Adil Najam

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated three years ago today, December 27.

Two years ago on the first anniversary of her death we had carried a post asking “What If She Had Not Been Killed?” Of course, this is not the type of question that has a real answer. But as the discussion on the question showed there is value in thinking about such speculative notions nonetheless. This year, to mark her third anniversary, we wish to ask a slightly different question: “What would Benazir think of today’s Pakistan?” Of course, we realize that none of us can know or guess what she might actually think. But in thinking about it maybe we will come to grips with what we ourselves think and bring some clarity to those thoughts.

So, dear readers, do please let us know what you would think Benazir Bhutto might think about today’s Pakistan.

Two days ago as I was driving in Karachi on my way to the airport I was stuck by all the huge bill boards and posters that were everywhere in commemoration of this day. All had huge pictures of Benazir Bhutto, most also had pictures (sometimes not as large) of Zulfiqar Ali Bhuto, and many also had pictures of Asif Ali Zardari and Bilalwal Bhutto (plus of whoever had paid for the poster in the first place). I realized that Benazir Bhutto is now the principal and most beloved icon and symbol of her party. Maybe even more so than her father!

What, I wondered, would she make of that?

Adil Najam

Sorry, I could not resist the headline (do please suggest a better one). Actually, I do not know if the lions roared or not. But four lions did land at Karachi airport. They were, however, promptly ‘seized.’ The question, now, is to figure out what needs to be done with them, to them, and to those who brought them to Karachi.

Confused? So was I. Here are some details from Bhagwandas (one of Pakistan’s finest environmental reporters) at Dawn:

Four lions, a rare species, being “imported” on an expired permission were seized by the customs authorities at Karachi airport in the early hours of Wednesday (Dec. 22). Sources said that the lions were handed over to the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) late Wednesday night for safe keeping till the issue was sorted out. The sources added that the lions were shifted to the Karachi Zoological Gardens because the SWD did not have any such facility of its own where the carnivorous big cats could be housed.

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Adil Najam

I happen to be in Pakistan on this December 25 and have spent the last many days and specially today devouring the great out-pouring of ‘Jinnah-spection‘ that is on display all over the country, on television, in the press. As a Jinnah fan myself and having devoted so many posts on ATP on exactly the same question, part of me is delighted by the intensity and level of the discourse. More so, because I sense this is not just khanna purri, it is in fact real introspection. However, what struck me is that nearly the entire discussion is about figuring out the “real vision” of the Quaid-i-Azam, Mr. M.A. Jinnah. That after so many years we are still searching for that “vision’ is a statement not about Mr. Jinnah, but about our own national confusion.