Bhutto Jr records rap on tragedy
Islamabad, January 6:
A year after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto her 18-year-old daughter has poured out her anguish in a rap song, in which she asks “was it worth dying for?”
Bakhtawar Bhutto, a student at Edinburgh University, put together a video and a song entitled
“I would take the pain away”, which is being broadcast on the state-owned television channel in Pakistan. It is also available on YouTube.
Bhutto’s three children, all teenagers — Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Aseefa — have spoken little about the trauma of their mother’s murder in December 2007 as she campaigned for a third term in power. Now Bakhtawar says in the rap that she has a few things to say to “dear mother”, but “I never got the chance”.
“Why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave? Aseefa’s only 14 and I ain’t even ready, I barely hit 18,” says the song, written and performed by Bakhtawar. “A bullet in the back of your head. You were never afraid.” Bilawal, the eldest, studies at Oxford University, while Aseefa is at school in Dubai. Bakhtawar’s interest in rap music was such that her mother used contacts to introduce her to P Daddy.
The PPP, which was led by Bhutto, made clear that Bakhtawar did not plan a career in music. She has not, however, ruled out following her mother into the country’s politics.