Zeenews Bureau
One of the most influential leaders in Pakistan democracy, Benazir Bhutto (June 21, 1953 - December 27, 2007) was the first woman elected to lead a post-colonial Muslim state. She was twice elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
She inherited the baton of political legacy from her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Background and Rise to Power
Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was initially a reluctant convert to politics.
On December 18, 1987 she married Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi. The couple had three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar, and Aseefa.
She has twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. On both occasions she was dismissed from office by the Presidents for alleged corruption.
Benazir Bhutto's father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was dismissed as Prime Minister in 1975, on charges of corruption. Later, in a 1977 trial on charges of conspiracy to murder the father of dissident politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death.
Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan after completing her studies, found herself placed under house arrest and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement in the wake of her father's imprisonment and subsequent execution. During stints out of prison for medical treatment, Bhutto set up Pakistan People's Party office in London in exile and began a campaign against General Zia-ul-Haq.
She had succeeded her mother Nusrat as leader of the Pakistan People's Party and the pro-democracy opposition to the Zia-ul-Haq regime.
She returned to Pakistan in 1986, attracting huge crowds to political rallies. After Gen Zia died in an explosion on board his aircraft in 1988, she became one of the first democratically elected female prime ministers in an Islamic country.
Young and glamorous, she successfully portrayed herself as a refreshing contrast to the overwhelmingly male-dominated political establishment in Indian subcontinent. At the height of her popularity - shortly after her first election - she was one of the most high-profile women leaders in the world.
Bhutto's government was dismissed in 1990 following charges of corruption, for which she never was tried. Zia's protégé Nawaz Sharif subsequently came to power. Bhutto was re-elected in 1993, but was dismissed three years later amid various corruption scandals by then President Farooq Leghari, who used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers to dissolve the government. The Supreme Court upheld President Leghari's dismissal by a 6-1 ruling. In 2006, Interpol issued a request for her arrest and that of her husband.
Corruption charges
After her second fall from power, her name came to be seen by some as synonymous with corruption and bad governance. During both her stints in power, the role of her husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial.
Zardari played a prominent role in both her administrations, and has been accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers.
It is argued that Bhutto's downfall was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband.
Bhutto has also steadfastly denied all the corruption charges against her, which she says are politically motivated. Until an amnesty in October 2007, she faced corruption charges in at least five cases, all without a conviction.
During her years outside Pakistan, Bhutto lived with her three children in Dubai, where she was joined by her husband after he was freed in 2004.
Her second coming
Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18 after President Musharraf signed into law an ordinance granting her and others an amnesty from corruption charges. It was observed that the US had prevailed on the military regime to accept her as an ally in its efforts to isolate religious forces and their surrogate militants.
Some in Pakistan believe her recent secret talks with the military regime amount to betrayal of the democratic forces as these talks have shored up President Musharraf's grip on the country.
Bhutto legacy no more
Benazir Bhutto was the last remaining bearer of her late father's political legacy. Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play an increasingly important role as a party leader - fled to the then-Communist Afghanistan after his father's fall.
From there, and various Middle Eastern capitals, he mounted a campaign against Pakistan's military government with a militant group called al-Zulfikar.
He won elections from exile in 1993 and became a provincial legislator, returning home soon afterwards, only to be shot dead under mysterious circumstances in 1996.
Benazir's other brother, Shahnawaz - also politically active but in less violent ways than Murtaza - was found dead in his French Riviera apartment in 1985.