Is Fatima Bhutto dating George Clooney ?

By Maria Akram

Fatima Bhutto, the fiery poet-journalist niece of slain former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto, may be dating Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney.

"Tricky long distance, Pakistan-to-US dating logistics aside, we think the two would make a nice couple. I mean, just look at her CV. She's a far cry from Clooney's last girlfriend... cocktail waitress and 'Fear Factor' contestant, Sara Larson," said a report in American tabloid National Enquirer.

Clooney and Fatima, who lives with her stepmother and half brother in a plush suburb of Karachi, met at an international conference last year.

"He's still out there with his usual assortment of Hollywood eye-candy hanging from his arm. But George insists those days could be coming to an end if Fatima wants to take their relationship to the next level and spend some serious time with him in the US," the report said.

Fatima was recently in the news as she is expected to contest from her late aunt's seat in the next general elections. Sindh National Front chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, who is the cousin of late president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, said that Fatima would run from Larkana constituency.

The seat was won by Benazir Bhutto in all elections between 1988 and 1997 and is now held by president Asif Ali Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur.

Fatima, who has two books to her credit, is now working on a book on the Bhutto clan. She also writes occasional columns criticising the functioning of the government.

Fatima's memoir will explore four generations of her family history, marked by tragedy and division -- including the stories of her grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, executed in 1979; her uncle Shahnawaz, murdered in 1985; her father Murtaza, murdered in 1996, and her aunt Benazir, assassinated in December 2007.

"Fatima's story challenges the conventional wisdom about Pakistan, about the politics of family, and about the relationship between women and power," UK-based publisher Jonathan Cape said shortly after sealing a deal for the book with Fatima. The book will appear in 2010.