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Pakistan has not failed, only the nation's governance has: Fatima Bhutto
It would be absurd to call Pakistan a failed nation. Only its system of governance has failed it. The aspirations of the people of Pakistan are hundred per cent democratic. They want liberty and justice, but have a bad leadership, Pakistani author and granddaughter of the late Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fatima Murtaza Bhutto, said here on Friday.
Ms. Bhutto was addressing a press conference ahead of the Kovalam Literary Festival where, on Saturday, she would speak on ‘India and Pakistan: The Way Forward.'
‘Rich resources'
“Pakistan is a young country, with rich resources. There is a tremendous urge for democracy. But what it has now cannot be called democracy. The government there is not pro-people. When millions were reeling under severe floods, the government spent millions placing an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal ,” Ms. Bhutto said.
U.S statement
Asked to comment on the recent statement of a top U.S. official that the government of Pakistan was using violence as an instrument of policy, Ms. Bhutto retorted, “That is a bit rich, coming from the U.S.”
Why is she, a Bhutto, not in politics?
Out of politics
For the last 30 years, dynasty politics in Pakistan has not resulted in anything particularly progressive. Now it is important maybe for the Bhuttos to be out of politics and open up the field for others. “When you ask me why I have not entered politics, it is like asking me why I am not a dentist. I haven't even thought about it,” she explained.
Asked whether she faced any constraints in Pakistan on her freedom as a writer, she said she used to write columns in leading Pakistani dailies till 2008. That was the year the present government took office.
Warm memories
The author of Songs of Blood and Sword said she has warm memories of her aunt Benazir Bhutto. “I remember her as a courageous woman who stood for values…” Such memories do not extend to the period when her aunt entered politics, she added.
On her first visit to Kerala — all six hours of it that she sat down for the press conference — she said she was struck by people's hospitaility. Not a lot of Pakistanis visit south India, she pointed out, maybe this was something that can be changed.
Aversion to Facebook
A lover of Salman Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul, Ms. Bhutto was very emphatic about her aversion to Facebook where “people willingly surrender their privacy.” Even at the risk of being seen as old-fashioned, she said, she would never go in for such a surrender.
And what about her next book? “It will be on Pakistan, on Karachi,” she said. “A very misunderstood place. It would not be my story, though.”
SOURCE: The Hindu : Today's Paper / NATIONAL : Pakistan has not failed, only the nation's governance has: Fatima Bhutto
It would be absurd to call Pakistan a failed nation. Only its system of governance has failed it. The aspirations of the people of Pakistan are hundred per cent democratic. They want liberty and justice, but have a bad leadership, Pakistani author and granddaughter of the late Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fatima Murtaza Bhutto, said here on Friday.
Ms. Bhutto was addressing a press conference ahead of the Kovalam Literary Festival where, on Saturday, she would speak on ‘India and Pakistan: The Way Forward.'
‘Rich resources'
“Pakistan is a young country, with rich resources. There is a tremendous urge for democracy. But what it has now cannot be called democracy. The government there is not pro-people. When millions were reeling under severe floods, the government spent millions placing an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal ,” Ms. Bhutto said.
U.S statement
Asked to comment on the recent statement of a top U.S. official that the government of Pakistan was using violence as an instrument of policy, Ms. Bhutto retorted, “That is a bit rich, coming from the U.S.”
Why is she, a Bhutto, not in politics?
Out of politics
For the last 30 years, dynasty politics in Pakistan has not resulted in anything particularly progressive. Now it is important maybe for the Bhuttos to be out of politics and open up the field for others. “When you ask me why I have not entered politics, it is like asking me why I am not a dentist. I haven't even thought about it,” she explained.
Asked whether she faced any constraints in Pakistan on her freedom as a writer, she said she used to write columns in leading Pakistani dailies till 2008. That was the year the present government took office.
Warm memories
The author of Songs of Blood and Sword said she has warm memories of her aunt Benazir Bhutto. “I remember her as a courageous woman who stood for values…” Such memories do not extend to the period when her aunt entered politics, she added.
On her first visit to Kerala — all six hours of it that she sat down for the press conference — she said she was struck by people's hospitaility. Not a lot of Pakistanis visit south India, she pointed out, maybe this was something that can be changed.
Aversion to Facebook
A lover of Salman Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul, Ms. Bhutto was very emphatic about her aversion to Facebook where “people willingly surrender their privacy.” Even at the risk of being seen as old-fashioned, she said, she would never go in for such a surrender.
And what about her next book? “It will be on Pakistan, on Karachi,” she said. “A very misunderstood place. It would not be my story, though.”
SOURCE: The Hindu : Today's Paper / NATIONAL : Pakistan has not failed, only the nation's governance has: Fatima Bhutto
