A few years later, after her father was hanged and Benazir herself was placed under house arrest and later exiled, I interviewed Pakistan’s military dictator General Zia-ul Haq several times for the London Observer. At the first interview and all subsequent interviews, I always asked when he was going to let Benazir return home to Pakistan.

At our last interview Zia told me, “Mr Bhatia, your wish has finally been granted, Benazir is being allowed to return home.” When I asked him why, he replied, “Democracy is a bitter pill we must swallow.” Someone must have repeated this conversation to Benazir as evidence of my loyalty to her. When she did fly back to Lahore in 1986, she arranged for me to ride with her in the lead lorry that took us to the Minar-e-Pakistan where she addressed a million strong rally, asking the adoring crowd, “Zia avey avey, ya Zia javey, javey?” (should Zia come or should Zia go ?) The crowd roared back, “Javey, javey.”

Months later Zia was killed in a plane crash and Benazir became prime minister. During that time we had no contact, although I did bump into her brother, Murtaza, in Damascus who told me with some bitterness in an interview for The Observer that he as the male heir of his father should be prime minister and not Benazir.

When the interview with Murtaza was published I received a writ from Benazir’s mother, Nusrat, saying l was trying to defame her family. Fortunately, the interview had been recorded and so the writ was dropped. When some years later I asked Benazir why her mother had reacted so badly, she replied it was because Murtaza was Nusrat’s favourite child.

... contd.