Islamabad, Jan 03: With slain former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto's third and final book still a good month away, those curious to know about her life and times are queuing up to buy books written by the "Daughter of the East".
While Benazir's "Daughter of the East: An Autobiography" and its Urdu translation "Dukhtar-e-Mashriq" are topping the charts, books by her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, are also being picked up by many.
Excerpts from Bhutto Senior's banned book "If I Am Assassinated" are being posted online and circulated by those who continue to be intrigued by the Bhutto legacy. So is the English translation of "Mere Akhri 323 Din", which details the final moments before Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's hanging in 1979.
Benazir, 54, was assassinated on December 27 shortly after addressing an election rally at the historic Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi. The first manuscript of her third and final book -- "Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West" -- was rushed into print by HarperCollins last week.
Benazir handed over the manuscript to her publishers for an estimated advance of 75,000 pounds a little before her return to Pakistan from eight years in self-exile in October.
Mark Siegel, her American spokesman, is a collaborating writer for the book. Siegel is also the friend to whom Benazir sent an e-mail in October saying that if she was killed, President Pervez Musharraf would bear some of the blame.
Book stores across Pakistan have already started taking orders for Benazir's last offering.
Apart from books by Benazir and her father, CDs and DVDs of her speeches are being picked up by many. Bookstores are also cashing-in on people's sentiments by putting up Benazir posters and souvenirs for sale.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, January 03, 2008, 00:00