Fatima Bhutto

Fatima Bhutto (born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. She is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, and grand-daughter of former Pakistani prime minister and president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Born in Kabul, she was raised in Syria and Karachi, and received her bachelor's degree from Barnard College in New York City, followed by a master's degree from the SOAS, University of London.

Bhutto is a critic of her aunt and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, whom she accused of involvement in her father's murder. Her non-fiction book Songs of Blood and Sword, released in 2010, is about her family. Bhutto has written for The News and The Guardian among other publications.

Early life and education Bhutto was born on 29 May 1982 to Murtaza Bhutto and his Afghan wife, Fauzia Fasihudin Bhutto, the daughter of Afghanistan's former foreign affairs official in Kabul.

Bhutto is the granddaughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto, an Iranian Kurd, niece of Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, and Shahnawaz Bhutto. Her father was killed by the police in 1996 in Karachi during the premiership of his sister, Benazir Bhutto. Her biological mother Fauzia Fasihudin unsuccessfully tried to gain parental custody of Bhutto. in Old Clifton, Karachi. from Barnard College in New York, United States, in 2004. She received her M.A. in South Asian Studies from the SOAS, University of London in 2005, there she wrote her dissertation on the resistance movement in Pakistan.

Career Publications and politics In 1998, at the age of 15, Bhutto published her first book named Whispers of The Desert. Her second book 8.50 a.m. 8 October 2005 marks the moment of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake; it records accounts of those affected.

Bhutto's family memoir Songs of Blood and Sword was published in 2010. In the book Bhutto accuses her aunt Benazir and her husband Asif Zardari for killing her father Murtaza. The book got mixed to negative reviews from critics for being biased on the history of her family. Several family members have accused her of falsifying information.

In November 2013, her first fictional novel The Shadow Of The Crescent Moon was published. The book had been long-listed in 2014 for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. In 2015 Bhutto's short story titled Democracy, an e-book, under Penguin Books was released.

In 2019, her second novel, The Runaways was published. The book explores three young Muslim men's journey to radicalization. The novel received critical acclaim for its subject. In October of the same year , New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi and K-Pop was published. Tash Aw in the Financial Times described it as a "razor-sharp, intriguing introduction to the various pop phenomena emerging from Asia."

Following the assassination of her aunt, Benazir Bhutto in 2007, there was speculation over her entrance into politics. In an interview, she has stated that for now she prefers to remain active through her activism and writing, rather than through elected office

Bhutto also mentors several South Asian writers as the Head of Climate Projects at the SouthAsia Speaks Literary Fellowship.

Personal life In 2009, it was reported that she was in a relationship with George Clooney, but neither she nor Clooney ever confirmed their relationship.

On 27 April 2023, Bhutto married American national Graham Byra, who adopted the name Gibran following his conversion to Islam. The ceremony was held in Fatima's ancestral home in Karachi. Byra holds a Master of Arts in organizational psychology from Columbia University.

Regarding her religious faith, Bhutto has stated that she is a cultural Muslim and describes herself as a secularist. She has defended Islam on many occasions and supported Muslim women's right to wear burqa.