Adil Najam
News is just breaking that former Prime Minister and head of the Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto was killed in Rawalpindi in a terrorist attack.
She was gunned down by an assasin who then blew himself up in a suicide attack. This happened at teh end of her rally in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi; the same place where Liaqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s first Prime Minister was assassinated. Major news networks are now reporting that following bomb blasts at Benazir Bhutto’s rally in Rawalpindi, shots were fired directly targeting her. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari says that one of these shots hit her in the neck and killed her.
According to early BBC reports:
Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a military spokesman has announced on TV. Earlier reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.
Ms Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally in the town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off. At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack and several more were injured. Ms Bhutto had twice been the country’s prime minister. She was campaigning ahead of elections due in January.
‘She expired’
The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking. Benazir Bhutto had been addressing rallies in many parts of Pakistan
PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar initially said that Ms Bhutto was safe. But later he told the BBC that Ms Bhutto had died. Another member of the PPP, Wasif Ali Khan, told the Associated Press news agency from the Rawalpindi General Hospital: “At 6:16 pm (1316 GMT) she expired.”
I, like most Pakistanis, am still too numb with shock and grief to think coherently about what has happened or what the implications of this are for teh country and for the world. But this I know, whether you agreed with her political positions or not you cannot but be in shock. Even as I type these lines I am literally shaking. Hers was a tragic life story. So tragic that had it not been real no one would have believed it.
At this point all sorts of thoughts float through the politics of this. Why did this happen? Why was it not stopped? What could have been done to stop this senseless murder? Maybe she should not have come back? Who did this? What will this mean for the elections? What will this mean for the PPP? What will this mean for Gen. Musharraf? What will this mean for Pakistan? But all of these are paled by thoughts about Benazir as a person. The woman. The wife. The mother. The human being. What about her?
I have not always agreed with her politically but there was always a respect for her political courage. I had met her many times, first as a journalist covering her when she had just returned to Pakistan in the Zia era and before she became Prime Minister. Later a number of times in her two stints as Prime Minister and thena few times during her exile. In that last period she toll to referring to me as “Professor sahib” and some of our exchanges were more candid (at least on my part) than they had been earlier.
At a human level this is a tragedy like no other. Only a few days ago I was mentioning to someone that the single most tragic person in all of Pakistan - maybe all the world - is Nusrat Bhutto. Benazir’s mother. Think about it. Her husband, killed. One son alledgedly poisoned. Another son assasinated. Daughter rises to be Prime Minister twice, but jailed, exiled, and finally gunned down.
Today, in shock, I can think only of Benazir Bhutto the human being. Tomorrow, maybe, I will think of politics.
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Thank you R. Abdullah for pointing out a mistake in my original post, which had been written literally within minutes of my hearing this tragic news. Indeed, and thankfully, Sanam Bhutto is alive. I had confused the circumstances of Shahnawaz Bhutto’s death with her sister (who is, in fact, alive). My apologies for not having caught this myself. The error is deeply regretted and has been removed from the text.
As someone asked above, I dare say that Fatima Bhutto will one day emerge a big leader. I am not condoning or opposing it.
BB certainly earned it some starting 1977. In her ‘Daughter of the East’ she mentions the night of Zia ul Haq’s coup and many struggles in which at least her mother was bloodied and Benazir peronally faced prison for extended period.
Personility cult is bad. But, you know what, in the most successful democracy in the world we have a mini-dynasty ruling since 1988 and very likely continue to rule if Hillary (and then, who knows: Chelsea/Jeb Bush get a role?!) comes to power.
So, yes, while I have no opinion, I think Fatima Bhutto has the intellectual power and a powerful name to become the heir to ZAB’s legacy. But she has to earn it!!!
It is realy shocking news, and the thing is now the whole bhutto family has finish (Very Sad)
It is a sad day indeed! No one deserves to be killed like this. All the peace-loving people of the world need to unite against extremism and injustice of all kind around the world.
It is high time the US as well as other Western nations accept their role in creating the monster of religious extremism in that region of the world to counter the erstwhile Soviet Union and communism. We all remember President Reagan commending the Afghan mujahideen (freedom fighters). Look what happened after we left them to fester unattended after the defeat of Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
The CIA as well as the ISI colluded on this and played their roles over time. No wonder neither party blames the other. We mere mortals as well as the media blame one or the other of these.
RE says:December 27th, 2007 8:17 pm
Every Pakistani should have one issue on priority and that is going after extremists ( Al-Qaeda and Talibans ) and show the world we do not want them to be part of the world. Look at these extremists they are in no doing things under Koran rules I even hate to call them humans.
I disagree Mr. RE. Every Pakistani should strive to get rid of the dictator Musharraf and his buddies in the army. You should attack and fix the root cause rather than the symtoms like Taliban. Musharraf has to go.
Rahim
Brave Pakistani died today?
Its not brave when you have threats from left and right and you come out of sunroof to welcome those threats. Its almost feel like she wanted this to happen.Do not take me wrong I am sad on her death.
Many in west think and liked BB because they thought she was going after frontier areas extremists or was going to let west go in and do the job.
Well this tells alot about Mushraf he uses his brain otherwise he will be dead by now. I think there was not much difference between BB and Mushraf when it comes to going after extremists.Only difference was she was blunt and Mushraf understands things better.
West should not give up on Mushraf as he knows better and west knows being in Iraq is been nightmare for them. What make them think its a overnight job for Pakistan?
How many Bugtis, Bhuttos, have to die, before Musharraf, hiding in Aiwan-e-Sadr, goes. Is law & Order, left for few corrupt men, talking about democracy to CNN? Why did they hose down the crime scene/evidence in hours?
Today, A Brave Pakistan died, taking a bullet like a lion, protecting your rights, your freedom, your nation. How many of us are willing to extend their necks out against oppression?
As the Sultan said “It is far better to live like a lion for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years”
May Pakistan live for Millions of years !!!!