August, 06 2010, 02:02pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Pakistan: "Zardari's Katrina"
WASHINGTON
FATIMA BHUTTO
Bhutto just wrote the piece "Zardari's Katrina: Why is Pakistan's president junketing while his people drown?" -- which states: "This week, Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, boarded a private Gulfstream jet along with his family and his hundreds-large entourage to visit the European countries included on the president's grand tour. Yesterday, Zardari -- who was married to my aunt, the late Benazir Bhutto, before her 2007 murder -- landed in London. As soon as the plane touched down, the president and his Very Important coterie were chauffeured in a dozen luxury vehicles to a five-star hotel where the president will be staying in a PS7,000 ($11,160) per night Royal Suite.
"His welcome, however, was less than royal. On the drive to the hotel, protesters held placards reading 'Zardari King of Thieves,' 'Zardari 100% Pure Corruption,' and 'GO Zardari GO.' While Zardari was schmoozing with his cronies in luxe London hotels, Pakistan was reeling from the deadliest floods to hit the country in 80 years. In short, it looks like Zardari's Katrina."
Bhutto writes for the New Statesman and the Daily Beast. Her book Songs of Blood and Sword will be published by Nation Books in September. She is a niece of Benazir Bhutto, who was married to Asif Ali Zardari.
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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