Political biography of Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Examines the life of Pakistan's first woman prime minister.

Benazir Bhutto was twice prime minister of Pakistan, and was campaigning for a return to power when she was assassinated on December 27, 2007. She was born into a political family - her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was Pakistan's Prime Minister from 1973-77, and was deposed, imprisoned, and finally executed after a military coup. Benazir was imprisoned repeatedly before leaving for exile in London. She began to take interest in the political activities of her father's party - Pakistan people's Party (PPP), and returned to Pakistan in 1986. And in 1988, she was elected Prime Minister. For the next decade she was one of the most prominent women leaders in the world, and was seen in particular as a symbol of progress in women's rights. Bhutto was again forced into exile in 1999 and came back to Pakistan in October 2007 to lead her party in upcoming national elections. This book provides deep insights into the life and achievements of Benazir Bhutto. Going deep into her family background, her early childhood and education, it describes how her father was hanged and how she entered politics. Her policies and achievements as Prime Minister of Pakistan has also been discussed. Her important speeches and interview have been incorporated as well.

Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, after eight years of exile, hopeful that she could be a catalyst for change. Upon a tumultuous reception, she survived a suicide-bomb attack that killed nearly two hundred of her countrymen. But she continued to forge ahead, with more courage and conviction than ever, since she knew that time was running out—for the future of her nation, and for her life. In Reconciliation, Bhutto recounts in gripping detail her final months in Pakistan and offers a bold new agenda for how to stem the tide of Islamic radicalism and to rediscover the values of tolerance and justice that lie at the heart of her religion. With extremist Islam on the rise throughout the world, the peaceful, pluralistic message of Islam has been exploited and manipulated by fanatics. Bhutto persuasively argues that America and Britain are fueling this turn toward radicalization by supporting groups that serve only short-term interests. She believed that by enabling dictators, the West was actually contributing to the frustration and extremism that lead to terrorism. With her experience governing Pakistan and living and studying in the West, Benazir Bhutto was versed in the complexities of the conflict from both sides. She was a renaissance woman who offered a way out. In this riveting and deeply insightful book, Bhutto explores the complicated history between the Middle East and the West. She traces the roots of international terrorism across the world, including American support for Pakistani general Zia-ul-Haq, who destroyed political parties, eliminated an independent judiciary, marginalized NGOs, suspended the protection of human rights, and aligned Pakistani intelligence agencies with the most radical elements of the Afghan mujahideen. She speaks out not just to the West, but to the Muslims across the globe who are at a crossroads between the past and the future, between education and ignorance, between peace and terrorism, and between dictatorship and democracy. Democracy and Islam are not incompatible, and the clash between Islam and the West is not inevitable. Bhutto presents an image of modern Islam that defies the negative caricatures often seen in the West. After reading this book, it will become even clearer what the world has lost by her assassination.