Mourning Bhutto
December 27th, 2007This morning, Benazar Bhutto from Pakistan was assassinated. She had been in exile and recently returned to Pakistan to run against President Musharraf.
I’m deeply saddened to hear about her death. The 54-year-old former Prime Minister had twice the brains and ten times the charisma of Musharraf and I was really hoping she’d win in the elections.
This sets Pakistan back. The Pakistani people are an intelligent lot of people, and this is a country I’ve been following for years now.
For those of you who don’t know who she was, Benazar Bhutto was the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Her father was Prime Minister but he was assassinated. Educated in Harvard and Oxford, Bhutto was a good friend of America and the West. She was Prime Minister of Pakistan twice between 1988 and 1996.
Musharraf warned her about returning to Pakistan for he said he was worried for her safety. He said he couldn’t guarantee her security. I’m not at all implying Musharraf had a hand in the attack. I don’t know if he was genuinely concerned or not, but for right now, I’m mourning her death. I think it’s more likely that he had no hand in her attack and actually was worried because the country’s stability had been deteriorating in recent months.
She was a good woman and could have taken Pakistan far into the future.
Twice the brain and 10x the charisma, she also knew the meaning of democracy, unlike a lot of more modern countries, she is a great loss for this region of the World and Pakistan looses all hope for respect.
My hubby (Helen’s dad) thinks Musharraf is the culprit. We are mourning her too here. Not only the lady but also some kind of democracy.
This is an awful blow to democracy and an unfortunate “victory” for the ideologues who have slowly been taking over Pakistan. I do not think Musharaff had anything to do with it because he has as much to fear from these cowards as any leader that does not embrace the Taliban-style ideology that is slowly seeping into the country from the Northwest provinces.
Far too many people who at least try and play by some rules are falling to those who have no rules are think they have a direct line to God on what the rules should be. Bhutto was a great woman who could have begun the effort to reform her country but with her death the sides appear to be the religious extremists or Musharaff who is bad in his own way. God help her family and country and ultimately God help us all. Since this attack will have reprecussions around the world for years.
if you recall me speaking of the education i received by sitting in the commons with the foreign students during my college days, my introduction to the history of pakistan in general and benazir bhutto in particular came in 1986. my pakistani friends spoke of her with respect and hope and said to keep my eyes on her as she would be taking center stage one day.
i marvelled that a conservative islamic nation could elect a woman as PM while the USA was clearly not ready to put a woman in the chief executive position.
i gasped today when i saw the headlines and i fear for pakistan and for us.
I just hope that country doesn’t turn into a mess. I agree with you, Pakistanis are smart people. so much potential.
She has had corruption scandals, but weighing in the good vs the bad, she’s probably Pakistan’s best shot at moving forward.
Do you think this will be the end of what she was trying to do? Or do you think her death makes her a martyr causing people to rally?
Heard about this on the news and didnt know who she was but its sad when anyone dies because they were trying to better something and/or anything like a country over there or going back to better it from here. Poor woman..
Helen - Yes, Musharraf is anything but democratic.
Kitem - I don’t think he was, but we’ll see…
Laura - That’s what I think too. He has as much to fear from them. They’ve been trying to kill him too, and his palace is surrounded by concrete, which has saved him more than once.
Beach - Yes. This is a global event. This is probably the biggest news of ‘07 when it comes to impacting the world.
Lime - India’s the one who really has the most to fear. If the whackoes get in power, keep in mind, Pakistan has nukes.
JJ - I’m aware of her past corruptions, but I’m playing realpolitik here.
Jen - I wish I had the answer to that. I’m hoping for the latter.
Tweety - Not only poor woman, poor Pakistan. Their people are going to be set back. Of the candidates, I think she had the best shot of moving the country forward.
Isn’t it amazing how the good ones wind up dead, and the morons carry on?
Flippin’ amazing.
Bridget - Makes one wonder if the world is going to get more stupid. Stuff like this is tragic for all humanity.
I was devastated when I had heard the news. Too horribly sad for her and for Pakistan.
Kathleen - Pakistan is one of the most important countries in the world right now. How Pakistan goes decides a lot for our future. I thought if anyone could pull them into the future, it would be her. Her death is a blow not only to Pakistan, but to the entire world.