Begum Nusrat Bhutto First Lady of Pakistan

Begum Nusrat Bhutto (Urdu: بیگم نصرت بھٹو, Sindhi: بیگم نصرت ڀٽو; March 23, 1929 – October 23, 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani who was the former First Lady of Pakistan and widow of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from 1979-1983. She was also the mother of the late PPP chairman and the first and only female Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. She passed

Background

Nusrat Ispahnie was born in 1929 in Esfahan, Iran, hailing from the wealthy Hariri Esfahani family in Esfahan. Nusrat Bhutto was said to be of Kurdish descent. However, there are some claims that despite the fact that her family originates from the Kurdistan province in Iran[4] the Kurdish connection only comes from her grandmother who had married into the Hariri family. Her father was a wealthy Iranian businessman who settled in Karachi, Pakistan. Nusrat met Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Karachi where they got married on September 8, 1951. She was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's second wife, and they had four children together: Shahnawaz, Sanam, Murtaza and Benazir. Except Sanam, she outlived her three other children. Benazir's widow and Nusrat's son-in-law Asif Ali Zardari is currently serving as the President of Pakistan.

Family and political career

As first lady from 1973–77, she functioned as a political hostess and accompanied her husband on a number of overseas visits. In 1979, after the trial and execution of her husband, she succeeded her husband as leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party as chairman for life. In 1982, ill with cancer, she was given permission to leave the country by the military government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq for medical treatment in London at which point her daughter, Benazir Bhutto, became acting leader of the party, and, by 1984, the party chairman.

After returning to Pakistan in the late 1980s, she served several terms as a Member of Parliament to the National Assembly from the family constituency of Larkana, Sindh.

During the administrations of her daughter Benazir, she became a cabinet minister and Deputy Prime Minister. In the 1990s, she and Benazir became estranged when Nusrat took the side of her son Murtaza during a family dispute, but later reconciled after Murtaza's murder. She lived the last few years of her life with her daughter's family in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and suffered from the combined effects of a stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

Pakistan’s former first lady, Begum Nusrat Bhutto died Sunday afternoon at Iranian Hospital in Dubai where she was brought under critical condition a day earlier. The 82-year-old lady, whose husband and daughter both served as prime ministers of Pakistan and a political force herself, was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for last many years and had been staying in Dubai for the last 10 years. Begum Nusrat was the first member of ZAB family who died on a hospital bed. She witnessed the traumatic hanging of his prime minister husband Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and violent deaths of her two sons Shahnawaz Bhutto, Murtaza Bhutto and her former Prime Minister daughter Benazir Bhutto. The PPP following her death on Sunday postponed all political activities for next 10 days and the government announced a public holiday on Monday (today) to mourn her death. According to a spokesperson of Bilawal House in Karachi, the funeral will take place at Garhi Khuda Bux near Larkana. Her son-in-law, President Asif Ali Zardari reached Dubai leaving his Jordon trip incomplete. Her body will be flown to Larkana where she will be laid to rest beside the grave of her slain husband at the ZA Bhutto mausoleum, also the last resting place of Benazir, Murtaza and Shahnawaz. Born on March 23, 1929 in a rich Iranian business family, Begum Nusrat was married to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on September 8, 1951 and was her second wife. She had four children, Benazir, Murtaza, Shahnawaz and Sanam. Only Sanam Bhutto is now alive and living in London. She went to Dubai along with her daughter Benazir Bhutto who spent eight years in self exile and took care of her ailing mother apart from leading the PPP from abroad after her party suffered immensely from dictatorial regime of Ziaul Haq and Nawaz Sharif. Nusrat Bhutto showed extraordinary personal strength and determination when she stood by her husband who was ousted in military coup on July 5, 1977 and was later sent to gallows on April 4, 1979. During Zia’s regime, Begum Bhutto personally suffered immensely as a number of cases were filed against her. The military government and elected government of Nawaz Sharif haunted her for many years to discourage her from keeping PPP as a political force alive. She led processions for democracy and was even suffered when she was hit by the police baton charge in one of the demonstration. She said to be suffered a wound in her head in a baton charge and was denied proper treatment and was banned from travelling abroad by General Zia. She was a staunch democrat and had always stood by her husband since the day; General Ayub Khan removed him as foreign minister from his cabinet in 1966. She stood behind Z.A Bhutto and encouraged him to enter politics. It was her support which gave Z.A Bhutto the strength to stand up and fight for democracy. Begum Bhutto was elected member of the National in 1977, 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997 before she shifted to Dubai with daughter Benazir Bhutto. As the first lady she was in the forefront of social activities aimed at alleviating the lot of poor peasants through official channels and as minister. She was seen as a mother figure by the poor womenfolk of Pakistan who had great faith in her and confidence that as long as she was around she will do whatever possible to make their lives better. As a mother she had suffered hugely when her youngest son Shahnawaz Bhutto was poisoned to death in France and when her elder son was gunned own by Sindh Police in a staged encounter just few yards away from 70 Clifton where she had lived after marrying ZA Bhutto. Due to these most traumatic experiences, Begum Bhutto’s health deteriorated and she went to UAE with her daughter who returned to Pakistan from her eight years self exile on Oct 18, 2007. she escaped a twin bomb blast attack on her reception motorcade on Share Faisal on October 18 but the assassins finally reached her on December 27 when they succeeded in assassinating her in an attack on her car after she was returning addressing a public meeting at Liaquat Bagh Rawalpindi, where the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Khan Liaquat Khan was gunned down on Oct 16, 1951. A pall of gloom descended on localities dominated by PPP as soon as the official announcement was made about Nusrat Bhutto’s death in Dubai. People from all walks of life remembered the graceful figure of Begum Nusrat Bhutto attired in Sari and moving around in official functions and political rallies. She was as popular among the PPP cadres as her husband ZA Bhutto.