BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech eulogising Benazir Bhutto, her efforts to combat terrorism and the overall tribute which the British stateswoman paid to Pakistan in the UN General Assembly didn’t get the display it deserved in our media. Your paper too shoved it inside.

There were two remarkable aspects of the speech to the packed house of the General Assembly, for the members included heads of state and government from all over the world. First, unlike President Donald Trump, she didn’t threaten to destroy a country, called terrorism a global scourge and emphasised the need for unity to take the fight to these terrorist groups by staying together and rejecting their false beliefs.” She added, “As the threat from terrorists evolves, so must our cooperation”.

Second, while Pervez Musharraf and Asif Zardari have made a mockery of the tragedy and have turned themselves into big fools by blaming each other, Ms May was categorical. She said: “Benazir Bhutto was brutally murdered by people who actively rejected the values that all of us here in this United Nations stand for.” She was murdered, Ms May added, “for standing up for democracy, murdered for espousing tolerance, and murdered for being a woman”.

However, what must have made the American and Indian delegates wring their hands was the truth Ms May spoke, for her words flew in their faces when she said Pakistan was “a country that has suffered more than most at the hands of terrorists”. It is seldom that the head of government of a country defends another country at a foreign forum. This is what Ms May did. (I wonder whether, after these words, President Trump would listen to Narendra Modi and ban the entry of British nationals into the United States.)

The British prime minister also gave a human touch to her speech and to the UNGA’s proceedings when she spoke of the “tenth anniversary of the death of the woman who introduced me to my husband, and who was known well to many of us in this United Nations.”

For Pakistan, Ms May is Britain’s precious gift. I hope our government — if it exists — will invite her to this country on a state visit and honour her with a national award.

Tahir Zaman
Karachi

(2)

LAST month, an Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi announced the verdict in the Benazir Bhutto murder case after nine years and declared Pervez Musharraf an absconder.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of Musharraf’s property and sentenced the former Rawalpindi CPO Saud Aziz and former Rawal Town SP Khurram Shahzad to 17 years in prison, and fined them Rs500,000 each. Ms Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on Dec 27, 2007, when Mr Musharraf was in power.

Musharaf allegated that Asif Ali Zardari and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai had very close relations with each other and they took help from Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in Benazir Bhutto’s murder.

If Musharraf knew about Benazir Bhutto’s and Murtaza Bhutto’s murderers,why was he quiet until now? Why didn’t he speak up earlier when the UN commission came? He was in power for 10 years, so why did he not do anything for Murtaza Bhutto’s case?

Also, if Zardari has close links with the TTP chief, why didn’t then Mushraf disclose this earlier? We all remember that Musharraf had threatened Ms Bhutto and warned against returning to Pakistan before the 2008 general election.

If Zardari wanted to run away from the Benazir Bhutto cases, then he would have never filed three appeals. Why did Musharraf’s own people try to wash away evidence and cover up the crime? Who was involved in this conspiracy?” Mr Mushrraf is trying to mislead the nation.

Humera Alwani
Thatta

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2017