Daphne Holds Her Ground Despite Sanam's Rebuttal

When asked if her relations with Asif Zardari had gone sour, she denied the assertion and said that she had been talking to him frequently. “Personal relations should not block the freedom of expression, narration of facts and objective journalism. Now, he is the head of a country with 160 million people. Moreover, Sanam Bhutto made a public statement that I am not connected to Benazir Bhutto, Zardari and the Bhutto family. I want to prove to her and the people, how close I have been to my friend Benazir and her widower husband Asif,” Daphne told this correspondent on a phone call from a European city.

In response to Sanam Bhutto’s press conference, Daphne Barak has also posted two photos (more to be posted later) of Asif Zardari in a party at the Annabel Club of London, sitting with some non-Pakistani female friends of Daphne Barak in November 2007, just a few days before Karachi attack on Benazir in Karachi. A few days later, she was assassinated in Rawalpindi.

“I helped him in meeting very influential people in the US and Europe. A few times, even he paid very high bills for hosting such parties, as he wanted to build his contacts, while he would be reluctant to buy any gift for his talented wife, Benazir,” Daphne Barak remarked.

She also reminded this correspondent of one such party held in May 2006 in New York, where this correspondent was the third Pakistani invited, in addition to Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari.