Assasination of Benazir Bhutto

After addressing a rally of supporters in Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi, Benazir Bhutto was shot at, followed by a bomb blast explosion. Benazir Bhutto arrived in the hospital in a critical condition before succumbing to her injuries. According to the official version which was issued yesterday, she was killed by the impact her head had with a ‘lever’ due to the massive force generated by the bomb blast. The Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party and two-time former premier of her country is no more to guide her party to the January 8 elections—the fate of which hangs in the balance as well.

Whether there was a failure on the part of the security provided to her by providing a safe cordon to her vehicle or the voluntary act of Benazir Bhutto to come out of the sunroof of her bullet proof her which led to her death, one can only speculate and comment as any enquiry can hardly be termed as ‘independent’ in this country in the same way that the stage was set for an elections in 2008 which were all but ‘fair and free’. Similarly, initially it was suggested that she was she suffered from two bullet wounds, one each to the windpipe and the head which were the cause of her death. Now the official version is at variance with that and it is unclear which version is to be accepted. The official version apportions the blame at Behtullah Masud on the basis of a congratulated message that was delivered by it to its supporters following Benazir Bhutto’s death. It is an unlikely event that any enquiry would even think about apportioning any blame on a government, if at all, which is bent upon enforcing its will on the people on any cost.

It is necessary therefore to reflect on the past to understand what may have allowed the perpetrator to be so close to Benazir Bhutto’s car with some heavy explosive material undetected. When Benazir Bhutto escaped death in the October 18 event, she highlighted some relevant points relating to the blast which led a prudent man to believe that at least some hand of the authorities or a part thereof could not have been ruled out in the failed plot. On that occasion as well as subsequently, the jammers provided to her to foil a bomb attack failed to work. Although the jammers would probably have failed to stall a suicide attack, the very fact that the authorities turned a deaf ear to her requests speaks volumes of the bona fides of the authorities in protecting the most vulnerable politician in Pakistan on the hit list of terrorist organizations. These facts along with others were being repeatedly being brought to the attention to President Musharraf but he had brushed aside such facts summarily without investigating their veracity. Such failure to act on the part of the establishment left claims of the PPP’s top leadership regarding inadequate security for the Benazir Bhutto implies that the authorities now are to be blamed alongside the ‘terrorist’ who killed Benazir Bhutto.

Numerous incidents of violence are being reported all over the country as a result of her death. Many of her mourners are in a state of disbelief and shock and have chosen to express their grief through countrywide agitation. Karachi is in a state of terrible disarray as a result and many governmental and private buildings have been set ablaze. However the violence is not limited to Sindh, where PPP has a strong mass support but has also affected Lahore and the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are in a state of a virtual siege. At such a sensitive time when trains and buildings are being torched, it is pertinent to note the thin presence of security officials who have virtually left the country at the mercy of angry mobs and criminals. The police is conspicuous by its absence everywhere. The elections which were scheduled for next year have suddenly lost importance. Nawaz Sharif of PML(N) has announced a boycott of the elections. Whether the PPP would participate as originally planned is not clear as top leadership is expected to decide as soon as Benazir Bhutto’s assassination is absorbed. Since power politics in Pakistan is largely focused on personalities, it would be a difficult task for PPP to rise above their differences and decide who the best person would be to succeed Benazir Bhutto’s leadership.

Although there were many question marks over Benazir Bhutto’s policies which were reflected in her statements, which many thought reflected a compromise on principles the party stood for in order to ‘reconciliate’ with President Musharraf who is accused of abrogating the Constitution of Pakistan and democracy therein, Benazir Bhutto was nevertheless a democrat, a liberal who portrayed a soft image of Pakistan as a moderate country in which extremists could be defeated through the power of the masses and appeal to the electorate rather than strengthening a willing dictator and weakening democracy. Although there were several corruption charges against her and her party which resulted in her government being dismissed twice as well as various charges being framed across the country as well as in foreign jurisdictions, due to the grass root level support that her party enjoyed, her party had always an important role to play.

Although the writer was and still is a strong critic of many of her policies, she was nevertheless a beacon of democracy in this country. It is difficult to assess the impact of her absence on PPP as many supporters had affilitated the Bhuttos with the PPP and in the absence of an adult heir in her party presently, it is hard to imagine that Ghinwa Bhutto, a strong critic of Benazir Bhutto or Ghinwa’s daughter, Fatma Bhutto would be accepted by the party top rank to lead a party they probably believe owes its continuity and survival to their own loyalty to Benazir Bhutto and the party and they themselves therefore need to play a role now rather then such rebellious family members. Her sister Sanam Bhutto has no political history and is unlikely to assume a future political career. It is hard to imagine the party being led by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari who has never truly assumed a leadership role and to the contrary, has gained a notorious name for her wife and the party as well by engaging in corrupt methods himself at various times. Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Yousaf Raza Gillani, two party stalwarts who command respect along with Aitzaz Ahsan, who has recently acquired fame for his role in the ongoing judicial tragedy that struck this country, are probably the ones who command the most respect and support in the party. It would be important for any future leader who may emerge through a consensus to devise a strategy through which Pakistan People’s Party can lead the people who repose tremendous trust in it.

Benazir Bhutto turned out to be a brave lady at the end nevertheless who brushed aside all threats to her life and advice from well-wishers to return to the people who loved her and were ready to give live for her—as most of her ardent fans are prepared to do. It is unfortunate though that she has not been able to change the destiny of her people in any significant way in the past and was denied an opportunity to prove her critics wrong in a chance she was likely to have another time post-January 8 elections. Along with other things, her American support would distinguish her from her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, on whose side she is buried, whom the Americans opposed for his vision to see the Muslim Ummah united under a banner.