“But, Prime Minister…”: Interactions with Benazir Bhutto, the world's first Muslim woman Prime Minister

The responsible entities include the PPP’s own leadership and internal arrangements for their leader’s security; the Rawalpindi Police; the civil and military intelligence agencies; the Government of Punjab, and the Federal Government of the time and the succeeding PPP Government as well, and even

I have reproduced my review of Getting Away With Murder: Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination and the Politics of Pakistan by Heraldo Munoz, published by W.W. Norton & Company, New York – London 2014. Herald Munoz, a distinguished diplomat from Chile, the Assistant UN Secretary-General for Latin America and the Caribbean was chosen by the UN Secretary-General to lead the UN Inquiry Commission formed on the request of the Government of Pakistan to investigate the violent death of Benazir Bhutto.
Unrestricted by the protocols of observing official limits to the expression of personal opinions that applied to the UN Commission’s report, the book by Heraldo Munoz written in his individual capacity lists disturbing facts and raises vital questions that still await answers. While a reading of the whole book is ideal, the review at Annexure summarizes the extraordinary features surrounding her death which remain unexplained to date

To the contrary, there is a revealing sense of almost feudalistic proprietorship about the Government and the civil and military officers that she led. There is also a fundamental factual omission. This is reflected in how she blames the ISI and the Army for covert actions against her even in the December 1988-August 1990 period when her own selected appointee, Lt. General (r) Shamsur Rahman Kallu headed the ISI after her removal of his predecessor Lt. General Hameed Gul. There is too little humility. Perhaps for most individuals who have held power or aspire to power, self-centredness is an occupational hazard. One finds this facet also in General Pervez Musharraf ’s autobiography. The whole charge of corruption is dismissed by Benazir Bhutto as being part of a planned “politics-of-destruction” conducted against her and her husband by the ISI and by her political foes. For a woman and a leader of exceptional ability and courage, these facets of Daughter of the East are disappointing.