Benazir Bhutto had degrees from Harvard and Oxford. She spoke fluent and unaccented English. Her looks were patrician and she came out as a liberal humanist in a rabidly anti-feminist Pakistan. In other words, Mrs. Bhutto was the only real challenge and alternative to both President Musharraf and the fundamentalist Right Wing. She may have won the upcoming elections in Pakistan.
This ex-prime minister has been assassinated. BBC reports her being first shot in the neck and then in chest. Then her craven shooter blew himself up, killing 20 more. Bhutto was addressing a campaign rally at Rawalpindi. It is common knowledge that the Bhutto family is jinxed like the Gandhi family in India. Bhutto’s father and brothers have all been assassinated.
Naturally, the needle of suspicion now rests on President Musharraf and her opponents. But it is highly unlikely that Musharraf had orchestrated the murder. At this point of time, Benazir’s death would only make public opinion stronger against him. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which Benazir headed, is now baying for Musharraf’s blood. May be this is exactly what the real killers have in mind. Who are they?
As things look, Pakistan is a country overrun by Islamic zealots. Amongst them are the Pashtun and Taliban terrorists. Benazir posed two problems to the fundamentalists. She was a woman and terrorists, like cowards everywhere, hate women in power. Moreover, with her western education, Mrs. Bhutto would have never tolerated right wing extremism. Simply put, she loved Pakistan and her people too much to bow to fundamentalists. She had to be silenced.
A light in dark Pakistan has gone out. Now out the dogs of war! She is going to be buried in her ancestral Larkana around noon.
Musharraf has been quick to jump into the public mourning bandwagon. He has declared three days’ mourning in Pakistan.
Via: BBC
Image: Solar Navigator
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According to the latest developments (29. Dec. 13:00 IST)
Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid, a spokesman for al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the assassination, telling Adnkronos International that ”We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen.” The article also claims that al-Yazid stated that al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered the killing in October 2007.
US intelligence officials have said, however, that they cannot confirm this claim of responsibility.
Nonetheless, US analysts have said that Al-Qaeda was a likely, or even prime suspect.
A Times (UK) article names al-Qaeda- and Taliban-backed warlords based in Waziristan and other areas of northwestern Pakistan as likely suspects, but also points to elements within the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence with close ties to Islamists as equally likely to have been behind the killing. The article also claims that President Musharraf is unlikely to have ordered the assassination. However, Bhutto herself had emailed Mark Siegel, her U.S. spokesman, lobbyist and friend, in October 2007, saying that because the Musharraf government was not providing adequate security, she would hold Musharraf responsible if she was killed.
Mark Siegel had forwarded this email to Wolf Blitzer of CNN with instructions he (Blitzer) publish the email only in the event of Bhutto’s death.
It is unlikely that Musharraf gave tacit support to the killing as this puts him on a disadvantage because -
a) he is already unpopular and such a high profile assassination around this time of a political figure would put fuel on the raging fire. Musharraf cannot survive with the entire nation being hostile towards him.
b) the world pressure upon him esp from the US to press for a credible democracy headed by someone whose main agenda was to wipe out radicalism and terrorism against which the US is leading the war.
Having said that, it is also very unlikely that he didn’t know it was going to happen. He never wanted Benazir to return. Now that with Benazir gone, and with Nawaz Sharif not exactly the kind of leader she was, there is going to be a vacuum. Now, Musharraf’s best chances for survival lies in how well he makes his moves from here onwards. If he succeeds to prove beyond doubt that it was indeed al-Qaida or affiliated terror groups who killed her, he may defuse the situation to a large extent. Then, he would enjoy controlling the country longer and also keep the Uncle Sam happy just as he was before the current political turmoil began, dishing out a morsel (in the form of high profile terrorists) to show that he is working.
It is almost certain that radical Islamists have carried out this act of terror as Ankit pointed out before me. It is now emerging (al-Qaida has officially taken the responsibility of the assassination already earlier today) that Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the al-Qaida/Taliban affiliate outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan ordered the attack on the behest of the al-Qaida 2-in-C Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered the attack.
however,
1) it is likely to be blamed on Musharraf as he stands to gain by her death.
2) it is likely that emergency will be re-imposed and elections be delayed or terminated altogether.
I guess at least it is not Musharraf who has got Benazir killed...coz at sucha crucial time, m sure he knew that fingers will point at him only!!!however, the alteration of theories related to the killing( head injury instead of neck bullet as per Govt officials is the cause of Benazir death)by the Pak officials, surely points out that now Musharaf is trying to get out of the mess...which of course won’t be that easy!