Pakistan: Benazir Takes The Plunge

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Since Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan from exile in Britain in April 1986, her political fortunes have suffered setbacks. Now Bhutto, 34, has decided to test her luck at marriage. Last week the daughter of the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was wed under a rose-garlanded canopy to Asif Ali Zardari, 34, scion of a wealthy Pakistani family. The Muslim union, arranged by the families of the bride and groom, took place at the Bhutto family residence in Karachi.

The traditional-style marriage was expected, among other things, to buttress Bhutto's image as a "normal" Pakistani woman. Still, some allies were concerned that the union with Zardari, a onetime playboy, could damage Bhutto's political career. Not so, averred Bhutto, who added, "I'd certainly like to have a family."