Fatima Bhutto, a prominent member of the Bhutto dynasty, on Tuesday, said the denial of justice to the victims of violence in Pakistan has diminished the country.
Ms. Bhutto’s comment came in the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of the death of her father, Murtaza Bhutto, who was killed by the police outside 70 Clifton, the Bhutto family residence in Karachi.
“Pakistan continues to deny justice to the victims of its violence. What it loses in return is faith,” said Ms. Bhutto on her Twitter handle, underlining the violence that rages among Pakistan’s various groups.
Ms. Bhutto was in her teens when her father was gunned down outside their house.
“My father’s killers continue to serve at the highest levels of the Pakistani police and state. Besides protecting them, Pakistan has continually rewarded the police who killed 7 men, including an elected MP, on Sept 20, 1996,” Ms. Bhutto said.
“The state of Pakistan has ensured that the killers of 7 men that night were kept free.’’
Ms. Bhutto’s statements coincide with the current state of affairs in Pakistan where a section of the exiled Baloch leaders have reached out to India seeking support for their political cause.
The leaders say that Pakistan military is carrying out widespread human rights abuse against them and seek independence for their homeland. The late Murtaza Bhutto, who had a Baloch following in Karachi, became one of the earliest to seek India’s help for political campaign at home.
Murtaza Bhutto sought India’s support Fatima Bhutto’s memoir of her father, Songs of Blood and Sword refers to Murtaza Bhutto’s visits to India and his meetings with the Indian leadership.
Mr. Bhutto had launched a political movement ‘Save Bhutto Committee’ after his father Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was deposed and later executed following a military takeover in 1977.
Raja Anwar, a former Bhutto follower has also recounted details of Murtaza Bhutto’s interactions in Delhi in his book, The Terrorist Prince. Mr. Bhutto had sought India’s support to restore democracy in Pakistan.
