Pirated copies of slain former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto's last book are out in the market and it is no surprise that they are selling like hot cakes.
Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West, Bhutto's last book that was rushed into print after her assassination in December and released just about a fortnight ago, has inundated bookstores across Pakistan. The 328-page book published by Harpercollins was priced at Rs 1,300 but pirated copies are being sold for Rs 395.
"Wait for some more time, the prices will come down further," bragged a help at a shop which sells second-hand books in the federal capital's super market. Some avid readers who could not afford the book were delighted to lay their hands on pirated copies.
Zahida Khan, who picked up a pirated copy, was elated. "For students, even Rs 395 is steep. But I am so happy to able to buy this book. I just can’t wait to read it," she said. Another bookseller gave the done-to-death logic that is often associated with piracy. "It may not have a jacket but isn’t a book all about its contents?" said Shaan, who retails books from a make-shift kiosk.
Pirated copies are also being sold in Rawalpindi. Booksellers at the busy Saddar Sunday Book Bazaar are doing good business with Bhutto's book. Incidentally, pirated copies of Bhutto's autobiography Daughter of the East, which has been reissued with a revised preface, have also hit the market.
The sales of If I am Assassinated, by Bhutto's father and Pakistan People’s Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, have also shot up in the aftermath of her assassination.
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