The heartless assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the most popular democratic leader of Pakistan, has left the citizens of the country in a state of shock, rage, and dejection. She was viewed by a con man as a "source of hope", a leader who was blessed with the potency of pulling out the country from its darkest era. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has gargantuan number of followers throughout the state but this specific advantage has somehow proved to be counterproductive for the leaders of the party, or in plain words, for the Bhutto dynasty, as the garrison rulers have always perceived their popularity as “formidable”.
The popularity of the “Bhutto leadership” unequivocally lies in the possession of sharp “foresight” and “insight”. It is known to all that Madam Bhutto was aware of the threats to her life, but simultaneously she could leap into the hearts and minds of her followers who are more in love with the title “Bhutto” than anything else. Her premonition must have lead her to the conclusion that though the party was replete with capable and credible leaders, only a “Bhutto” had the charisma of assuaging the wound that would be inflicted upon them in case the threats were materialized.
Why the eligible Fatima Bhutto, her niece, wasn't bequeathed the reigns of the party needs much musing and logical interrogation prior to accosting the decision of the deceased leader. In any case, the appointment of Bilawal Bhutto did act as an ointment for the hurt followers who see the reflection of the sagacious mother in the son.
Unfortunately, soon after the controversial appointment of the Bhutto boy as the chairman of the biggest democratic party of the country, gossips commenced surfacing the media pertaining to his personal life. It is a sad state of affair both for the Bhutto progeny and for the minority of the judicious citizens of Pakistan who have no desire, whatsoever, of indulging in how a young student spends his time at a university campus.
What must be fathomed is the fact that Bilawal Bhutto wasn't brought up in the conservative Pakistani social set-up. He has been behaving akin to any student of his age in the settings of a university campus of the western world.
The press and media should abstain from pursuing Bilawal Bhutto and should not endeavour to encroach his privacy with an intention of excavating his shortcomings, as the young man has already evinced valour and capability in his one and only press conference. It is always easy to censure, but for once let us put our feet in his shoes and envisage him as a youngster who buried his beloved mother with his own hands, who knows that the assassin of his mother might never be brought to justice, who might never have had a disposition of stepping into the quick sand of Pakistani politics, but now destiny and misfortune has shoved him in a situation where he is expected to sacrifice his personal ambitions for the sake of millions of followers who look up to him as their future leader.
What Bilawal Bhutto needs is "privacy" and "time" so that he can put himself together and prepare for an effective integration into Pakistani culture and social and political settings. Thousands of citizens of Pakistan including myself, are least interested in Bilawal Bhutto's adoration for “Boozie Suzie” or his “facebook profile” because we understand that Bhuttos strictly tag along their political agendas, political shrewdness runs in their blood, and that the best revenge that a son of a democratic leader can take for the brutal assassination of his mother is through "Democracy".
Give Bilawal Bhutto a break.
