that you could have forgotten those dark days. If that terrible injustice still
makes my blood boil, I should have realized what it must have been for you. There was a time when
our lives were intimately intertwined. Due to a tyrant you lost a loving father and the nation lost a
brilliant leader. Due to the same tyrant we were forced into exile and my father took to his grave the
fact that an innocent man had been hanged and he and the other two dissenting judges could do
nothing to stop that terrible injustice.
My dearest Bibi, you and your family have suffered for the sake of this country more than your fair
share. I was told by someone close to you that you had spoken of a sniper and that you knew 'they'
were out to get you one way or the other. Yet you still carried on, saying as always, that you were
ready to sacrifice your life for the sake of this country. It was this very bravery which led to your
untimely death on that fateful day, when you stood up to wave to a supporter and offered yourself as
an easy target to the awaiting sniper.
My heart goes out to your beloved children and your husband. My heart goes out to Sanam who has
just buried her third sibling, all victims of the same enemy. My heart goes out to your beloved mother,
who I am glad is not well enough to know what is going on. Perhaps it is a blessing for how much
more a mother can endure? Bibi, I pray that you find eternal peace wherever you are. This world was
not meant for you. Life has not been fair to the Bhutto family, although the name of this family will go
down in history in golden words, as icons for the struggle for democracy. As a nation we are
extremely unfortunate, since we are not able to protect our heroes. How many more Bhuttos is it going
to take to rid our ravaged country of the cancer of dictatorship? How many more innocent lives will it
take to satisfy their lust for power? I ended my last letter by saying that you owed it to the nation and
your children to fight for the restoration of the judiciary and the future of this country. Bibi, how I
wish I had not been hasty in doubting your intentions. As you can see, even in death I turn to you.
Why don't I write to those responsible for this cowardly act? Why don't I write to those who are
determined to destroy this country? I don't because, my dearest Bibi, one pours one's heart out to those
you have faith in. It saddens me that this time I will not see your email address in my inbox. As a
nation we have lost one of the most valuable assets we had, and I have lost a compassionate sister who
could help me see reason. My dearest Bibi, the least we as a nation can do is to carry on what you and
your beloved father before you had started .I vow today that now the entire nation owes this
responsibility to Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa. We owe it to Fatima and Zulfikar junior. We owe it to
your beloved sister Sanam and we owe it to your tormented beloved mother. We as a nation have to
shoulder the responsibilities we so unrealistically expect from others. The entire nation is now the
mother, the sister and the father you and your family have lost in this struggle. We will not rest till
your killers are identified and brought to justice. I end by bowing my head before you and begging for
forgiveness for anything I may have said that upset you. Even though your reply will always be a great
solace to me, I still mourn the fact that now there is no one I can turn to.
With all my love, respect, and prayers
Eternally your sister
The News
January 2, 2008