Page 22 - Pakistan Link - February 1, 2019

P22 – PAKISTAN LINK – FEBRUARY 1, 2019 COMMENTARY
n By Asif Javed, MD “Bhutto’s Last Days they wanted. No such attempt was made; the tall
Williamsport, PA claims only led to more stringent security ar-
rangements!
uch has been written about ZA Th e author denies having seen any physical
Bhutto’s time in offi ce and impris- abuse of Mr Bhutto although he regrets that the
Monment. His life in power was like former PM was humiliated in the last few days:
an open book but the period of his captiv- ZAB’s bed was forcibly removed and the former
ity continues to be shrouded in mystery PM spent the last few nights of his life sleeping
and has led to great speculation and many on a mat on the fl oor.
conjectural stories. Th is writer has only re- If these memoirs are to be believed, it is
cently come across a book written by an eye- quite obvious that ZAB did not believe in the
witness to most of ZAB’s time in jail as well gravity of the danger that he was faced with. He
as his execution. I am referring to “Bhutto’s was convinced that the murder case against him
last 323 days” by Colonel Rafi uddin who was fake and that the whole drama was being
was in-charge of security in the Central Jail staged to unnerve him. Th e author blames Bhut-
Rawalpindi and saw the events fi rst hand. To to’s legal team, his family and other visitors for
those who are looking for an authentic and consistently misleading him. Th e realty dawned
unbiased account of this most tragic, sensi- on him much too late when the clock marking
tive and controversial period of our history, his eventual doom had begun to tick.
this book is a must read. Col Rafi painstakingly records the last
Col Rafi tells us of ZAB’s personal habits hours of Bhutto’s life, the details of which are
that some of us already know of: he had rare moving, painful and some quite bizarre, almost
charisma and elegance; he ate and slept very embarrassing for the nation. Aft er hanging, the
little, had a phenomenal memory, uncanny in- former PM’s genitals were photographed, pre-
telligence, cared deeply about his looks, and was sumably to satisfy the military authorities that
an avid reader. He had amazing self-control and he was indeed circumcised. His expensive wrist
once went on hunger strike for nine consecutive sins could be forgiven for that decision. Bhutto outburst by Begum Nusrat Bhutto when she watch went missing and was later recovered from
days. greatly admired Turkish and German nations said, “Are we not great?” and “God has given Tara Masih, his hangman’s pocket. One claimant
One gains an insight into his political think- and once predicted Germany’s reunifi cation. Col us brains” while pointing to her temple. Tragi- for that wrist watch, Col Rafi writes with obvious
ing from the book: Bhutto felt strongly about the Rafi recalls a remark by Bhutto one day: “Were I cally, the ladies were not aware of the gravity of disgust, was Yaar Ahmad Daryana, the jail SP.
poor and thought that had he more time at his born a Turk, that nation would have valued me the danger to Bhutto’s life and could have shared Incidentally, Col Rafi also met with the three
disposal, he might have accomplished a lot more more than my own that has forsaken me while his belief that his imprisonment and trial was no co-accused in the murder case of Mr Kasuri. One
for them and the country. He considered the I rot in jail”. more than a political stunt. It was much later – of them, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa, confi ded to the
political awakening of the poor as his greatest Perhaps the most fateful decision made by on being informed of the date of execution - that author that he had supplied the weapons used
achievement. Ayub Khan, according to Bhutto, Bhutto in power was his choice of Zia as COAS. Nusrat Bhutto panicked and desperately tried to in the attack on Mr Kasuri’s life and that the or-
had many good qualities but was not a man of Col Rafi remembers that Bhutto had blamed the see the CMLA. Her letter off ering to take the for- ders for the murderous attempt had come from
crises while Asghar Khan was too rigid and was outgoing army chief Tikka Khan for infl uencing mer PM abroad was delivered to the CMLA but the “higher authorities”. Th e intended target was
unlikely to be a success in politics. Yahya Khan is his decision. But facts speak otherwise. Th ere is ignored. By then, ZAB’s fate had been sealed. Ahmad Raza, the son of the victim. Mustafa
described as intelligent and graceful except when overwhelming evidence that the cunning and While imprisoned, ZAB seemed to have had been assured of release by the authorities if
he was drunk, which was once too oft en. meek Zia had very tactfully convinced the Prime great faith in the loyalty of the members of his he stood fi rm on his statement that implicated
ZAB had an inherent dislike for mullahs Minister of his total loyalty and servile nature. party. Col Rafi reports quite a few conversations ZAB. Aft er ZAB’s hanging Mustafa’s usefulness
and considered them the root cause of many ills In their memoirs, Raja Anwar, Gen Gul Hassan with him when ZAB expressed his total confi - was over and he met the same fate along with the
facing Pakistan. Among his children, ZAB had and KM Arif have given details of how Zia cre- dence in the party members; he was expecting three other co-accused. Th is was yet another of
high expectations from BB and predicted that ated a benign image of himself and fooled ZAB. great street protests for his release. Only much Zia’s promises that was not kept.
she would leave her mark on history. He con- It appears even a political giant like ZAB found it later, it dawned upon him that though devoted Bhutto once said he wanted to be remem-
sidered Gen Akhtar Malik the most outstanding hard to acknowledge this colossal mistake. there were not many who were prepared to face bered as a poet and a revolutionary. Resting in
military commander of his time; his ill-timed Th e author has written at length about the the wrath of Martial Law administrators. Col peace in the timeless land of Sindh, wrote his bi-
dismissal by Field Marshal Ayub in the 1965 War Bhutto family’s visits to jail. Begum Bhutto and Rafi notes the obvious despair in ZAB, “My party ographer late Khalid Hasan, he may take comfort
let Kashmir slip away. Bhutto considered Zia’s Benazir visited oft en and resented the jail proto- prefers a dead Bhutto”, he once lamented. One that many in this land remember him as such
plan to Islamize Pakistan an absolute. About the col and procedures. Th e family was in emotional day he screamed in obvious anguish, “Where are while majority of those who were responsible for
Ahmadis being declared non-Muslims, he felt turmoil, and understandably, under great stress. the bastards who were willing to lay down their his humiliation in jail have become part of the
it was a decision of the National Assembly and On one occasion, Begum Bhutto exchanged lives for me?” Th ere is also a reference to a very garbage can of history.
not his own. However, on another occasion, he harsh words with the jail staff and threatened ill-advised statement from some PLO members Th e author can be reached at asifj aved@
made a remark to Col Rafi that perhaps all his them with reprisal. Col Rafi reports one such that they could get Bhutto out of jail whenever comcast.net
n By Judith Graham For Older Adults, a Protein-Rich logram level, a 150-pound woman
would need to eat 102 grams of pro-
lder adults need to eat Diet Is Important for Health tein daily, while a 180-pound man
more protein-rich foods would need to eat 123 grams.) Even
Owhen they’re trying to lose higher levels, up to 2 grams per kilo-
weight, dealing with a chronic or ate the least amount. gram of body weight, could be need-
acute illness, or facing a hospital- While not conclusive (older ed, it noted, for older adults who are
ization, according to a growing adults who eat more protein may be severely ill or malnourished.
consensus among scientists. healthier to begin with), “our work (Th ese recommendations don’t
During these stressful periods, suggests that older adults who con- apply to seniors with kidney disease,
aging bodies process protein less sume more protein have better out- who should not increase their pro-
effi ciently and need more of it to comes,” said Paul Jacques, co-author tein intake unless they’re on dialysis,
maintain muscle mass and strength, of the study and director of the Nu- experts said.)
bone health, and other essential tritional Epidemiology Program at “Protein becomes much more
physiological functions. Tuft s University’s Jean Mayer USDA important during events in an older
Even healthy seniors need Human Nutrition Research Center adult’s life that force them into a sit-
more protein than when they were on Aging. uation of muscle disuse — a hip or
younger to help preserve muscle In another study, which was knee replacement, for instance,” said
mass, experts suggest. Yet up to one- published in 2017 and followed Stuart Phillips, director of McMas-
third of older adults don’t eat an ad- nearly 2,000 older adults over six ter University’s Center for Nutri-
equate amount due to reduced ap- years, people who consumed the tion, Exercise and Health Research
petite, dental issues, impaired taste, least amount of protein were almost per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body the older population. in Canada.
swallowing problems and limited twice as likely to have diffi culty weight per day. Aft er reviewing additional “Higher amounts of protein
fi nancial resources. Combined with walking or climbing steps as those For a 150-pound woman, that evidence, an international group have value when something in an
a tendency to become more seden- who ate the most, aft er adjusting translates into eating 55 grams of of physicians and nutrition experts older adult’s body is changing,”
tary, this puts them at risk of deteri- for health behaviors, chronic condi- protein a day; for a 180-pound man, in 2013 recommended that healthy Campbell agreed. He co-wrote a
orating muscles, compromised mo- tions and other factors. 65 grams. older adults consume 1 to 1.2 grams new study in JAMA Internal Medi-
bility, slower recovery from bouts of “While eating an adequate To put that into perspective, of protein per kilogram of body cine that did not fi nd benefi ts from
illness and the loss of independence. amount of protein is not going to a 6-ounce serving of Greek yogurt weight daily — a 25 to 50 percent raising protein intake for older men.
Impact on functioning: Recent prevent age-associated loss of mus- has 18 grams; a half-cup of cottage increase over the RDA. (Th at’s 69 to Th is could be because the interven-
research suggests that older adults cle altogether, not eating enough cheese, 14 grams; a 3-ounce serving 81 grams for a 150-pound woman, tion period, six months, wasn’t long
who consume more protein are less protein can be an exacerbating fac- of skinless chicken, 28 grams; a half- and 81 to 98 grams for a 180-pound enough. Or it could have been be-
likely to lose “functioning”: the abil- tor that causes older adults to lose cup of lentils, 9 grams; and a cup of man.) cause the study’s participants had
ity to dress themselves, get out of muscle faster,” said Wayne Camp- milk, 8 grams. (To check the protein When illness is an issue: For se- adjusted to their diets and weren’t
bed, walk up a fl ight of stairs and bell, a professor of nutrition science content of other common foods, niors with acute or chronic diseases, exposed to additional stress from
more. In a 2018 study that followed at Purdue University. click here.) the group suggested protein intake illness, exercise or weight loss,
more than 2,900 seniors over 23 Recommended intake. So, how Older adults were rarely in- of 1.2 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of Campbell said.
years, researchers found that those much protein should seniors eat? cluded in studies used to establish body weight while noting that the Per-meal amounts: Another
who ate the most protein were 30 Th e most commonly cited standard the RDAs, however, and experts precise amount needed “depends on recommendation calls for older
percent less likely to become func- is the recommended dietary allow- caution that this standard might not the disease, its severity” and other adults to spread protein
tionally impaired than those who ance (RDA): 0.8 grams of protein adequately address health needs in factors. (At the 1.5 grams-per-ki- DIET, P26
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