Bhutto's will to be made public: Zardari
Islamabad (PTI): Slain former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto's will is to be made public and placed in a museum to be set up in her residence in the southern port city of Karachi, her husband Asif Ali Zardari has said.
Reacting to speculation that the will had not been made public as Bhutto had not named him as her successor to lead the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Zardari said he had decided to make the document public after consulting other leaders of the party.
The will would be placed in a museum to be set up at 'Bilawal House', Bhutto's home in Karachi, along with her writings and other memorabilia, Zardari said.
"I didn't even know of the existence of the will. I found out about it when some of Bhutto's staff from Dubai (arrived in Pakistan after her assassination on December 27 and) told me that she had left a letter for me," Zardari told a TV channel before leaving for a short visit to Dubai on Saturday.
"I didn't open the letter. The next day, the children said you have to open that letter. (Bhutto's son) Bilawal read it. (PPP leader) Safdar Abaasi, who worked with Benazir Bhutto for 27 years, was taken into confidence and shown the will," he said.
The will was hand-written and signed by Bhutto. "Nobody questioned its authenticity," Zardari said.
The will had "several pages", including some for the family and one page for the party. "In this page, she laid out her plans for the party," he said.
The will was read out before the PPP's Central Executive Committee, the party's highest forum, on December 30 by Bilawal and nobody asked for it to be made public, Zardari said. In view of a "propaganda campaign" about the will, he said he decided to make the document public.
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