Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Recollections and remembrances

HE WAS A LOVING HUSBANDBegum Nusrat BhuttoQ. What are your recollections of your child-hood and your family history?A. MY family comes from Iran. My great grand father had three sons. Hesent one of his sons to China, to learn how to make silk, he became a businessman.He sent his second son to Najaf-e-Ashraf to become a religious man. He kept thethird son with him at the lands to become an agriculturist. The one who went toNajaf-e-Ashraf was my grand father. His father built a mosque for him in Isfahanwhen he came back from Najaf after becoming an Ayatollah, but grandfatherdied before he could go back to preach in Isfahan and serve in this mosque. It is avery, beautiful mosque and is still there. My father Mirza Mohammed was bornin Najaf. His mother was Syed and his father was non-Syed. His family name wasMirza Mohammed Abdul Latif Isfahani. He was a modern man and he did notwant to become an Ayatollah. So he studied in Najaf. Once he and his friendswent on a holiday to Bombay, India and when he returned he told his father andgrandfather that he wanted to put up soap industry in India. So my parentsshifted to India and established “Baghdad Soap Industries” in Bombay. There Iwas born. I was the third daughter and after me a son was born, so they said Iwas a good luck. They pampered me a lot. These were the final years of BritishRaj. My, father used to visit Karachi frequently, to buy raw material for his soapindustry. I went to school in Bombay. When I did my senior Cambridge, myparents asked me to wear “Burka” (veil). They said now you are a grown-up andyou cannot go around without hijab. My father was a very simple and softheartedperson, he used to help poor relatives and neighbours. I refused to wear a“Burka” to go to college. A niece of mine would also go to college with me andshe was very clever. She would leave her home wearing “Burka” but on tier way,she would take it off in the car, and then while coming back home, site would putit on again. Her father thought his daughter was very obedient. But I was thesimpleton and I did not want to fool my parents. I did not know for many yearsabout my niece, much later I came to know what she used to do. So I did not go touniversity and now I am sorry that I do not have a degree.So these were my olden days. I was treated fondly by everyone. My elder sisterswere much older than me the first was 14 years and the second was 13 years elderto me. They had married very early and they had children of my age or a littleyounger than me. Fakhri is one of them. She is the daughter of my eldest sister.Safia Khanum. Fakhri and I grew up together.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Recollections and Remembrances; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 10