Shaheed Benazir Bhutto And My Memories With Her.. (Excerpts From My Autobiography) #MirMak

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto And My Memories With Her.. (Excerpts From My Autobiography) #MirMak

As i landed back to Dubai after having performed my Hajj in 2001, i got a call from BB. Ali Jafri and BB's cousin Laleh Jafri were also present with me during Hajj and BB wanted to have a lunch for us. I jokingly said that take me to Burj Al Arab, nothing less. And with a pleasant voice she says to me, Mohammad Ali, you are a member there so you arrange a lunch for all of us at Burj Al Arab. And i jokingly replied, BB Yeh To Lainay Keh Dainay Pargaey...And we both laughed on the phone and i agreed.
Lunch was arranged at the Firoz Suite and BB wanted me to invite a few other people who were visiting Dubai those days. Amongst them were my friends Amin Fahim and Jahangir Badar. So a cozy lunch for about 15 people was arranged and Tappi tagged along as he always did with BB for many occasions. BB came with a young Bilawal, a young boy in his early teenage years, quite, a bit shy and not very talkative. We sat down for lunch and the first thing BB said to me was, Mohammad Ali (She always called me Mohammad Ali) you must have prayed for the forgiveness of your sins at the Hajj specially for being an Advisor in the Government of a dictator... And she meant every alphabet of her sentence because she demanded an answer from me. Tell me, did you ask for forgiveness ? She demanded a reply vehemently. I replied. BB i am an investment banker who loves Pakistan, i have nothing to do with political rivalries, i joined as a technocrat and i resigned as a technocrat, next time i go to Hajj i will pray for the forgiveness of all the political leaders FIRST and then for the forgiveness of common people like me. She turned to Amin and Ali Jafri and said with a smile, Kitna Taiz Hai Yeh... And we all burst out into a laugh.
While our conversation was taking place on the table, Bilawal was leaning over the glass window looking out onto the sea and BB got scared and said in a loud voice, Bilawal, move back. Do not lean over the glass. He, just as the children always do, pretended like he did not hear his mother. She in a firm tone of voice said again, Bilawal, move away from the window, your mother has spoken and she will not speak again. And with that authoritative voice reaching his ears, Bilawal stepped back within a second.
BB turned around to me again and says with a beautiful smile on her face, Ok Mr. Investment Banker, i heard that you took over an oil company called PetroSAA as its Chairman. Why do not you do business with Petroline ? (Petroline was a company of BB trading in oil registered out of Sharjah and Ali Jafri was a Director in it as well). I smiled and answered back, why dont you give me Ali and let him join PetroSAA instead of me doing business with Petroline because i can not be involved in any company owned directly or indirectly by a political leader. For a second she seemed offended but then she turned towards Ali Jafri and said. What do you say Ali ? And Ali replied its your decision BB. The conversation ended there but a few days later i received a call and BB said, take care of Ali, he is joining you in PetroSAA. And Ali did and it was an honor for all of us because he knew oil business better than many i knew in the business. I lead a delegation along with Ali to meet the PM of Thailand, Thaksin Shiniwatra and the Chief of Their Army Staff, and we signed a deal to supply two million barrels a month to Thai Petro Chemical. It was a huge deal and Ali Jafri had played the most intelligent role in it.
BB was a breed different than many politicians i have rubbed shoulders with. She was a polished and educated woman. A woman who knew international politics as well as the Pakistani politics. She was yet a simple woman, she drove around in an old 4x4. Yes an old one, a very old one in Dubai. She went herself for the grocery shopping, checking prices on items herself. Imagine an Ex PM of Pakistan doing groceries ? Going to pick up her children from the school herself ? It happens only with the western politicians but i had never seen such a thing with my own eyes about a Pakistani PM. This brave soul never knew that she would be so violently martyred in her own land. With her death came the closure of a legacy in politics of Pakistan and the beginning of a new one. Pakistan lost a great leader and some leaders gained control of Pakistan because of her death. Who lost and who won, only future will decide, and not these memoirs.