I differ with you ona few things in Bhutto’s book Reconciliation but specifically on p. 187 about Zia-ul-Haq she says this about her father making him army chief of staff and the consequences it would incur.
“In March 1976 my father elevated General Zia-ul-Haq to army chief of staff, jumping over several more senior officers. IT WOULD PROVE TO BE A TRAGIC MISTAKE. Although Zia was personally religious, my father did not see this as a problem. One could be a pious person, he felt, without letting religion interfere in the politics of the country. My father did not know of General Zia’s connections with Maulana Maudoodi of the Jamaat-i-Islami. Later General Zia would make the works of Maudoodi compulsory reading in the armed forces. The professional armed forces changed into one influenced by the politics of religion.
Maybe she should have gone on to explain it more to your way of thinking but I definitely got the idea. Maybe you skipped over this as well as some other things that I felt were inaccurate but then we all have our subjective ways of looking at things and one look you could have is the article by Joan Smith:Bhutto was silenced for being visible and modern. I’m also appalled at the view taken by the US and many around the world at how little they know about who is running the country and how much money they have given to the wrong people who must be laughing up their sleeves. Take another look at the book and digest it. Benazir tried very hard to get some facts across.
Thank you for reading this.
Barbara Karski
