Source: AFP
HONG KONG - Benazir Bhutto’s niece on Monday accused Western media of irresponsibility in their reporting of Pakistan, saying they disregarded heavy rigging in last month’s polls — including by Bhutto’s party.
Fatima Bhutto, herself a journalist, said she witnessed widespread rigging when she visited polling stations in Sindh province during the elections, which saw President Pervez Musharraf’s backers heavily defeated.
“We turned on CNN and we turned on the BBC and we were told, Musharraf has lost, it’s a sign for democracy, he’s accepted defeat quite gracefully…. You’ve had elections, good job, you’ve done wonderfully, because the president hasn’t won.
“But in Pakistan, the situation looked quite different,” said Fatima in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club here.
“To say there was rigging in the February 18 elections is an understatement…. It wasn’t just rigging, it was quite open, unapologetic rigging. It was no longer under the table, it was very much on top.”
Fatima said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by her aunt until her death last year, had engaged in “unapologetic” rigging to win its landslide election victory.
“They were taking this election one way or another,” she said.
Pakistan’s polls were originally scheduled for January, but were postponed following Benazir Bhutto’s murder after an election rally on December 27.
Fatima said that even before her aunt’s death, Western media had presented a distorted view of Benazir, and of Pakistan in general.
“The media in the West have been irresponsible if you ask me when it comes to Pakistan. Hysterical is a good word…. When they have got a story they flog it, no matter what the outcome is.
“For example, when Benazir Bhutto was coming back to Pakistan, the Western press just decided she was it…. They never bothered to ask Pakistanis what they think,” said Bhutto, who wrote several articles criticising her aunt last year.
Fatima’s father, Murtaza Ali Bhutto, was gunned down in mysterious circumstances in 1996 after falling out with his sister Benazir and becoming a political rival.
Benazir was prime minister at the time, and Fatima has said she holds her aunt “morally responsible.”
Fatima’s striking looks, strong will and charm have led to comparisons with her famous aunt.
But she said her family connections would deter her from entering politics.
“Dynasty has been incredibly bad for Pakistan… You have a country of 165 million people that has three choices, the Bhuttos, the Sharifs or the Musharrafs,” she said.
“To enter (politics) now would be to perpetuate that system.”
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8 responses so far ↓
1 jasmine // Mar 4, 2008 at 1:31 am
She’s absolutely Right… Why are we always counting on Bhuttos and Sharifs, even after what they’ve done to this country…
Everyone accuses Army and the Generals and they don’t accuse these two Benazir and Nawaz who used to welcome them…
So tomorrow Americans should Welcome Osama Bin Laden because he’s not crashing the plane himself, he’s just asking someone else to do it…
He’s also as innocent as Benazir and Nawaz are.
2 asad khan // Mar 4, 2008 at 7:31 am
this is real politics,nobody in karachi wants MQM BUT ur generals supported them.
dint u saw the riging done by MQM.
OK if it was rigging of ppp than they should have not won in nwfp and punjab also…
FATIMA U SHULD SUPPORT IN THESE TYPE OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
3 Syed Bahadar Shah // Mar 4, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Right. But These peoples are against of Mr Asif and also be Nazeir faimly. In Punjab Mostly Peoples are not like it. In Mind of Peoples. This is Bhabi and Nand Problems. Peoples are see.
Syed Bahadar Shah.
03009634894.
4 sizlac // Mar 4, 2008 at 1:55 pm
kill them all……. they have done the same in da past so y not they face da same end…….. then only can v c new faces nd for a change someone will to put things back in order!!!!!!!!!
5 Shirull Zaman Khan // Mar 4, 2008 at 2:50 pm
well fatima , does have good observation of pakistani politics …..she critisizes the bhutos ,sharifs and afew others …maybe she is right too ….
but you know fatima ? you always sound like you want to show the people the right path to democracy , but yourself are not committing to do anything other then writeing articals to critisize …
the thing is that, we want you to get involve in the political arena personally……you would be astonished to see how many people are there who are willing to support you and your ideas ….. ok ,
so it is a request that you get into politics and stop giveing excuses ,that you can’t…..
please fatima ……just think pakistani ….
!!!! god bless you !!!!
6 Kabool // Apr 1, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I have been reading Fatima and things written about her but honestly i cannot understand where she is going and what she is trying to achieve by taking this stance in politics. We all know that she means well and we all want her to play a role in politics but appealing to the right wing reationary sentiments is a dead end alley in Pakistani politics. I only hope that she knows better than us and is doing the right thing.
7 najmi // Apr 25, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Fatima Bhutto,
we are with u .come in politics &show the world the real bhutto ,you are like our great leader zulfiqar ali bhutto
u have that curage
8 Maria Shams // Nov 27, 2008 at 7:08 pm
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