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Bilawal fears losing his privacy

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated on Tuesday that he feared more for his privacy than for his life.

Updated on: Jan 8, 2008, 22:43:12 IST
Hindustan Times | By , London
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Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated on Tuesday that he feared more for his privacy than for his life.

HT Image
HT Image

Abruptly thrust into the international spotlight following his mother Benazir's assassination and the Pakistan People's Party's decision to make him its chairman, the 19-year-old Oxford student addressing his first independent press conference pleaded with the media to give him "some privacy to complete my undergraduate life as my mother wished".

He did not, however, shy away from hard-nosed political questions, impressing the vast contingent of gathered newsmen, some of whom likened him to Prince William. "Once the United States stops supporting dictators, terrorism in Pakistan can be successfully tackled," he said.

While appreciating that detectives from Scotland Yard were assisting the investigation into Benazir's death, he said, “However, the family’s and party’s request is for a UN-sponsored investigation.”

But Bilawal declined to speculate at all about who could have been behind the killing. But he minced no words on the security lapse. “Had she been provided adequate protection, she would be alive today,” he said.

Returning to the personal, he said his immediate priority was to get back to Oxford and continue my studies. Unless I can finish my education and develop enough maturity," he said, "I recognise that I will never be in a position to have sufficient wisdom to enter the political arena.”

"My role as Chairman is one into which I shall step gradually and carefully,” he added.

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