Zulifqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir were intelligent, articulate and brave politicians. ZA Bhutto was not corrupt and so was'nt Benazir until she married Asif Zardari. Yet they were both killed in friendly fire!

Now it may appear that Asif Zardari and Bilawal Zardari were in the same position on 27th December 2007, where Benazir Bhutto was on 4th July 1979 after allegedly US sponsored ‘judicial murder' of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, or former federal minister Ijazul Haq son of General Zia ul Haq was on 17th August 1988, after C-130 plane crash in which his father was killed. In each case, after considering all possibilities and eliminating the unlikely and absurd, the most fingers pointed to Pakistan's best friend and ally - the United States. The irony is that all the victims of gruesome murders enjoyed ‘governmental powers' to get to the bottom of the cases but all of them all made compromises being too afraid to name let alone pursue the guilty. What other explanation could there be for not investigating properly? As for the UN investigation, is useless white wash. UN is a spineless and toothless talk shop in need of overhauling. It is not international police or an investigating body with effective tools at its disposal.

For the record, Bhutto's party - the PPP - came into power four times in past thirty five years due to majority votes from the largest province - the Punjab. Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947 the country had been ruled by a few Punjabis; most of the prime ministers belonged to the Sindh province. The PPP did not allow leadership to emerge from the Punjab. Was it because it was betrayed by its stalwarts in the Punjab - G.M.Khar and Farooq  Leghari - or was it because it shunned the leaders in the mainstream? The voters from Punjab are inclined towards the second view as upstarts and nobodies dominate the PPP in the Punjab as the cronies of Asif Zardari threaten to use Sindh card if matter relating to their court cases are brought forward. There is remarkable similarity with the manner in which the uncles of Benazir Bhutto let down her father.  Those who believe that his attorney - Yahya Bakhtiar - had her father hanged by needlessly prolonging the defence arguments making irrelevant and emotional statements in court that resulted in retirement of the judges who were expected to rule in favour of Mr Bhutto and give majority verdict for his acquittal. The PPP leadership is doing the same thing now. They are making legal matters into moral and political issues. There is a lack of vision and maturity in the PPP leadership. People are very well aware of the dangers of the repeat of the ‘dry run' in Sindh province upon the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on 27th December 2007. It was the work of foreign forces and their agents who are ready to pounce upon Pakistan once again. But do they realise that any move to repeat that kind of action would be disastrous for the people who are playing their last innings. The trickle down effect will cross the borders and many more countries will emerge in the region if any attempt was made to destabilise Pakistan.

According to a senior analyst, "Threat to use the ‘Sindh Card' by the Zardari is a campaign against the Supreme Court in the wake of its verdict on NRO. It implies that if a Sindhi is not the holder of power at the centre, Sindh will secede. Until the rise of the Taliban, the ANP used the Pakhtunistan card. The Baluch Sardars threaten secession of Baluchistan from time to time when India or America gives them money and support. The MQM threatens to set Karachi ablaze if it is not a coalition partner in government of Sindh and at the centre. There are more parties in Pakistan who want your vote not because they have solutions to your problems; they want your vote because if they do not get power they will create problems - even break up Pakistan. 

" What should be done? We need to learn from the experience in Swat. The ‘Tehrik Taliban Pakistan' (TTP) started to rule parts of Pakistan without much resistance until the majority decided they would not submit to blackmail and decided to support the Army operation against the TTP. The people supported their Army while the politicians were still politicking. It was the press that mobilised the people to rise and show their disgust at the murder and mayhem unleashed by the TTP. The press have to mobilise the people against all blackmailers - religious as well as ethnic - and mobilise them to vote for those who have solutions to problems - not for those who only threaten or use violence to create problems. The politics of cards divide the people and could ultimately lead to the disintegration of the country. The PPP should be made to face the implication of its threat. Has it ceased to be the party of the federation? Is it now a party of Sindh only? The threat to use the ‘Sindh Card' means exactly that."

Zulifqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) was a visionary statesman and his daughter Benazir Bhutto inherited some of his qualities. They were both eliminated in ‘friendly fire' by the USA. America is in the habit of putting too much pressure on its friends. In the end, their friends collapse under the pressure of ‘do more' in a direction that is deeply unpopular. No doubt, the Americans have long line of replacements but leaders are not like company directors to be replaced at will. The British make a long term investment and protect their assets. That is why Hamid Karzai is President of Afghanistan and US asset Abdul Haq aka ‘Hollywood Haq' is dead. Bizarrely, the Americans sent a drone to rescue Haq, while the British Special Forces picked up an injured Karzai who was encircled by the Taliban. The British are investing in grooming of Bilawal and Bakthawar Zardari at the cost of the Pakistani taxpayers. But the British spend a million pounds a year to provide protection to Bilawal and Bakhtawar Zaradri.  

Late Zulifqar Ali Bhutto had all the qualities of becoming a leader of the Muslim World like King Faisal but that did not suite USA. It is not important how or by who were ZA Bhutto and King Faisal eliminated; the important question is why? ZA Bhutto was not a corrupt or greedy leader like the current leadership of Pakistan. Unlike to days ‘politicians' he was not interested in getting his children into politics by right or inheritance just because he was the party leader. Benazir succeeded him by displaying grit and determination in the face of adversity and by representing the country well as a charismatic leader as the Prime Minister. Those who hold power and party leadership do so on the basis of a "dubious will". Clearly, legitimacy in high office cannot be underpinned by a ‘dubious will' and even more dubious "Sindh card'. What is worse, all the major political parties are run like a private family businesses. With the judiciary enjoying well deserved adulation and public support, the political class has to come up with something better than ‘heredity' as the source of power.   

There is another danger looming large on the horizon. Many analysts believe that ‘MQM - Altaf Group' has become a ‘mercenary group' operating from London. Its leader laid memorial stone by phone inscribed laid ‘by the hand of Altaf Hussain'. That is a clear sign of cowardice being made endearing. The leader who cannot lay commemoration stones on the grave of his party worker, is still deemed to be present in spirit , which is far more exalted than presence in person.

MQM does not behave like a political party; it conducts its business as a ‘mafia'. In the mafia the only law is loyalty to the don. It cannot come into the mainstream until it has a full time leader inside the country. The MQM claims to have 30 million supporters. It was indeed dramatic that Altaf Husain asked an assembly of a few thousand people, ‘may I come (to Pakistan)' and few hundred said, ‘NO'. That is a good enough excuse for him? It is like a two years old asking his dad not to go work and the dad says, ‘OK darling forget about work, I will stay home (in London) with my  flat screen televisons  like 'Star Trek'' captain on the deck.

He (Bhutto) was concerned about the future of both his sons as none of them were bright in education like him, General Imtiaz Ali, his military secretary told his tight circle of friends. One of them told me that General Imtiaz found him (Prime Minster Bhutto) to be a good listener and that he treated people well, including his servants. Benazir was also like him. She was quite strict with party elite but very kind to workers of the party. I also got to know Benazir Bhutto and she showed me respect and kindness.  Both she and her father were people's persons in the final years of their lives.

Murtaza Bhutto was killed allegedly by the hirelings of his brother in law - Asif Zardari. That Murtaza detested Asif was common knowledge. One was bound to get the other. But it was Asif Zardari who proved to be faster at ‘draw'.  Murtaza's daughter - Fatima Bhutto - wrote about her father's murder and identified his murderers in a national news paper (The News). Shahnawaz Bhutto reportedly died of poisoning probably by his wife as a result of domestic violence. Both were married to the daughters of an Afghan diplomat when they were living in Kabul. Wives of eminent Pakistani leaders from neighbouring countries - Iran and Afghanistan - have played more than a minor role in palace intrigue. However the irony is that almost all of them are dead and the person most detested by the Bhuttos is the sole inheritor of their legacy a well their inheritance.

Is the deadly embrace a sign of things to come? One hopes not. But history does define a benign purpose. Pakistan has been an integral part of empires with origin in Afghanistan (Emperor Babar) or historical links with Iran (Emperor Hamayun). The three countries could form a Union with soft borders and economic union. Their women got into ‘harems' of President Iskandar Mirza and Prime Minster Bhutto. Iskander Mirza and C-in-C of the Pakistan Army - General Musa Khan- are buried in Iran. Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the founder leader of the Awami National Party, is buried in Afghanistan. As for British Citizen Altaf Hussain, there is a very slim chance of him going back to Pakistan in this century?