The trails of tears for Shaheed Benazir Bhutto
Dr Liaqat Ali
I am witness to the charisma of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto since my childhood. We raised to youth in her aura of resistance against tyranny. She fought that battle alone for humanity so gallantly that impressed the then famous poets and academia. I was in matric who welcomed her in historic arrival in Lahore in 1986. I recited poem on the stage resonating the history of struggle using metaphors of Karbala.
Being the president of People’s Students Federation in Islamabad, I met her during her first tenure of premiership. She was so eloquent, decent, caring, and encouraging even interacting with common men and the young students of F.Sc.
We faced severe baton charge during her movement of resistance “Tehreek-e-Nijat”. Still recalling the moments, while BB was standing in an open jeep with former Interior Minister Gen Naseer Ullah Khan Baber at Khana Pul, Islamabad, I along with my comrades stopped the whole formation of police and didn’t allow any policeman with baton to come near BB. I can recall her words, “Don’t torture my younger brothers.” Soon some high-ups came and she was advised to go to some a safe house in Islamabad. She pointed at me and said, “Come my brother.” She asked my name and class in which I was studying. I told her that I would be appearing in F.Sc examination after 4 days. She smiled angrily that don’t allow the police to arrest you in these words: “Police Se Bhag Jao.” I said BB, “What about you, we can’t leave you unprotected.” She slowly said, she was safe. So, after she left the scene, we fled the scene by saying bye-bye to tired and emotionally exhausted police men.
The trail of tears turned the page, when I met her in Khyber Medical College (KMC), Peshawar and to the best of my surprise she called me by name. She showed her pleasure that I was studying in the best medical college of Pakistan. I got an honor of meeting her again while hosting the inaugural session of Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC). She announced a good donation for our Association. I still remember her words, “Mashallah you have grown up as a good doctor.” During her exile and especially in 2007, I used to email her that BB please don’t come back, now the society has been converted into fanatic monsters. She used to reply, “I know but I have to come back to lead the nation out of this dark night.”
Tears are still flowing my face, when I remember December 27, 2007, the most tragic day of my life. Present on the other gate of Liaqat Bagh facing Murree Road, heard fire and then a huge blast. Everything got ruined. In then Rawalpindi General Hospital, I cried so much lifting the coffin of my ideal, The John de Arc of the present era. My heart got shattered and hopes broken down. Even today after 18 years of losing the daughter of east – Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, I still feel I am carrying her coffin on my shoulders with tears flowing through my eyes. Asking every corridor that why someone killed the hope, the beacon of light, and the icon of bravery. Not in politics now, but I have huge collection of books to cherish my memories of that great leader of the world. I admit that a Jiayla is not made, he is born.
The loyalty of a diehard Jiyala runs in the blood line for the blood line of Bhuttos. May Allah keep Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, Aseefa, Bakhtawar, and President Asif Ali Zardari safe from the conspiracies of fanatics and franklin monsters, Amin!
The writer is a senior clinician, medical educator, and researcher. He serves as a professor of urology at the Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKD), Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Peshawar. He can be reached at: liaqatikd@gmail.com.
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