Such was the pathological hatred, General Zia-ul-Haq had for the Bhuttos that after hanging Zulfikar Bhutto to death, defying international appeals, the tryrant trained his guns on Benazir Bhutto – the daughter whom the father had groomed as his successor. The General would just not let the Bhutto family live in peace; pursue politics. The wife, the daughters, the sons were served summons by the day. The General's sworn dislike for Benazir had her in jail, and to break her spirits, to make her a mental wreck, it was a solitary confinement sans no minimum basic facilities.

In 'Daughter of the East', Benazir detailed her 1981 Autumn isolation in the Karachi Central Jail where it came to such a pass that she started hallucinating – started hearing 'voices' : that 'rationalist' in her thinking they were 'planted' to sear though her spirit; the 'believer' in her resorting to Islamic ways to exorcise the evil spirits as had been told to her. One would never know, whether the 'voices' she heard were for say 'real' hallucination or had then been set up to see that she falls apart ? Her cell, though labelled A-class had flaking cement, no flush in the toilets, and power cuts.

An open sewer ran though the jail yard and it mingled with the stink of her toilet which had swarms of cockroaches and other insects. For drinking water, she had a bucket with no lid which was laced with floating dead insects. The matron, in gray police uniform slept at the far end of cells which had been emptied after Benazir's arrival. She was immobilized by 'overwhelming irrational depression'; could not eat or drink; could not wash herself or change clothes, even stretch her limbs as a basic of exercise. But her head, as she were to recall, kept warning her 'don't play into Zia's hands.'

Her teeth ached; so did her gums. The pain spread to her ears. ( later, a doctor was to diagnose it as 'breakdown in the harmony of the body's systems….in times of stress, however, the nervous system goes on full stress…our wills may remained strong but our bodies pay the price.” The jail superintendent tempted her with 'deals' of freedom on 'Zia's conditions', but Benazir always felt unsettled as the offers faded away in passing with no follow up. She was never sure if superintendent wished her ill or well. To ward off the attempts to imbalance here, she would scream at night.

But now came the 'whispers'. She could hear two men and women conversing in hushed tones. She thought since no one was allowed near her cell. So she complained to the prison authorities. With a straight face, the deputy superintendent said: “There is no one in your ward. You are imagining.” After some days came the 'footsteps' : a man's heavy footsteps; close and close. From under the cover sheets, Benazir picked courage to ask; 'Who's it ?” No answer. She was to ask the matron: “Did you hear the footsteps ?” The matron was straight-faced: “I didn't hear anything…. You are just imagining it.”

Now came tinkle, tinkle akin to jingling of anklets of a belle in sway. The new warden, a toothless worldly wise pathan woman, who fearlessly slept in the courtyard upbraided Benazir: “Hush! Pretend you have you heard nothing. It is the witch ( churr-ayle' – all in the women's wing have heard her.” Now came the clank, clank, after some days as if something was stirring the dustbin outside her ward attempting to sift the refuse inside.” She heard the tiffin box being picked up, the lid opened and the box knocked against the wall. As she peeped at the cell door, the tiffin box lay upside down in the dirt.

'Ya Allah' 'Ya Allah' she sought succour. The superintendent added an eerie dimension. “the cell block had been built over 'phansi ghat' ( hanging ground used by the British ). May be some murdered soul has not found rest ? Benazir was to write: “I am not superstitious and continued to suspect the regime”, but I did take to the ritual I had been taught by the matron of Sukkur Jail. I breathed 'Surah' of the 'Quran' over a bucket of water. And sprinkled it in four corners of my cell though it being egg ( oval ) shaped had no corners.' The phenomena stopped. She was bewildred “I still don't know how.”

After some days, the Pathan matron walked into her cell and confided that she had overheard the 'voices' conversing that the witch ( churr-ayle ) would leave today. Benazir thought the matron was mad. But two hours later came the parole for Benazir to attend her sister's wedding. Like for 'voices', Benazir had no answer for this, !too