Pakistan After Benazir: Choosing Our Future

Posted on December 29, 2007
Filed Under >Adil Najam, People, Politics, Society
73 Comments
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Adil Najam

Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, now lies under six feet of earth in Garhi Khuda Bux, her ancestral village, in a grave next to her equally mercurial father, the late Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Time line for the Bhutto family

As the graphic above (click to enlarge) from Boston Globe shows, hers – like her father’s – was a brilliant but tragic life. Tragically ended.

Now she is buried. But I suspect that the Benazir saga is far from over. Indeed, just as all of Pakistan’s politics after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s hanging was contextualized by his hanging, all of Pakistan’s politics after Benazir’s assasination is likely to be contextualized by Benazir’s assasination.

In the immediate aftermath of this tragic death, the country continues to reel in grief at what has happened, fear about what might happened, and immense immense anger and everything that has been happening. As I argued in an op-ed in the New York Daily News today, this mix of grief, anger and fear is a very dangerous combination. It cannot lead to any good.

Right now the scenes we see on our screens are of mayhem, of devastation, of further violence, of destruction. These are not good images for Pakistan and certainly these are not the Benazir Bhutto would have wanted as her legacy. We at ATP have written many many times about the climate of anger that defines modern Pakistan (here here, here, here, here, etc.). This anger is the single most disturbing and single most defining motif of today’s Pakistan. Right now – and not without reason – the anger is being directed at Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf’s government. Much of this should, but not in this way.

More important to note is who the anger is not being directed at. I hope that the legacy of Benazir Bhutto’s untimely and tragic death is a legacy of a society that seizes this moment to reassert its demand for democracy and to recognize that extremist violence is our problem. This is not a mercenary war. This is Pakistan’s own battle. Right now the evidence suggests that society continues to tear at its own self. I fear that it will not change anytime soon. That things are likely to get worse before they become any better. But, I refuse to give up hope. At least, not yet.

As I wrote in my New York Daily News op-ed:

If this moment ends up being defined by Pakistan’s latent anger – if it launches a cycle of crackdowns and protests – it will certainly empower and embolden the militants further. But if it is defined by society’s sense of shared loss, felt grief and the continued movement toward genuine democracy, it might – just might – bring together a fractured society and awaken in them the realization that the common enemies are extremism, violence and terrorism. Then, we might just have half a chance of winning this war on terror. And Benazir Bhutto’s death would not have been in vain.

 

73 responses to “Pakistan After Benazir: Choosing Our Future”

  1. ali says:

    She is just a politician.

    came back with backing of US under a deal with Gen Mush.

    Twice made PM of this poor nation. Only helped her husband Mr Zardari to become Mr 10 %.

    Had outstanding corruption charges of more then 9 billion aginst herself.

    Studied in OXFORD. Lived in SARReY and Dubai. Childerns studing in OXFORD and she is promissing ROTI KAPRA AND MAKAN to the poor.

    SHE WAS JUST A SELFISH POLITICIAN WORKING FOR US INTERESTS CAME BACK UNDER A DEAL ONLY TO SUPPORT MUSH TO CONTINUE WORK FOR US

  2. swordofbaghdad says:

    I think that Pakistan should seriously think of adopting the rule of Allah. After all we have been blessed by Allah’s book and what is better for us that that?

    Pakistan was created specially for Islam. It’s be all and end all is Islam, and it has no meaning except that it is for, by and of Islam. The creation of Pakistan has taken a lot of bloodshed, from 12th century to 20st century. All this sacrifice of Arabic and Subcontinental Muslims cannot go waste.

    How will Pakistan ever fulfill it’s destiny without submitting totally to Islam? Until it’s purpose is not fulfilled, it will surely stay in turmoil. Pakistan itself is burning, striving for the rule of Allah so that it can prosper, by its people do not pay attention. May there be a leader that can show it the right path, the one Allah intends, the one directly ordered by Allah.

  3. PAKISTANI says:

    Here is what I think is needed:

    1. Musharraf needs to go!
    2. Constitution restored.
    3. Judiciary restored.
    4. REAL elections within 3 months AFTER Musharrafhas left.
    5. REAL rooting out of religious extremists because they are real enemies of Pakistan and Islam.

  4. Abdul Rafiq says:

    I like your headline. Our future should be our choice, not of some know it all general or some mullah who thinks he knows the real truth. DEMOCRACY DEMOCRACY DEMOCRACY ZINDABAD.

  5. Rizwan says:

    I am sure Pakistanis have the strength and sgacity to build their future from ashes. Assasinationm of Benazir Bhutto should be used as a unifying force and a spring board to confront extremists and fight them till Pakistani’s achieve their aim of a peaceful and tolerant / moderate society bukit on equality, justice and moderation. All Pakistani’s must understand that it is our collective responsibility to take our Nation to progress and prosperity and we all have to work hard towards that end. It is a fight of our survival. I also urge the political parties to participate in the elections, otherwise they are indirectly strengthening the extremists’ hands.

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