Benazir book publisher expresses regret over personal content

NEW DELHI: With a new book on Benazir Bhutto getting embroiled in a controversy, its publisher on Tuesday regretted that some "personal" elements of the late Pakistani leader got into it and expressed readiness to make amends.
    
Roli Books Publisher Pramod Kapoor said his company had printed London-based journalist Shyam Bhatia's work 'Goodbye Shehzadi' on the basis of trust with the author and it had not verified the contents.
    
"While we cannot really reply to the political things he (Bhatia) has mentioned in the book, yes I would say we deeply regret the personal part that has gone into the book," Kapoor said about the book after Benazir's party PPP raised objections and threatened to take legal action against the author.
    
Senior BJP leader L K Advani, who released the book last month, on Monday expressed regrets for unveiling Bhatia's work after PPP objected to it. Advani said he would not have gone for the book launch if he had read the book.
    
The PPP has said that the book does not portray Benazir in good light as it contains "tasteless and scurrilous allegations" against the former Pakistan Prime Minister.
    
"There are things which are personal in nature... we as a sensitive publisher deeply regret that it has hurt Bhutto's children and husband (Asif Zardari) and we owe our apology," Kapoor said.
    
On the political content in the book, Kapoor said he would back the author on those aspects since his company has published it.
    
Asked if Roli Books would withdraw the "objectionable" content in the book, Kapoor said he was ready to make amendments in the next edition.
    
"Yes, I think we should. It has hurt the sensitivity of the (Bhutto) family. I would not really hesitate. They (personal remarks), they don't really add so much... its just a description," the publisher said.
    
However, as far as political content is concerned, it is the author's call. It is his (author's) creation... he has all the right. In case he says withdraw, we will do that," Kapoor said.
    
Bhatia, who claims to have been a close friend of the slain Pakistani leader, has written in his book that Benazir had told him that she herself transferred nuclear secrets to North Korea by carrying classified CDs in her overcoat.
    
At the same time, Kapoor did not believe that Advani would have been unaware of the contents of the book before releasing it as claimed by the BJP leader.
    
"The entire material was already available in public domain as it was published in newspaper and the writer was interviewed before the book was released. Hence, there is no question that the BJP leader would have been unaware of the content," he said.
    
"No doubt he is a busy man. He was travelling all the time... But somebody should have told him. It is not true at all to say that he was not knowing all the content... it was fairly public," he said.
    
Kapoor claimed that "a copy of proof (of the book) was sent to him (Advani) a week before the release of the book."
    
The publisher, however, did not discount the probability of Advani not having time to read the proof or not feeling the need to go through it just because of "trust".