Ann Curry Reports From Pakistan

Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2007 6:00 PM by Dan Fleschner

Shortly after last week's attacks on former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, TODAY News Anchor Ann Curry traveled to Karachi to report from Pakistan.

Ann's exclusive interview with Bhutto airs Monday morning on TODAY, and she filed this report while traveling to Pakistan.

It was in darkness when the bombs exploded, two of them, seconds apart. After the chaos came the reckoning: 134 dead, hundreds more wounded. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the history of Pakistan, but the target, a woman, survived without a scratch.

Benazir Bhutto in person looks more like an elegant matron, in her flowing robes and flawless makeup, than someone who would knowingly court danger.

Knowing it risked her safety, she aligned herself with the U.S. government against the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan. And then, despite warnings that suicide bombers would come after her, she returned home from exile to Pakistan.

Just what sort of person does this?

The eldest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former president and prime minister of Pakistan, she was imprisoned in solitary confinement when her father was deposed and executed.

Destiny, she says, made her a political activist, and at 35, she was elected prime minister, becoming one of the only women ~~the only woman~~ in modern times to govern an Islamic state.

The price: her brothers were killed, her husband was tortured, and she was humiliated by charges of corruption. She fled Pakistan in disgrace.

You'd think she'd quit.

But no, seeing a chance now, eight years later, to help Pakistan return to democracy, she comes home knowing she could be killed. In fact, she was attacked just hours after landing.

Sure, she is popular with the majority in Pakistan, who wish for democracy, but she does not get along with Pakistan's unpopular but powerful military leader, President Pervez Musharraf. It is said they detest each other, which might help explain why his government did not do more to protect her.

Though shaken by the attack, and knowing another is being planned, she insists on staying. Madness? Or a deep love of country?

She wants to run for re-election and push Pakistan toward democracy and away from extremists who've been coming across the border from Afghanistan and radicalizing the young in Pakistan.

As our NBC News team travels to Pakistan to track its increasing violence, the question arises: is it possible this war on terrorism could be influenced by whether one woman can stay alive?

EMAIL THIS

Comments

brava to the NBC producers, reporters who risk their lives everyday to bring this story to those here in usa who know and understand how important this is to peace in the world. thank you.

barbara mcalister, nyc, ny (Sent Sunday, October 21, 2007 6:56 PM)

Islamic fundamentalism seems to be obsessed with the suppression of women because it firmly believes that the women should remain illitrate, subservient and inside the house. Benazir is the antithesis of this and therefore a very powerful enemy. Democracy is a very Western idea and does not get any recognition in the Islamic world. It would be pure miracle if Benazir does succeed. I will pray for it.

Vijay Mathur, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Sent Sunday, October 21, 2007 6:56 PM)

It would be a blessing to the U.S and the world if former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would run for re-election, and push Pakistan toward democracy. She is a brave and courageous woman. I think "it is" her deep love of country that will make her follow her destiny.

g.eglesias'penna (Sent Sunday, October 21, 2007 7:21 PM)

Dear Ann,First of all thank you for your fine reporting. All of the journalists who travel to this tumultuous region deserve much credit. Former Pakastani Prime Minster Benazir Bhutto sounds like a really courageous woman for trying to bring stability to her country and its people. She certainly is defiant against any terror threats against her and will not be undone by anyone. I think for a woman in her position in that region it is remarkable to be able to withstand such turmoil. I hope she is able to bring democracy to her country because it will be an important step towards peace. I look forward to more of your interview with her Ann. Always stay safe and well Ann! Peace to all!

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Sunday, October 21, 2007 7:57 PM)

This woman, has tasted and knows the fruits of democracy. I applaud her and think Americans should look at her and Pakistan and beleive in what we are all born with. She is a true patriot.

Lenny Macari Ft Myers Fl (Sent Sunday, October 21, 2007 11:19 PM)

You fail to mention that benazir was kicked out of office twice for corruption and when in exile she elected herself party chairperson for life. hardly the credentials of a true democrat

Elizabeth harbison (Sent Sunday, October 21, 2007 11:33 PM)

Benazir is as corrupt as anyone can ever be. It is not her love for Pakistan that brings her back but her love for power. Her husband holds the Guinness Book World record for embezzling the most amount of money.

NBC producers failed to mention that her reelection is due to several modifications to the constitution and due to an effort by Musharraf to maintain control as the President as he has lost popularity.

The kind of democracy that Benazir wants or had brought in the past is one that fills the pockets of her and her family. How else would you explain her billion dollar estate in UK ?

I wish people would see behind this false facade of so called "democracy" and see the people for what they really stand for.

Scott, Dallas TX (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 12:30 AM)

Dear Ann,
I commend you for reporting. I usually do not make comments but I felt some information might be of use to you and your team.
I found your article interesting but historically inaccurate. Benazir Bhutto is not the only female in modern times to lead a Muslim nation. Bangladesh has elected two females as Prime Minister, Indonesia has had a female President. Infact there is a long history of female leaders within Muslim populations, where not only have they lead their people but held important, influential positions within Muslim society going back to the 1st Century.
I hope this might be of some help. I wish your team well.

Erum, Toronto, On. (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 12:35 AM)

Bhutto is a clever politician who after two useless and corrupt terms in office, as re-packaged herself as the Woman Savior of Pakistan.

Pervez Musharraf confronted problems in Pakistan and has taken difficult but correct decisions, that is why he is unpopular.

Abbas (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 12:59 AM)

It amuses me to read all these hu ha message about Benazir from her admirers. Incidentally sitting hundreds of thousands of miles away and ignorant of her and this countrys history.

In short for all these people I have only one thing to say. May God bestow her upon you and your country. Amen

BoZz (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 1:14 AM)

Benazir bhuutto is the most courageous politician in South Asia today she is the only person who can help Pakistan to become enlightened nation may Allah protect her and help her

hana., Riyadh ,KSA (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 1:34 AM)

With deep regret I noted, Vijay Mathur, Montreal, doesn't have an iota of the position held by women in Islam and so are many other ill-informed people. Thanks to the biased media. Only Islam is the religion which says Heaven is under the feet of mother, which says the best among you is the one who is best to his family and so on. If Benazir was so sincere to the country, she wouldn't have left it in the first place & faced tribulations towards her so called love for the country. (For eg. the Myanmar Lady Sui Kyui). Mostly politicians needs power & authority by hook or by crook, for them if no
'chair' no life. Benazir knew she would risk the lives of the masses while plying openly on roads for show-off and hence made her private security circle and arrangement, she didn't care a bit for the masses and took them for granted like sand bags.
Appearances are deceptive. All that glitters is not gold...God knows best.

MOHAMMED KALEEMULLAH, DUBAI, U.A.E. (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 2:31 AM)

I am disgusted with your so-called interview with Benazir Bhutto. You accuse her of being the cause of so many deaths and not the Islamists!!!!! You do not let up in trying to FORCE her to cry "mea culpa". She is one of the few lights of rationality in this forbidding zone. You seem to think that Democracy and Freedom are easily and bloodlessly won. You are one of those liberal thinkers that does not understand evil and the neccessity of confronting it. The people who came out to see Prime Minister Bhutto knew the risks and that is why they were there. They knew where their country had been and where it may be going politically and wanted to make a difference if only by welcoming her back. I am appalled by the way you treated a heroine in this so-called interview. It was no less of an ambush than the Islamists'.

Carrie Valentin (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 3:26 AM)

Are you all joking? Bhutto is one of the most corrupt leaders Pakistan has ever had! She appointed her husband Minister of Finance the last time she ruled, and look at the estates and villas she has in Enland and Dubai now! He was known as Mr. 10% back then, because you had to give him a bribe for 10% of whatever you were proposing. Countless Pakistani artifacts went missing and mysteriously appeared in her English mansion. Tell me how the "leader" of a third world country gets all of this loot? Also, Musharraf's govt tried warning her not to hold a 19 hour procession from the airport to Jinnah's mausoleum. This trip took me 30 minutes from the airport. Who are you all kidding? It is only because of her ego that those poor people died. She was offered a helicopter ride from the government, but declined, citing her willingness to take the risk. Was she willing to risk the lives of those innocent people? Get your facts straight, and Ann Curry... don't bend the truth!

Usman Ansari, Toledo, Oh. (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 4:01 AM)

Benazir is as necessary for Mr. Musharraf as for Mr. Bush to stick to their policies and positions. But the people of Pakistan would not accept her as she has plundered more than $ one billion of her poor nation.

Rehan, Karachi, Pakistan (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 4:49 AM)

We all know her homeland, and the region in general, is rife with corruption, religious fanaticism, caos, and general anarchy - so wouldn't it be safe to assume that anyone attempting to assert authority would likely be forced to play both sides of the fence just to survive politically under such appalling circumstances? But if Benazir is really interested in being a savior to her people, why did she risk so many lives by parading thru incredibly crowded streets knowing suicide bombers likely lined the route and that a detonation aimed at her would likely result in numerous innocent deaths ? She is either fearless ... or a fool beyond belief !

Chuck (Sent Monday, October 22, 2007 6:19 AM)

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

More allDAY

Recent Posts:

Archives:

Syndicate This Site

Add allDAY to your news reader:

ABOUT allDAY