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Bhutto Uncle Opposes Role for Widower

Patriarch blasts Zardari as incompetent, wants 'a real Bhutto' to lead

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 2, 2008 8:30 AM CST
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(Newser) – Benazir Bhutto's designation of her widower as interim leader of the Pakistan People's Party has inflamed family and tribal tensions, and renewed past disagreements over her leadership. Patriarch Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir's 74-year-old uncle, blasted Asif Ali Zardari for having "no political background or acumen" and predicted his leadership would result in the party's "total disintegration," according to McClatchy newspapers.

The Bhuttos "have made big sacrifices. The Zardaris have just profited from it," said Mumtaz Bhutto, a founding party member who thinks leadership should have gone to one of Benazir's nieces or nephews. One concern is ethnic: while the Bhuttos are Sindhi, Zardari is from the Baluch ethnic group. So far, however, the majority of the Bhutto clan has cautiously approved Zardari's leadership.

Pakistani children participate in a candle lit ceremony in memory of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008 in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan's election commission said Tuesday that unrest following the killing of Benazir Bhutto would almost certainly force the postponement of Jan. 8 elections, despite opposition threats of...
Pakistani children participate in a candle lit ceremony in memory of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008 in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan's election commission said Tuesday that...   (Associated Press)
Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto's 73-year-old uncle and the patriarch of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan, sits at the entrance to his home near Larkana, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007. As Benazir Bhutto launches her political comeback, her greatest asset is the name she inherited from her father, Zulfikar Ali...
Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto's 73-year-old uncle and the patriarch of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan, sits at the entrance to his home near Larkana, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007. As Benazir Bhutto...   (Associated Press)
Ghinva Bhutto, front estrange sister-in-law of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto offers prayers with her step daughter Fatima Bhutto at the grave of Bhutto in Gahri Khuda Bakhash near Larkana,Pakistan on Saturday,Dec. 29, 2007. Pakistan's government asserted Friday that al-Qaida was behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto,...
Ghinva Bhutto, front estrange sister-in-law of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto offers prayers with her step daughter Fatima Bhutto at the grave of Bhutto in Gahri Khuda Bakhash near Larkana,Pakistan...   (Associated Press)
Bilawal Zardari, the son of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, is seen during a Quran reading ceremony in Benazir Bhutto's residence in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Bilawal Zardari, the son of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, is seen during a Quran reading ceremony in Benazir Bhutto's residence in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008....   (Associated Press)
Bilawal Zardari, son of Pakistan's slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who has been nominated chairman of Bhutto's People's Party, prays at his mother's grave with his sister Asifa, left, in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh near Larkana, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 31, 2007. Election officials recommended Monday that parliamentary polls scheduled for Jan....
Bilawal Zardari, son of Pakistan's slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who has been nominated chairman of Bhutto's People's Party, prays at his mother's grave with his sister Asifa, left, in Garhi...   (Associated Press)
Asif Ali Zardari, husband of slain Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto prays for his wife at his house in Naudero near Larkana, Pakistan on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008. Pakistan's election commission said Tuesday that unrest following the killing of Benazir Bhutto would almost certainly force the postponement of the scheduled...
Asif Ali Zardari, husband of slain Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto prays for his wife at his house in Naudero near Larkana, Pakistan on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008. Pakistan's election commission...   (Associated Press)
Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto's 73-year-old uncle and the patriarch of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan, sits at the entrance to his home near Larkana, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007.
Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto's 73-year-old uncle and the patriarch of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan, sits at the entrance to his home near Larkana, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007.   (Associated Press)
Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto's 73-year-old uncle and the patriarch of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan, sits at the entrance to his home near Larkana, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007.
Mumtaz Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto's 73-year-old uncle and the patriarch of the 700,000-strong Bhutto clan, sits at the entrance to his home near Larkana, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007.   (Associated Press)
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Benazir Bhutto • Pakistan People's Party • Asif Ali Zardari • Mumtaz Bhutto • Sindhi • Baluch • interim leader

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