Ghinwa Bhutto ( ur, غنویٰ بھٹو, sd, غنوا ڀٽو, ar, غنوة بوتو; born Ghinwa Itaoui) is a Lebanese-Pakistani politician and the chairperson of

Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) The Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) ''( sd, پيپلزپارٽي شهيدڀٽو)'' (abbreviated as PPP-SB) is a political party in Pakistan and one of three breakaway factions of the old Pakistan Peoples Party. The party is currently hea ...

. She is the widow of

Murtaza Bhutto Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (; 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he ear ...

, and the daughter-in-law and sister-in-law of the former

Prime Ministers of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

and Benazir Bhutto, respectively.

Background

and his daughter Fatima spent time in exile in Syria, where Murtaza first met Ghinwa. Ghinwa had fled from the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

back home and migrated to Syria, where she used to give

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

classes in the basement of a church. Fatima was one of her students. Murtaza and Ghinwa would later marry in 1989, and had a son

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr. ( ur, , sd, ذُوالفِقّارعلِي ڀُٽو; born 1 August 1990), is a Pakistani visual artist, performance artist and curator. He is a member of the prominent political Bhutto family, and is the grandson of fo ...

in 1990. Ghinwa has been estranged from the powerful

Bhutto family The Bhutto family ( ur, بھُٹو خاندان; sd, ڀُٽو خاندان) is a prominent political family and among the most powerful families in Pakistan, based in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The Bhuttos have played a prominent role in Pak ...

ever since she accused her sister-in-law Benazir Bhutto and her husband

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

of conspiracy to the 1996 murder of her husband, and also accused Benazir and Zardari of corruption. Zardari was arrested as a suspect in the murder of Murtaza, but he was later released due to lack of evidence. Her husband's murderers were never brought to justice.

Politics

In 1997, Ghinwa staked a claim to the Bhutto political legacy. She formed the

(PPP-SB), becoming the chairperson of the party, and ran for election from

Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site M ...

on 3 February 1997. Benazir convinced her mother

Nusrat Bhutto ''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...

, then president of the Pakistan Peoples Party, to run against her. Though her opponent suffered from Alzheimer's disease, Ghinwa was defeated. Ghinwa lives in the Bhutto family home in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

with her son

(named after his grandfather

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

) and her step-daughter

Fatima Bhutto Fatima Bhutto ( ur, ; , born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in Kabul, she is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and gran ...

. Prior to marrying Murtaza, Ghinwa worked as a ballet dancer and teacher. In 2002, Pakistani election authorities rejected her candidacy for the October 10 election. Ghinwa was rejected on the grounds of not possessing the required minimum academic qualification of a university degree. In August 2007, Ghinwa Bhutto passed the BA exams from Punjab University in the First Division with 526 marks. Ghinwa, roll # 86604, appeared as a private candidate. To be eligible to contest elections, Ghinwa chose to take the Punjab University BA exam because the results were to be declared by the end of August, before the elections. After the first suicide attack following Benazir's return to Pakistan in October 2007, Ghinwa remarked: "I think she has invited trouble herself." However, when Benazir was assassinated on December 27, 2007 Ghinwa put their differences aside. She attended the funeral with her step-daughter,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutto, Ghinwa Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Ghinwa Lebanese emigrants to Syria Pakistani ballerinas Pakistani democracy activists Pakistani people of Lebanese descent People from Clifton, Karachi People from Tripoli, Lebanon Politicians from Beirut Politicians from Karachi Syrian emigrants to Pakistan Pakistani people of Syrian descent

Background

Politics

See also

References