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 assassin who then blew himself up in a suicide attack. This happened at the 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 the 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 assassinated. 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.
meengla you said
As for Al-Qaida, may be they did it. May be not. One thing is sure that this govt. has no credibility left and whatever it says has to be taken with a bucket of salt.
I say:
This government is here to stay. Because Mushraf loves Pakistan and he takes steps to stay alive for the love of Pakistan. He is not running around looking out from sunroof of his car. Mushraf will not let Foreign army enter Pakistan territory but BB said she will.
Frontier areas has long loyal history with Pakistan. All the problems in those area need to be resolved with brain not with emotions. Mushraf is smart and has caused some frustration to the people who were investing in Bhutto.
Mushraf is best for Pakistan right now. Yes I want elections to be fair no matter what.Mushraf must put end to extremism in Pakistan.Yes day to day living is expensive in Pakistan for poors I want Mushraf to do something about it. Crises like shortage of Aataa should never happen again under his rule. Electricity problems in summer should be taken care.Mushraf must provide clean water to the poor people of Pakistan. Education for all. Health for all.Mushraf also slowly take out corrupted people working under him. lets talk about real issues
Reg. the claim that she died due to head injuries sustained by hitting her head against the car…
There was no autopsy conducted on her. And the site of her assassination was quickly washed away using fire engines. Why? Do we really believe the claim that no bullet or shrapnel was found inside her? Or was it the case that the bullet would provide uncomfortable evidence against certain people or entities? What evidence at the site needed to be quickly washed away? These questions will perhaps never be answered, just like the questions about Liaqat’s assassination remain unanswered more than 50 years after his death.
Just got sent a link to this op-ed article by Adil Najam and I think he is exactly right.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/12/28/200 7-12-28_saving_pakistan_from_itself.html
I want to thank again all non-Pakistanis who have expressed their condolences and warm words in this blog. I especially want to thank bloggers from India: In my opinion a lot of what is happening in Pakistan is because of the fact that Pakistan is a ‘security State’ constantly in fear of Indian hegemony and that gives undue share to the military in Pakistan’s affairs. In this sense there cannot a ‘normal’ Pakistan unless peace or at least a credible detente is established with India.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071228/ap_on_re_as/pa kistan_bhutto_world
has a few good videos (Bhutto’s Brave Stand) linked from the bottom of above link. One of the main reasons she wins hearts is her courage: Watch how she reaches out to the people in public places disregarding her own security.
As for Al-Qaida, may be they did it. May be not. One thing is sure that this govt. has no credibility left and whatever it says has to be taken with a bucket of salt.
BB died because of banging her head against a metal lock as she was either thrown forward by the blast shock-wave or she herself ducked forward as a reaction to the blast behind her. No bullet or any shrapnel was found in her. Her face only had one wound on the right temple. She died probably of the internal skull fracture and the consequent brain hemorrhage.
doctors report from Rawalpindi General Hospital (12 docs team) along with X-Rays and photos of the damaged vehicle have been shown on TV.
Simple fact of the matter, had she kept herself inside the vehicle, like her party leaders who were sitting inside and were not even scratched, she would have been alive today. These damn politicians should start listening to security professionals then to think that they are the master of the universe. Had BB listened, this would have not happened!