Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the 18-year-old daughter of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has poured out her anguish at the death of her mother by writing and performing a rap song in her memory.
Bakhtawar, who was introduced to Grammy award-winning rapper Puff Daddy shortly before Benazir was assassinated in December 2007, sings about the pain she and her family felt at the sudden and shocking death of her mother in the song titled "I Would Take The Pain Away". "Dear mom, I've got a few things to say to you...things I never got a chance to say...But if I could have you....I would take the pain away, I would take the pain, I would take the pain away..." goes the five-minute song with a rap set against hip hop beats.
The song is currently being aired on state-run PTV and has been posted on youtube. Bakhtawar, who was reportedly encouraged by Benazir to take up singing as a career, sings: "...murdered legendary mother...you had beauty and intelligence...enemies feared your presence...Shot at the back of your ear, so young in 54th year, murdered with three kids left behind, a hopeless nation without you..." The video for the song features footage of the election rally Benazir addressed at the historic Liaquat Bagh ground in Rawalpindi shortly before she was killed by a suicide bomber.
Bakhtawar, who misses her mother immensely, still cannot fathom the fact that Benazir is no more. "..how could you be taken from me...my eyes they keep getting sore ...when we prayed at your grave, my knees they just hit the floor.." goes the song.
"Walking in your room and office, you'll always be back you promised...still got the sense of your presence...your eyes, your smile, the presence...perfection, beauty, your elegance, the epitome of benevolence, you were counting down the days to pray at your dad's grave.." Bakhtawar sings about how her mother seemed to have a premonition about her death. "That cowardly bullet, stole your life from the fullest, how you wished me a happy 18th (birthday) a whole month in advance... cause somehow you knew it was your last chance..." She also sings about "the nightmares (that) keep coming" and how Benazir had no fears about being targeted by assassins. "A bullet in the back of your head...you were never afraid, you never even ducked down ...grinning even when you lay...still looked like you were sleeping... please god... let my mom rest in peace."
Benazir survived a devastating suicide bomb attack on her motorcade hours after she returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in October 2007. She subsequently wrote a letter to then President Pervez Musharraf saying there was a serious threat to her life. The Pakistan government has asked the UN to probe her assassination so that the "hidden hands" behind it can be exposed. Bakhtawar, who was recently elected to the Students' Representative Council of the Edinburgh University Students' Union, has not ruled out a career in politics.
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