In Urdu, the lingua franca of Pakistan, they call it “buddua” or curse.
If President Ali Zardari and his favorite former ambassador Husain Haqqani political misfortunes could be attributed to a curse, it will lead to a woman who was extremely close to slain premier Benazir Bhutto.
The woman who was treated like a pariah by the Zardari-Haqqani combine, in spite of her lifelong services for the Pakistan People's Party, is Nahid Khan.
Sections of Pakistan’s powerful military generals, led by army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and I.S.I. chief Shuja Pasha have totally cornered Zardari and Haqqani.
Rumors are rife that Zardari, who arrived sedated in Dubai Tuesday, may resign his post on “health grounds” instead of staying on a collision course with Kayani and Pasha.
Friendship between Nahid Khan and Benazir Bhutto was a source of envy in male dominated Pakistan and led to all sorts of rumors. . Even Zardari appears to be have been jealous of their closeness as he ostracized Khan in the P.P.P. after Bhutto’s death and even suspended her party membership in November last year.
According to historian Lawrence Ziring, the clash between Zardari and his brother-in-law Murtaza Bhutto weakened the Bhutto clan. Murtaza Bhutto was shot dead Sept. 20, 1996 outside the family home in Old Clifton, Karachi.
There were widespread reports that the entire populist culture of the Bhuttos P.P.P. changed after Zardari came to the helm of affairs as caretaker P.P.P. co-chairman until his son Bilawal Zardari, who was re-christened as Bilawal Bhutto, took charge of the Bhutto political dynasty.
In fact, political observers call Zardari a product of chance who got the P.P.P. leadership and the country’s presidency in his dowry in one of Pakistan’s most celebrated wedding ceremonies at the Kakri football ground in Lyari, inhabited by Karachi’s oldest inhabitants the fish-eating Baloch.
Nahid Khan was eclipsed by Zardari when he named Ruksana Bangash as the new secretary to the co-chairman of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party.
Nahid Khan withdrew her nomination papers on the reserved seat for women when a ticket was granted to Farahnaz Ispahani, spouse of Hussain Haqqani.
Haqqani was once married with Nahid Khan’s sister and that was a reason why Benazir Bhutto accomodated Haqqani her government though Haqqani had launched his political career as a spin doctor of arch-foe of Benazir Bhutto, former premier Mian Nawaz Sharif.
Nahid Khan also took a stand on the restoration of ousted chief justice of Pakistan, Justice iftikhar Chaudhry, that ran counter to Zardari’s policy.
She openly criticized Zardari as a political nincompoop and said he would never be able to replace P.P.P. founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto son or his daughter, Benazir Bhutto. There was allegedly a gag order on Zardari when his wife was alive.
Zardari has publicly wept in the U.S. over the killing of his wife, but back home he never brought charges against intelligence official Brig. Ijaz Shah, who was named by Benazir Bhutto as someone who was plotting to kill her.
Khan had attacked Zardari over his compromise with Bhutto's killers.
U.S. businessman Mansoor Ijaz accused Zardari and Haqqani Saturday of knowing about the May 2 raid, a charge which the White House took the unusual step to deny.
Ijaz exposed a memo that was allegedly crafted by Haqqani for Mike Mullen, at the time U.S. Joints Chief of Staff, to curtail Pakistan army links with al Qaeda and Taliban.
©Mustikhan Syndicated News Service
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