AYESHA SHAMEEMULISLAM
Your article has prompted me to write to you. My husband’s eldest brother, Nasee was married to Bhutto’s only natural sister, Manna or Munawwar. Through her I saw Zulfi from close quarters. My late father, G. A. Madani, as Commissioner Karachi in 1963, showed us the Estate Jewels frisked away by Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto from the Junagadh Treasury, when Sir Shahnawaz was the Madar ul Mahaam of Junagadh State, pre-partition. Begum Junagadh had filed a case for recovery of these jewels and other things.
I saw those jewels in the Commissioner Office, Karachi, at the time when my father had called her to view the jewels recovered from Bhutto House. (By that time Sir Shahnawaz had died in the Palace Hotel-having been thrown out by his young Bahoo, Nusrat Bhutto). At this point I was married to Munawwar Islam Bhutto’s brother-in-law, and I was jittery about the flack I would receive from her! A year later, in 1964, my late father, G.A. Madani, ICS, CSP, SPK, SQA had been posted to Peshawar as Commissioner (by request to get away from the awful Commissionerate of Karachi).
I was visiting him when an invitation came from the next-door neighbour, Air Chief Asghar Khan. I was asked to accompany my father as Mother was happy baby-sitting my first born). Zulfi was the Chief Guest (in a bad mood because of the dry liquorless party) I saw him siding up to my father who was talking to Asghar Khan with me right behind them. I am witness to the ‘kameengi’ and vindictiveness of ZAB. He looked into my father’s eyes and said, “Madani, I will not forgive you or your children and their children, for what you did to my family. (Ref. Junagadh Jewels!).
I tugged at my father’s sleeves, fearing Bhutto’s physical presence; and Asghar Khan’s mouth fell open. My father excused himself from the host and walked out on Bhutto! Soon Bhutto’s vengeance with all Urdu speakers became known and talked about. He said that had he been in Pakistan he would never have allowed his father to ask a Mohajir to marry his daughter.
His vengeance further took the shape of breaking up established Business Houses (cartels according to Feroze Qaiser Bhai—my childhood role model). He stooped to nationalising the business house, Spencer & Co Pak Ltd, where my in laws, the Islams, were majority share-holders. ZAB’s own brother-in-law, Naseem ul Islam, (father of Tariq Islam, husband of Munawwar Bhutto) was a smaller share-holder, than my husband.
Comes separation of East and West Pakistan, thanks to Zulfi, who threatened to break my cousin, Ahmad Raza Qasuri’s legs, if he goes to attend the first session of Parliament in Dacca. All our businesses / properties in what is now Bangladesh became evacuee property. We were broken financially. We knew Zulfi. We survived him by the strength of our faith. We live to see the games being played by Tariq Islam with us and by the rangroot, Bilawal Bachha. Signing off with amazing memories surfing in my mind.