Ghinwa Bhutto

Ghinwa Bhutto (, , ; born Ghinwa Itaoui) is a Lebanese-Pakistani politician and the chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto). She is the widow of Murtaza Bhutto, and the daughter-in-law and sister-in-law of the former Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, respectively. Background Murtaza Bhutto and his daughter Fatima spent time in exile in Syria, where Murtaza first met Ghinwa. Ghinwa had fled from the Lebanese Civil War back home and migrated to Syria, where she used to give ballet classes in the basement of a church. Fatima was one of her students. Murtaza and Ghinwa would later marry in 1989, and had a son Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr in 1990. Ghinwa has been estranged from the powerful Bhutto family ever since she accused her sister-in-law Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari of conspiracy to the 1996 murder of her husband, and also accused Benazir and Zardari of corruption. Zardari was arrested as a suspect in the murder of Murtaza, but he was later released due to lack of evidence. Her husband's murderers were never brought to justice. Politics In 1997, Ghinwa staked a claim to the Bhutto political legacy. She formed the Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) (PPP-SB), becoming the chairperson of the party, and ran for election from Larkana on 3 February 1997. Benazir convinced her mother Nusrat Bhutto, then president of the Pakistan Peoples Party, to run against her. Though her opponent suffered from Alzheimer's disease, Ghinwa was defeated.