Exiled former Pakistnani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has pledged to return if charges against her are lifted.

Bhutto last week had said she would return if charges against her were lifted but indicated a widely discussed plan to shore up Musharraf's weakening power base was a non-starter unless the president abandoned his military role.

As per CNN >>

"A week later Mark Tully, the veteran BBC journalist based in Delhi rang me up. He too had read the scripts and wanted to discuss it over a drink. I was advised by Robin Midgley to take this meeting very seriously and not be to provocative."

Tariq writes that Mark Tully and he met and Tully came straight to the point. He had been asked by Alasdir Milne to read the scripts. But Tully said that here was one problem. "Tully said that in the third episode " Two men, one coffin" I had alleged that the USA had given green signal for Bhutto's hanging. He said that he was in Rawalpindi at that time "and I could find no evidence of US involvement".

Tariq says, "I explained that the US embassy and its Saudi surrogate were all powerful in Zia's Pakistan and any senior military officer would confirm that Zia consulted them before hanging Bhutto." Tully disagreed. Finally, he said, "What if I tell you that if you took that section out of the series the BBC would definitely go ahead." Tariq says that he decided to tell BBC that he would scorn the idea and that was the end. BBC took the serial off air "because of libel risk."

IT WAS way back in 1985 that the BBC commissioned Tariq Ali to write a TV play — The Leopard and the Fox, A Pakistani Tragedy. As rehearsals were about to begin, it was agreed that Zia Mohyeddin would play General Zia, and India’s Naseeruddin Shah would play Z.A. Bhutto. Then suddenly, under pressure from the British Foreign Office, the BBC decided to cancel the project.

I got my hands on it recently when Seagull Books in UK finally published what comes across as a fairly credible dramatisation of Zia’s coup and Bhutto’s dubious trial and execution.

The play runs into 106 short scenes. But in today’s context, with one former prime minister dispatched to a second exile in Saudi Arabia (an old Muslim habit, considering what Emperor Akbar did with Bairam Khan, his once trusted aide) and another bracing to wade into Pakistan’s political quagmire, perhaps the most important scene to ponder in the play is Scene 20.

It opens in Gen Zia’s office at the military HQ. It shows Zia involved in a serious discussion with General Azad, evidently an officer whose name the author has changed because of the BBC’s libel policy. The men are sipping cold drinks, just to give a flavour of the times, with Zia exuding a friendly demeanour.

Azad: In 1971 the army was finished. Finished! If Bhutto had hanged 20 generals in public, the people would have applauded.

Zia: You think I don’t know what Bhutto did for us? But it is no longer a private matter. Americans are very angry because of nuclear programme.

Azad: We pressured Bhutto to start our nuclear plans. Zaman (another changed name) said, ‘Sir, we cannot sit back, while India tests nuclear devices.’ So Bhutto told the world.

Zia: Correct. But what worries Pentagon very much is civilians controlling nuclear weapons. Unstable. Unstable. In Fort Bragg they made it very clear that even their president in the White House was not completely independent. He is always flanked by military advisors. General Barnes laughed and said to us: ‘You see, we have a permanent semi-martial law in our country. No one objects.'

More on Jawed Naqwi's article in the Dawn >>

"Pakistan is an increasingly volatile place, and Bhutto's book is an eye-opening look at the mistakes we've made in the region and what we can do to correct them - as well as what the consequences will be if we don't," said HarperCollins Executive Editor Tim Duggan.

Read more >>

"I expect to be received by a lot of Pakistanis, who think that my arrival will signal a shift in Pakistani politics, will make a break with the past of the dictatorship and help facilitate my people's aspirations for democracy," she said.

Read more>>

Contact:
Shourin Roy, 646-662-6057
shourinroy@alteregoproductions.org

ALTER EGO PRESENTS THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX — THE NEW PLAY BY RAJIV JOSEPH ABOUT THE LAST DAYS OF PAKISTAN’S PRIME MINISTER ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO AND HIS DAUGHTER, EXILED PRIME MINISTER BENAZIR BHUTTO, TODAY

[NEW YORK] Alter Ego presents The Leopard and The Fox, Rajiv Joseph’s timely political drama about the last days of Pakistan’s first popularly elected prime minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, at TBG Theater, October 17 – November 3. Giovanna Sardelli directs.

Inspired by Tariq Ali’s BBC screenplay, The Leopard and The Fox portrays the charismatic Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as he is overthrown in a coup by his army chief, General Zia ul-Haq, in the late 1970s. Joseph updates this story of betrayal and broken promises to include Bhutto’s daughter in 2007, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as she negotiates with current president Pervez Musharraf to end her self-exile and attempt to share power.

In current headlines, Benazir Bhutto has vowed to return to Pakistan on October 18, one day after The Leopard and The Fox opens.

Alter Ego Productions is thrilled to present the world premiere of The Leopard and the Fox, their first collaboration with acclaimed playwright Rajiv Joseph. Joseph’s previous works include the much-lauded South Asian American coming of age story Huck and Holden at the Cherry Lane, and the romantic comedy All That Intimacy at Second Stage. He has upcoming commissions for both Second Stage and South Coast Repertory, and his Iraq war dramatic comedy Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo will be produced by Center Theatre Group at Los Angeles’ Kirk Douglas Theatre in the 2008-09 season. Director Giovanna Sardelli is a longtime collaborator of Joseph’s, directing both Huck and Holden and All That Intimacy, as well Bengal Tiger at the Lark theater earlier this year.

Previous Alter Ego productions include the world premiere of David Freeman’s A First Class Man, about math wizard Srinivasa Ramanujan, and the long-awaited New York premiere of Tony award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, starring Sendhil Ramamurthy (of NBC’s “Heroes”). Indian Ink was listed by TheaterMania as “Shows You Should Have Seen But Probably Didn’t”, and Curtain Up declared “Alter Ego is a theatre company to watch.”

The cast features: Ramiz Monsef* (Big Stone in Second Stage’s sold-out run of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice), Andrew Guilarte (of Desipina & Co.’s popular 7Eleven play series), Gita Reddy (Topsy Turvy Mouse at the Cherry Lane Mentor Project), Sanjiv Jhaveri*, Rock Kohli*, Michael Crane* and David Sajadi*.
* appearing courtesy the Actors Equity Association. Equity approved Showcase.

Set Design is by David Newell, Costume Design by Leon Dobkowski, Lighting Design by Nick Francone and Sound & Music by Mitun Sinha. Production Stage Management by Matthew Enhoffer.

Performances: October 17 to November 3, 2007, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm.

Venue: TBG Theater, 312 W. 36th St (between 8th and 9th Avenues), New York City.

Tickets: $18, available at www.smarttix.com; or call 212-868-4444. For press seats, contact Shourin Roy, above.

www.alteregoproductions.org