Benazir Bhutto Assassinated
Earlier today, Pakistan’s opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.
Douglas E. Curran/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images
Benazir Bhutto in front of a poster of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, after she won first parliamentary elections in 1988.
UPDATED BELOW
Earlier today, the horrible - and what many feared - happened: Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while attending a political rally. First someone shot at her, after that the assassin blew himself up.
“Ms. Bhutto was declared dead by doctors at a hospital in Rawalpindi at 6:16 p.m. after the doctors had tried to resuscitate her for thirty-five minutes. She had shrapnel injuries, the doctors said. At least a dozen more people were killed in the attack,” the New York Times reports.
(Image: Fox)
This is truly horrible news. Many - including myself - had hoped that Musharraf could work out some power-sharing deal with Bhutto, which would enable them to bring stability to Pakistan, while slowly democratizing the country nonetheless.
(Image to the left: B.K.Bangash/Associated Press)
The question is, of course, who’s behind the attack? Extremists? If so, Musharraf has a very good reason to step up the war he has been waging on them the last couple of months. If not… well, it could theoretically be that Musharraf himself is involved. In Pakistani politics we can’t rule anything out. But, I have to say, it seems to me that assassinating Bhutto would be a very stupid move: if he’s behind it and the world finds out about it some way or another, Musharraf will lose all the support he had.
As it is, the suicide bomber delivered a horrible blow to the democracy movement in Pakistan. Musharraf and members of the opposition / Bhutto supporters should try to calm things down immediately.
More at:
Forward Movement (Jules Crittenden): “Jihadis, ISI, or some combination?”
Donklephant (Justin Gardner): “This attack and death of the opposition might make Musharaff crack down on extremists within his own borders more, but somehow I doubt it. They seem to be doing his bidding now. That’s not to say he wanted this by any stretch of the imagination, but since he has been running the country like he’s a dictator it’s certainly not inconceivable.”
UPDATE: Hot Air has a tremendous post up, often updated. One of the updates:
Bill Richardson reacts to Bhutto’s assassination by insisting that Musharraf must resign. Which would, at least in the short term, add a whole lot of instability to a chaotic situation. Who would replace Musharraf? Richardson doesn’t speculate on that.
Yeah. A candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination tells a besieged ally that he should resign. Even though it seems that not Musharraf, but Al Qaeda - or some other extremist organization - is behind the attack. Utterly foolish. Definite proof that experience doesn’t equal wisdom.
Also: “Statements from the presidential candidates are starting to come in. Rudy Giuliani’s was the first, followed by Mike Huckabee. Mitt Romney has also issued a statement and video comment.”
UPDATE II: President George W. Bush reacted to the death of Bhutto.
Laura and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of Benazir Bhutto, to her friends, to her supporters. We send our condolences to the families of the others who were killed in today’s violence. And we send our condolences to all the people of Pakistan on this tragic occasion.
The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice. Mrs. Bhutto served her nation twice as Prime Minister and she knew that her return to Pakistan earlier this year put her life at risk. Yet she refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country.
We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism. We urge them to honor Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.
This is an appalling tragedy. It looks like extremists are doing their best to turn Pakistan into a failed state. We must hope that they fail.
David: yes, I agree. That’s basically what Musharraf is up against as well.
There are so many potential variables to this story. Pakistan has a very long history of its military and intelligence agencies utilizing Islamist parties for political ends but without much control over specifics. It’s probable that there is some sort of connection to the Pakistani security services, but it’s more probable that this is just another in a long line of political attacks in Pakistan. I doubt Musharraf himself ordered the attack, since his allowance of Nawaz Sharif’s return was his solution to the resurgent PPP issue. A little less blunt than taking Bhutto out directly.
The most likely culprit is Al Qaeda. Zawahiri has vowed to kill Bhutto whom AQ considers an American agent & a feminist dead set against AQ male patriarchies. The tragedy is that Musharaff might have been betrayed by ISI elements sympathetic to AQ extremists who want to keep Pakistan off balance—which keeps their hand in the game.
There is no way that Musharaff wanted Bhutto dead and gone—but his enemies [and Pak destabilizers] did.
Currently I am just very sorry - I am aware of the flaws Bhutto had but they were overshadowed by her brave direction and insistence on a freer, fairer and friendlier life for all in Pakistan and beyond. Black is the garb tomorrow, and hence we must keep a closer look on Pakistan.
I don’t like Musharraf much but the notion that his resignation will play in the hands of the progressive and freedom-friendly rather than the enemies of humanity and freedom is absurd.