Reconciliation - Islam, Democracy, and the West

By Munir Moosa
Leaders are always the focused personalities for the people. People follow and learn many things through their intellectual decisions. They are the voices of thousands and millions of people. People bond the rope of expectations from them. Thousands of leaders' were born and died; but only few leaves their mark of identity forever. Leaders like Quaid-e-Azam, Liaquat Ali Khan, Sir Aga Khan, Allama Iqbal, Sir Syed, etc., who is still alive today, believed in a better Pakistan and against all the odds and hardships stood their ground and helped pave the way for us. Out of these great leaders, one of the most daring and confident lady, who laid down her life for the better future of our country, was Muhatarmma Benazir Bhutto.

Ms. Bhutto was brutally assassinated on December 27, just weeks after she returned from eight years in émigré. She was not only the ray of hope for the people of Pakistan as a leader, but was also an intellect writer, whose writing was greatly inspired by most of the diplomats and International people. The much-anticipated and the most awaited new book by Late Benazir Bhutto - Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West - is released last week. She wrote this book to present the real effective image of Islam to the people with positive gesture. It is also believed that she made the last few edits to her book the day she died. Her long-time friend and adviser, Washington political consultant and lobbyist Mark A. Siegel, indicates that he collaborated on the manuscript.

In a new book released Tuesday, in New York, London and Islamabad, former Pakistani Prime Minister and slain opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto says she was optimistic about her return to Pakistan, but knew about the risks to her life. Ms. Bhutto says that she had been warned that four separate suicide bomber groups had been sent to kill her. But she was the most powerful lady, who, despite of having many threats, returned back, just for the people of Pakistan and for their rights.

After the death of Indra Gandhi, and Lady Diana, she was the person, people admired the most throughout the world. She was the queen of Pakistan. She wanted liberal democratic society, and in the result, our country has given her nothing. She was an intelligent politician. Although she was exiled for many years, but her heart and soul was attached to the people of pakistan which attracted her to come back, in order to be the voices of many innocents unheard.

Bhutto was the eldest child of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani of Sindhi descent and Shia Muslim by faith, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto. She was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state, having twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988-1990; 1993-1996).

Bhutto was sworn in for the first time in 1988 at the age of 35, In 1993 Bhutto was re-elected but was again removed in 1996 on similar charges, this time by President Farooq Leghari. Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in Dubai in 1998. Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007, after reaching an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf.

In her book 'Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West', Benazir Bhutto has revealed that dialogue between the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and President Pervez Musharraf's regime went on by fits and starts from the very outset of his rule but "these negotiations failed every time because I insisted on a road map to democracy."

"For the PPP it was essential that General Musharraf retire as the army chief of staff," she explains. Benazir's great regret appears to have been Musharraf's aversion to act on any of his promises.

"If Musharraf had fulfilled his promises, Pakistan could have had an orderly democratic transition, closing the chapter on military rule once and for all," she writes.

Benazir also reveals that she was in New York in August 2006 when Musharraf called her for the first time. "He asked for my support for a bill related to women's rights. I agreed, subject to a parliamentary committee's working out the details . . . The passage of the women's bill gave momentum to the process of negotiations, although deep suspicions existed." She writes that her first face-to-face meeting with Musharraf in the United Arab Emirates was "both long and cordial", and Musharraf's response to her political demands was positive. She writes that she told Musharraf to shed his uniform, ensure free, fair and transparent elections, lift ban on twice-elected prime ministers, drop charges against politicians and declare it publicly.

"Gen Musharraf's regime knew of the specific threats against me, including the names and numbers of those who planned to kill me. It also knew the names of others, including those in his own inner circle and in his party, who we believed were conspiring," Ms Bhutto wrote in the book.

She was assassinated on December 27, 2007, after departing a PPP rally in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled Pakistani general election of 2008 where she was a leading opposition candidate. She symbolized the unity of federation. Her charismatic appeal across the country was at its peak and she succeeded in inspiring millions of people in her public rallies during her election campaign. Her father was snoozed up by the brutal leader of Pakistan. The death and killing of her brothers Shahnawaz and Murtaza shows, that they were much popular, due to which government was not satisfied. Benazir intelligence transformed the PPP into a more liberal and social democratic party. She professed democratic values, abandoned anti social values and adopted the way of humanism. She always practiced pluralism. On her death, regardless of ethnic or political dividism, the whole nation is beating its chest in grief. Her magnetic appeal depsote of many rivals in politics made it clear, that there was an element of leadership in her, which no one have. In her last rally at Liaquat Bagh, much in her father's mode she said: "Your country and my country is at risk. This government cannot handle this. We will defend it."

The most interesting part of Ms Bhutto's book is her issue with Samuel Huntington who wrote in his book "Clash of Civilizations" that a disagreement between the "West and militant Islam" was predictable after the Cold War was resolved.

Ms Bhutto asserts in the book that the West cannot treat conflict with the Islamic world as inevitable.

The former prime minister writes that she hoped to be a catalyst for change in bringing democracy to Pakistan. She also calls for a reconciliation of Islam with democratic principles, despite opposition from extremists.

Her assassination has left a great void that cannot be filled since it takes decades to build an international icon of her, but the PPP people are showing great unity and trying to move ahead as it was the mission of bibi to move for the democratic country. For us, she has become immortal. I pay my tribute to the great lady and icon of democratic society.

She was an International icon and role models for many womens. Her courage, bravery, talent, leadership qualities can not be revived without her.

This book is an indispensable bounty for all the people.

Munir Moosa Sewani is one of the notorious, prominent and creative names in the field of Education since 8 years. He is a Master Trainer In Special Education, Post Graduate, Teacher Educator and a Teacher. He is a Freelance Writer and Photographer too. He is an author of the famous self-published storybook for children named as "The MORAL STORIES FOR CHILDREN" and has also written Biology course book for Secondary Classes. He has written almost more than 30 articles on social, health, educational and cultural issues, which are internationally recognized and published on most of the famous world wide websites, magazines and newspapers. He is also a Social worker, private tutor, career counselor, musician, lyrics writer and have multi- dimensional talents. His future plan is to write dozens of informative books and articles and to work for education and media too.