Fatima Bhutto on Pakistan, violence and her family history, at 5x15

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Fatima Bhutto on Pakistan, violence and her family history, at 5x15

17 May 2010

Speakers: Fatima Bhutto

Fatima Bhutto talks about her family, a 'colourful lot' living in Pakistan. There is more to Pakistan, Bhutto explains, than the media shows - it is a violent place, but it is also for many, home. Bhutto looks at violence in the South Asian region more broadly, locating Pakistan in a geographical and political context, before discussing her grandfather, the former President and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto held office in the 1970s, a period, Bhutto explains, that was one of great democracy, with successful policies at home and abroad.

In the 1980s, after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been overthrown, began a period of submission, censorship and enforced Islam. However, this period was also characterised by vibrant resistance from Pakistani journalists, doctors and citizens. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who overthrew Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was in turn overthrown, replaced by 11 years of shuffling chairs and so called democracy. It was during this time that Bhutto's father was assassinated, as part of an effort to 'clean up' Pakistan and its politics.