Sound journalist Victoria Schofield was a good friend of Benazir Bhutto’s while both were college-mates at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Both held the honour of being presidents of the Oxford Union. Theflamboyant and emotional Benazir found a sensible and loyal counterpart in Schofield, who has just published this account of her long association with the late, former prime minister of Pakistan. Schofield is clear about underscoring that the book is emphatically not a biography. Rather it is an intimate, often emotional portrait of a complex woman seen through the lens of a talented writer and dear friend.
Schofield remembers the tall, Westernized Pakistani who befriended her at Oxford, with nostalgia and consistent fondness. They both enjoyed shopping for Anna Belinda dresses while students, but their intelligence and drive led them to follow far less frivolous pathways as well. She also notes that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto demonstrated a loving and encouraging attitude towards his daughter. This aspect of him was brought home far more forcefully to Schofield when she journeyed to Pakistan during the time of the fraught Bhutto trial. I was struck to find reproduced in the text some of her hand-drawn sketches of people as diverse as traditionally garbed peons and indeed Mr Bhutto himself.
Based predominantly at Flashman’s Hotel, she consistently acted as a source of moral support for Benazir, and along with her dear friend helped transcribe documents as important as Bhutto’s rejoinder to the charges against him (the original was handwritten in prison). In spite of being hounded by shady members of the intelligence service, she persisted in supporting Benazir through thick and thin, and indeed collected enough material to write her own account of matters, Bhutto: Trial and Execution.
Given that Schofield’s sympathy as well as her loyalty was unswerving, Benazir continued to regard her highly during the tense years of the Zia regime, many of which Ms Bhutto spent under house-arrest. Readers will be partly perplexed and partly amused to discover that she was considered enough of a threat by the Zia regime to be deported from the country at one point. A Sikh airport official in India couldn’t believe that this ‘little girl’ was allegedly considered the source of so much trouble.
Scofield met Indira Gandhi at one point and, being familiar with the area of Kashmir herself, discussed the matter with the late Indian Prime Minister. But what struck me the most in terms of her interviews was that Schofield was the very first Western journalist to interview the legendary Asif Ali Zardari after his marriage to Benazir. The wedding itself is described in the book in colourful, exotic, and affectionate terms, but Zardari and Schofield pulled no punches when it came to delineating that his position as the male spouse of a female prime minister often resulted in him being viewed in unfavorable terms by arch-conservative and/or unfriendly individuals alike.
But then Schofield would be the first to admit that Benazir’s multiple terms in power made her a singularly unique figure on both the international stage as well as on her home front. Schofield intimates that the late prime minister was always sharply aware of this, perhaps at no point more so than when her brother Murtaza (whom she loved but with whom she had undeniable political tensions) was killed. The author believes that such moments were incredibly difficult for a fundamentally loving woman who adored her family, seniors, peers and juniors alike. Like Schofield, Benazir had three children who were deprived of a strong-willed mother far too soon. There is an especially touching moment recounted when Bilawal got ready to attend Oxford and was missing a bit of paperwork affiliated with acquiring membership of the Oxford Union. Schofield and Benazir were both present and the latter leaned forward and quipped that two former Union presidents should be enough to vouch for the young man. The move worked!
Readers will be amazed to discover that at one juncture President Musharraf met and asked Schofield to use her influence with her friend on a political stance, whereupon the author firmly noted that though undeniably close to Ms Bhutto, she never intervened. But regretted connecting Benazir with notable historian William Dalrymple, whose piece on the prime minister ended up being far less flattering than anyone expected. After that Schofield declined all journalistic requests. Although Schofield asserts that Benazir’s legal action against Christina Lamb for defamation was well-justified.
The book is rich, dense and makes for very satisfying reading. I was impressed to see that the author has taken the trouble to have a comprehensive index of significant names and details compiled. There are many accounts of Benazir around today but Schofield’s is certainly one of the warmest and sincerest. Her late friend, whose life was tragically and violently cut short too soon, would most likely have approved of this literary endeavour. 
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