Karan Thapar, India’s premier television interviewer, was an old friend of Benazir Bhutto. They had known each other since their days at Cambridge and Oxford, respectively. Benazir, according to Thapar, had tried to get him married (unsuccessfully) for 18 years. Thapar says he spoke to her just four days and had asked her to “stay safe”.

Thapar says Bhutto also had a fine sense of humour. At one Oxbridge debate on “sex before marriage”, Thapar recalls that he rang the bell and asked her if she dared to practice what she preached. The hall went up in laughter. And after the last laugh had been heard, Benazir, says Thapar, pulled out her spectacles, screwed her eyes, and said: “Certainly, but not with you.”