Adil Najam
Whatever her opponents may think of her, Benazir Bhutto was a most recognized and much-loved international figure. An icon in the best sense of the word. The shock of her death - and the manner of her death - was not confined to Pakistan. As comments on our earlier post suggests, in that moment, the entire world stopped in its tracks. It was not just the most tragic of moments, but also a most historic moment.
These are the pictures of the front pages from just a few newspapers from across the United States and across the world. They are but a fraction of the hundreds, possibly thousands, of newspaper front pages that mourned her death. They make a fitting tribute to a woman who served twice as Pakistan’s Prime Minister, but was also a global citizen in heart and in spirit.
Regular readers of ATP know our fascination with newspaper front pages, which we feature often as pictures in our political posts. But credit for this fine collection goes to the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) who have featured this collection (ATP added a few images) on SAJA Forum. My gratitude to them for this, please do visit the SAJA page where you can click on each of the front pages images for more detail in them. Additional images of international newspapers were found at another wonderful post here.
I am just deeply saddened by the tragic death of Benazir. I was and still am not involved or aware of politics in Pakistan though I am a Pakistani, I just always wanted peace and prosperity for my country.But for sure, I alwys admired Benazir Bhutto, as the first woman prime minister in the Muslim world, a role model for so many of us. She was very articulate, educated and I admired her for that. She was a bold lady. I feel sorry for her children. they have lost their mother at a very young age in such a tragic manner. My heart goes out to them.And Pakistyan has lost yet another asset.No one can replace her. She was the symbol of modern and progressive Pakistan .How can any human take the life of another person ? She was our hope.. hope for a million people. As for the corruption charges, to be honest, name one politician in the sub continent who has not made money. This is not to say that she did. Allah knows better.I dont know. But all said and done, after all she was amother to 3 children, she was a human being, a lady, a leader of millions, a progressive bold lady. No body deserves to die like this. The Bhutto family has sacrificed way too much. Only those without a heart will not feel sorry at this point for her. I cry for her.. but all the tears in this world will not bring her back to life. We have lost her. Some one has snatched her away from us and deprived us of a leader. May Allah punish all those involved in this heinous crime in this world and the hereafter and grant Benazir a place in heaven.Aameen.
This is a type of shock I could hardly believe of….I was just shaken and to add more, the people put so much harm to the country in the name of grief..To read abt the adiminstrative failures after Benazir’s death, plz have a look at:
http://www.chowrangi.com/administrative-failure-af ter-benazir-bhuttos-assassination.html
So, My derest Maulvi Rafay Kashmiri, if you are right then you are saying that the Mullahs are not targeted because they have all these qualities, which means you are saying that the people who are committing these murders (of Benazir plus other murders in bombings) are actually people who also respect these values… i.e., that these bombings and murders ARE DONE BY MULLAHS THEMSELVES.
THANK YOU RAFAY KASHMIRI FOR ACCEPTING AND CONFESSING THAT YOUR MULLAHS ARE BEHIND ALL THESE BOMBINGS AND MURDERS. I have never before heard a Mullah confess to his crimes so I am impressed by your honesty. At least there is one honest Mullah. Unfortaunately, only one!
@Kaseem Ahmed
Mullah are not victims of blast because
a. they don’t belong to colonial class
b. they are not as corrupt as BB
c. they are respected not worshipped.
d. they are faithfull Pakistanis
e. they speak national languages very good.
f. they are not corruptible “Roshan Khayal ”
made in USA or UK.
g. they are serious simple practicing muslims
(some of them might be special)
h. they have the courage get bullets on their chests
I. they are only afraid of God not Musharraf.
Lal Masjid case where they were slain in thousands.
J. they respect religion, moral, family, and others.
K. THEY ARE BELIEVERS IN ALLAH & RASOOL
AND HIS RELIGION.
l. AND THEY BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY
Many comments reflect this sentiment… “Her life and work was more designed to the imagination of the west than being a capable leader to lead Pakistan.”.
As an outsider, I must ask, did the West orchestrate the outpouring of support for BB? Was the grass-roots response to her return have something to do with the CIA of M15? Curious.
The 46 front-pages shown in this post reflect a GLOBAL response to her assignation, not just a Western response. The sentiments of free thinkers and free press’, maybe not knowing the true underpinnings of your country’s struggles, but still recognizing BB as a glimmer (if not a beacon) of hope. I would suggest this hope is not only for a safer planet, but hope for the downtrodden and neglected peoples of Pakistan. As a note, I notice Adil is operating this website with a “.com” domain, not a .pk”. Perhaps the free-thinking world would like to see a time where a similar blog can be operated from within Pakistan without the fear of ending up where BB has.
If anyone seriously thinks the West could orchestrate anything of this magnitude in order to objectify their desires, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.
My sincere condolences to those of you who mourn the loss, and I express my gratitude to ATP for having such a great forum for the free exchange of ideas. Thanks you Adin.
The news that benazir was murdered has shocked and saddened me
the world has become a darker place with this act.
@Naved Haqqi
They never came out about her illness in public, especially in Pakistan where understanding of psychological and neurological disorder is very limited and socially unacceptable but just to put record straight here is an excerpt of her recent interview along with the link to it.
Benazir Bhutto Interview
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan
October 27, 2000
London, England
“……..Was there a moment of self revelation or self-discovery when you knew what you wanted to do with your life, that you were going to be different just as your father had been different?
Benazir Bhutto: It was not sudden. It came gradually. There were two moments, let us say, when it happened.
One of the moments was when my father died and I had my — before he died, I had my last meeting with him, in the death cell, and he said that, “You have suffered so much.” I had been in prison myself, and he said, “You are so young. You just finished your university. You came back. You had your whole life and look at the terror under which we have lived.” So he said, “I set you free. Why don’t you go and live in London or Paris or Switzerland or Washington, and you are well taken care of, and have some happiness because you have seen too much suffering.” I reached out through the prison bars, and I remember grasping his hands and saying, “No, papa, I will continue the struggle that you began for democracy.”
So that was one of the points where I decided that I didn’t want out. I’d stay, but I still didn’t think I’d ever be prime minister.
I thought my mother would be the prime minister, and that I’d work for her to be the prime minister, and that’s what I did. But my mother got sick and actually she had lung cancer, but we didn’t know she was getting Alzheimer’s. So she started behaving differently and we thought it’s because she’s had this serious illness, and she’s reflecting on how to lead her life. And suddenly I found that since mommy was away and the whole party was about to collapse unless I was there, so I started looking after the party at that stage. When I went back, I remember people were shouting, “Prime Minister Benazir!” And suddenly it struck me that “looking after” means — with mommy ill — “looking after” means that I will be the prime minister. So it was in that sort of moment when I realized the responsibility that I had taken over could lead me all the way to an office that could govern the destiny of more than 100 million Muslims in Pakistan. …………”
This interview can be accessed at:
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bhu0int-2
I am not a PPP supporter and do not like BB, but I am very sad for her. This was very sad loss for all of us.