Fatima Bhutto at Writers Festival

AFGHAN born Pakistani journalist and writer Fatima Bhutto will be the keynote speaker at the Byron Bay Writers Festival.

AFGHAN born Pakistani journalist and writer Fatima Bhutto will be the keynote speaker at the Byron Bay Writers Festival.

She is the granddaughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was executed in 1979; niece of Shahnawaz Bhutto, who was murdered in 1985; daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, who was assassinated in 1996 and niece to Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.

Festival director Jeni Caffin said Fatima was ‘born into a politically powerful, if tragic, dynasty’ and that the family’s political idealism had ‘shattered’ successive generations’.

“I am honoured that Fatima has chosen the Byron Bay Writers Festival for her only Australian festival appearance,” Ms Caffin said.

“This month she has released Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter’s Memoir, her history of this extraordinary family and Pakistan’s tumultuous struggle to nationhood.

“I had the privilege of meeting Fatima in 2009 and was impressed by the intelligence and courage of this outspoken young woman.”

Visit www.byronbaywritersfestival.com for more information about the festival, which will be held in August.

Originally published as Fatima Bhutto at Writers Festival