The following essay is published in Weekly Blitz as a
part of the story that revolves around the libertine sex lives of Benazir
Bhutto and her entourage... Through this essay, the author responds to several
questions that have raised individually and collectively - after the
publication of his investigative news report.
Aaj Ka Manto (Phase 1)
Conversation with Benazir
Bhutto, Asif Zardari and Sherry Rehman: Aaj Ka Manto Talks with His “Sweet and Sour” Friends... (Aaj Ka Manto Aap
Ke Sath)
By Aslam Ansari/Roshan Mirza
Notes
by Aslam Ansari, the author:
Privacy aspect:
Let’s begin from this point... Because whenever
there’s a rising concern about behind-the-scene lives of political figures,
this argument is thrown out as a ready-made
defence to cover-up everything. The aspect of privacy and “private
life” cannot arise in this context. When you lead a public life at the
expense of public (not only in the economic sense, but at the expense of
their hopes, their dreams of a better life and tolerant societies) - you’re
answerable to public for all the aspects of your life! Bill Clinton’s light
romantic/sexual affair with one individual woman was not forgiven. So how another
leader’s far more wild actions could be overlooked? If some horrible acts are performed in privacy,
that privacy should be broken with a big-bang.
And you know it is still a light knock on your doors. But the “big-bang” is also just on your
doorsteps. You’re hearing the bell ringing. Listen to the “voice within the
voice”... My sweet and sour friends, everybody’s got to learn
sometime. And this is your learning time!
Who am I and what’s coming up?
Oh Mister Zardari… Now for the
next few moments, I will be addressing to you in particular, and then I will get back to all other friends.
You must be surprised that how I am calling your team as “my
friends”. Yes, I consider everyone my friend. Even the
adversaries and rivals are my friends because I can learn from them. And I
can tame
them as well, if I want to. I am a shepherd - the shepherd/thinker…
I have said, “Conflicts could be the diamonds if one knows how to cut them.” So
Mister Zardari, my friend (the Godfather friend), the master Saadat Hasan Manto
was a writer, a great writer (examining
the society and trends through writing) - but with his extended spirit, Aaj
Ka Manto has many other sharp-edge tools as well - in his
workshop. He can play with you any kind of games you choose!
In 1992/1993, there was the news in Pakistan that you
had cornered a businessman and put a bomb around his leg and forced him to
pay you a large sum of money. This was your gangster side.
At that time when I heard about this, I said to one of my friends, addressing
to YOU in absentia, “Baba, suna hai TUM lugon key panoon mein bomb bandh detey ho. Baba
kabhi hamare sath bhi to khelo ni. Phir zara khel ke rang dekhna…” (Baba, I have heard that you put the bomb around people’s’ legs. Baba, someday
come and play with me. And then see the colours of the game…). In 2010, you
were on a foreign visit. I called your ADC Major Jehanzeb and asked him to
arrange my meeting with you for a discussion. And I told him to pass my words
to you precisely in this manner, “Baba tum ‘darbaryoon’ se tu
hameisha milte ho, kabhi khilarioon se bhi to milo ni” (Baba you always
meet ‘darbarees/praising people’ only, someday meet with some
player as well).
So you had
put a bomb around the legs of that simple business person to get a large sum of
money... Now listen, I don’t like to speak using the
terminology of arms and weapons. These are not my tools. But since your act actually
emerged with that kind of stuff... So I would respond to you in this
terminology... Today, with my “discoveries”
about you and your entourage, I have put an “advanced
smart bomb” around your thick neck...
you’re listening to the click-click... And now you know that no matter wherever
you get a refuge, in bullet-proof
cars, in villas surrounded by high walls blocked by heavy containers - you’re
not protected anymore!
Because your gangster side is an important aspect of your personage,
so I must address to this trait first:
Now to play with your gangster side, I am your Al Capone, the
legendary gangster - but a “new-age Al Capone”, a legitimized
Al Capone going along with the law, moving on “legitimate”. This
is your Al Capone legitimized - a sign of trouble for the sharks around.
Or perhaps I am a lover-gone-wild…
But this aspect is for our ladies around - les femmes fatales.
For you my Al Capone side is
fine!
To play with your political networking, here I am your “player-in-the
lobbies...” I will not let the “Big players” to support you at
least in this particular context. I am a good player. And I have set the
fielding in every corner of the playground. Either you will be clean-bold
or catch-out by a fielder. The fielding is tight my friend, well actually, one
of my sweet and sour friends! Remember,
you’re all my friends, like it or not!
Evidences/Poetic
justice:
For the relevant evidences about the story of secret sex lives of people
exposed in my report, I have already clearly emphasized in the 1st part of
my writings that I will warmly welcome you in any court of law for an open
debate and cross-examination of evidences. I have already
handed-over all evidences to some officials from a high authority in a European
country that is connected to a chain of events related to this affair. Let’s
come across each other in judicial playgrounds as well. And I
assure you, we ALL will get our “due share” - you
Mister Asif Zardari, Sherry Rehman (Pakistan’s
Ambassador-in-style), Bilawal baba,
B.B Benazir in absentia,
and myself as well... And this will be a “poetic justice” of
modern times! Actually we all need our “due share” in this poetic
justice that I am designing... This is a “legal thinker”
talking to you…
Mister Zardari tumharey sath play karne ke liey
mere ander ke chaar players ready hein (Mister
Zardari, to play with you, 4 players within me are ready):
- An Al Capone, the advanced gangster
(but moving along with law) to beat the criminal in you!
- A “player-in-the lobbies” to play
with the politician in you…
- A “legal thinker” to beat you and the
team of your lawyers in any judicial battle…
- And a thinker and writer (a sweet and sour friend as well) to
teach you a refined lesson.
Now it’s up to you whom you want to deal with.
What’s your role in this story?
You’d like to see your son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
to be the future head of state, and you’re contributing your full support to
realize this motivation. And you would certainly defend him in all his
conduct (political, social or sexual...).
So you’re present in this affair!
You might think why I am addressing to you in
such harsh tone... Why I am throwing hard balls towards you... I must be your enemy?
OH NO, you’re not that powerful... that I can even think
of becoming your enemy. Okay, you’re a tiny-little
point lying-down somewhere in the chain of power-games... But you’re
not a part of the “GANGS” who own the
infrastructures. You’re not a part of the “SystemS Theory” (the
control and internal governance of systemS).
BHUTTO LEGACY/ETHICAL INTERVENTION:
Whenever something comes up exposing the affairs
of people related to Bhutto, an
immediate objection and question are thrown out... “This is to damage the Bhutto legacy!”
Well, I am not “anti-Bhutto”
in any sense! And I am not into any active politics. I am not a part of any
political party at all! But I am an awaked
citizen. And as an "awaked citizen", I take it as my
ultimate right to make an "intervention" where it's ethically
necessary and where the law of nature is also providing me
the possibility to make that "ethical intervention".
In the present scenario, I see both an "ethical necessity" and
a "possibility" to intervene in certain large
issues...
Actually I like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, his
leadership and his personality (though I
have never been associated with his Peoples Party). I just liked his
personality. And I loved and still love his ground-concept of a social
revolt "necessities for everyone". I am all (with
all the depth of my heart, mind and soul) for this concept, and will always
be loyal to this ideology. But his party PPP and his dream of a social
revolt have been "hijacked" by the gangs of ruthless
looters. Peoples Party leadership needs to be changed. It should be led
by those who are sincere and loyal to the underlying principles that this great
leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto tried to establish - not by these gangs who
are capitalizing IN HIS NAME!
An illicit financial transaction through a lady engaged in sex parties:
By the way, Mister Zardari,
just recently - a new element has emerged… And this involves YOU as well - indirectly in this sex affair:
A transaction was offered by YOU through Benazir - to a woman who had been engaged in
sexual adventures with Benazir’s group… The offer was for the export of rice
from Pakistan to a Lebanese businessman in Africa. This woman friend of Benazir
presented this offer to Lebanese importer in Africa. The strange element of
this offer was that the price of the rice was extremely low, far lower than
half of the usual market price. The businessman sensed a “money-laundering” plan in this transaction. And he refused this
offer. I will be getting more elements of this affair quite soon…
Now to my sweet and sour ladies… the wild ladies in sex parties:
So here I am with you, my “sweet and sour” ladies-in-action…
Hello ladies, listen to my
flute…
Let’s dance with the sound of
my flute…
Let’s dance on the beats of my
flute…
I’m your snake charmer in the jungle, let’s dance around…
Lady Sherry Rehman and B.B Benazir, I don’t condemn your sexual adventurism outright! I can understand and grasp the urge
for all kind of wilderness that could emerge within one’s existence and in the
diversity of one’s soul. I know when you reach to a certain point of large-scale success in life, and you
dance on the BEATS of the music… then the beats of your success & position blend with the music
around, and it takes you to a sense of exaltation… And in those moments you
feel yourself above everything, above everyone and above any set of rules. You
find yourself in a different world, above the world we live in. I am not saying
that you SHOULD or SHOULDN’T have done that! But perhaps you could utilize the
power and spirit of those moments. I wish
if you could diversify the energy
derived from your sexual freedom towards the greater good of people living in
everyday’s world. But you did not bother for this. You remained in your
closed-door heavens.
There’s one thing you should know as well: You see I have written the relevant names of all big fishes and crocodiles
openly, without any hesitation. But one name I have not mentioned anywhere.
That is the woman in UAE whom
I am calling as Kiran… She is one of your closest friends. You know whom I am
talking about… She’s among your group but she is so different from all of you.
So I look at her in a different way. She had all the logical reasons to come
forward with harsh tone
towards me. But she did not do
that. So this is my tribute to her, keeping her away from this jungle. Kiran also wanted to
write a book about behind-the-scene sex life
of Benazir Bhutto. But you stopped her. She wanted to understand the depth and
underlying forces behind sexual
adventurism among women… She was trying to develop diverse perspectives
about libertine sex and share it with the world. She was keen to make a
contribution to the human awareness. But you just wanted to cover-up everything
and dominate everyone. She is like a “kiran”
from the moonlight - not a siren for the black
out. When she speaks, it’s like music. And when you speak out, it’s the
sound of the heavy tides… and one has to look out for a hut around… I was going
to coordinate with Kiran in her quest for gathering the broken pieces to complete
a larger picture. This book might have written by her. But you ruthlessly
stopped her. Now when I publish the complete version of my book after this outline of the news report - I will
attribute this book to Kiran! That will be my gift to you, sweetheart Kiran… This will be your book!
Lady Sherry Rehman, I think you know the meaning
of “Sherry” in French. It means “my dear”. So don’t get angry my sweet Sherry Aunti, I’m your naughty-boy… Let’s dance with the tides of your anger, along the ocean of
your wilderness. To me you’re just a little lost girl who has gone wild in
the jungle - a jungle that lies in every city, in every town…
And now something about your unusual sexual practices:
Sexual adventurism… I might understand this. But
even erotica has certain boundaries. I
know, you believe on human progress through liberal ideas. Fine, but human evolution has taken place only by
adopting certain rules, mechanisms, civilized methods and boundaries... Even for erotica, you don’t have to be blind. You know what I am talking about... We’ll get back to these aspects later - in the next
phase of our conversation. OR perhaps we can prevent this phase to rise-up...
Think about it…
Social taboos:
Now to the social taboos
surrounding around almost all of us… As I said earlier that a commonly raised
objection by many people on my writings about “secret sex life of Benazir
Bhutto” refers to a dictum: “When someone is dead, we should not
reveal the dead one’s faults.” Here first I will quote Saadat Hasan
Manto - some passages from his book, “Ganjay
Farishtey” (bald-head angels):
Once, Manto started writing a new series of
biographical sketches of some writers, poets, film actors and actresses in a
magazine Aafaq. His descriptions were very realistic. So a lot of
people criticized him for giving such cutting-edge and sharp-tone
portraits of their favourite people
(some of whom had already died). Here is what he wrote as one single
response in his book that addressed to everyone:
“Mujhey ye kaha jata hai ke dunya ke her
mohizzab mulk aur mohizzab samaj mein ye usool murawij hai ke marne ke bad khawah
dushman hi kion na ho usey achey alfaz mein yad kia jata hai. Us ke sirf
mehasin bian kiey jate hain aur ayoob par parda dala jata hai. Wesey mein aisi
dunia par, aisey mohizzab mulk par, aisey mohizzab samaj par hazar lanat bhejta
hoon jehan ye usool murawij ho ke marne ke bad har shakhz ka kirdar aur
tashakhuz laundry mein bheij dia jaaey jehan se wo dhul-dhula kar aaey aur
rehmat-ullah-aleh ki khunti par latka dia jaeey. Mere islah-khane mein koi
shana naheen, koi shampoo naheen, koi ghungar peda karne wali machine naheen…
Mein banao-singhar karna naheen janta. Agha Hashar ki kani aankh mujh se seedhi
naheen ho saki. Uske mun se galion ke bajaey mein phool naheen jhara saka.
Meera Jee ki zilalat par mujh se istiri naheen ho saki. Aur na mein apney dost
Shyam ko majboor kar saka ke wo barkhood aurtoon ko salian na kehey. Is kitab
mein jo bhi farishta aaia hai, uska moondan huwa hai aur ye rasam mein ne
barey saliqey se ada ki hai.”
(I am advised that in every civilized country, in every civilized society,
this principle is practiced that once someone is dead, even if he’s
an enemy, he is remembered in good words. His qualities are mentioned and his
faults are covered. But I would curse a thousand times to such a world, such a
civilized country, such a civilized society where this custom is practiced that
after the death, every person’s character and identity is sent to the laundry
from where he is returned completely washed/purified and hanged on the wall in
a sacred manner. In my parlor, I don’t have any grooming, no shampoo, no
machine to make curly hairs… I don’t know the mak-up. I could not
straighten Aagha Hashar’s crooked eye. I could not get flowery words
from his mouth instead of his dirty language. I could not iron Mira
Jee’s meanness. And neither I could force my friend Shyam that he should
not call women as “salian”/someone
like his own… Any angel who has appeared in this book, his head is shaved, and
this job, I have done very skilfully.)
Here I would strongly add my dictum as well: “Agar kuch lugon ke marney ke baad bhi, unkey aamal ka asar (unke
mojooda warisoon ke zariey), aagey aney wali nasloon pe parr sakta hai,
aur phir “wo waris” public ko lead bhi karna chahate hain head of the
state ban kar, aur unsey millions ka mustaqbil bhi mutassir hota
hai - tu phir un barron ke barey mein, agar wo mar bhi chukey hain, tu
unki khamioon aur burayoon ki na sirf baat bhi karni chahiey, bulkey zaroorat
parey tu uneh qabar se nikal kar post-martem bhi karna chahiey - eik bar phir forever
dafan karne ke liey! Aur ye kam mein apni workshop mein buhat achi tarha
anjam dey reha hoon…”
(If some people’s acts, even after their death (through
their heirs) can affect the coming generations, and these heirs also want
to lead the public by becoming the head of state in future, and it can affect
the future of millions - then about those elders, even if they’re dead, not
only there should be the open talk revealing their acts but if the need arises,
they should be taken out from their graveyards for the autopsy - once again to
bury them forever! And this work, I am performing in my workshop with precision...)
A LITTLE POINT TO REMEMBER FOR
MY SWEET AND SOUR FRIENDS:
Please don’t ask any “darbaree” (intermediary) to contact me. I
will not speak to them. I would talk only with the people concerned. I
think it’s NOT a hard suggestion.
Aslam Ansari
is a documentary filmmaker based in Paris. He moves between Paris and London. He is also engaged in photography. His
photographic work is related to current affairs.
Coming up: Phase 2...
Phase 2 will reflect some
unusual sexual practices of a modern political elite, and an analysis of
unusual sexual practice in the historical context.
