Farewell Bainzir
December 28, 2007
Pakistan faced yet another catastrophic day in its battered history on Black Thursday yesterday when within a few hundred yards of where her father was hanged by a military dictator and at the same spot where another popular prime minister of Pakistan was shot dead years ago, Benazir Bhutto, the unfortunate daughter of the east, the most popular leader of the country, the bold and fearless crusader for democratic and human rights, the only leader who genuinely represented the federation that is Pakistan, was assassinated by an assassin’s bullet in Rawalpindi, just 70 days after she returned from self-exile. Her death, unbelievable and stunning for everyone, throws the entire political edifice, the painfully excruciating march of the country towards a democratic polity, the carefully crafted plan for a peaceful transfer of power to an elected leadership and the reluctant strategy of an authoritarian regime to yield to the will of the people, up into turbulent smoke and bloody dust. As President Pervez Musharraf ordered a three-day national mourning, with the national flag flown at half-mast, and asked for calm, more important were his urgent discussions with his advisers to chalk out a damage control strategy, because the entire country was about to be engulfed by violent protests, with supporters of PPP, and mourners in general, slowly emerging from the initial debilitating shock. The world was similarly awestruck and was quick and unanimous in condemning the atrocity. The United Nations Security Council was urgently summoned to discuss the killing. President George W Bush came before the cameras for his two words of sympathy and condemnation of the terrorists. But the course of the country’s history had been unquestionably altered once again, with the most important member of the Bhutto family, the person who had shown immense sagacity and maturity in working patiently with an authoritarian regime, despite all the criticism heaped on her for allegedly betraying the people’s cause, was removed summarily from the scene by a sharpshooter’s bullet in her neck or a fanatic wearing a suicide jacket.
Benazir Bhutto was expressly aware of the threat to her life and she had been saying so publicly, even before she decided to end her self-exile in October. That is probably why she did not bring her immediate family, husband Asif Ali Zardari and the three children, back to Pakistan. But she was a determined lady and a brave one too. She had been pointing fingers at the retired elements in the state intelligence agencies, those who had themselves turned into religious fanatics or supporters of violent extremism, saying that they were after her because she supported a moderate and liberal Pakistan. Whether she was right in pointing out the culprits is impossible to say but her fears were not misplaced. The murderous attack in Karachi on her return on October 18 did not stop her from pursuing her dream of a democratic Pakistan, one in which the people would have their say. She kept pushing for an end to the military domination through free and fair elections, through quiet, secret diplomacy or through active vibrant campaigning. It now appears that while she was deeply concerned about the killers on the loose, and did whatever she could to protect herself, the State which was supposed to provide her protection as a citizen, and an important one at that, failed miserably.
Benazir Bhutto’s life was as traumatic as her death. The highs and the lows she faced in life were record setting or earth shattering. She became the first woman prime minister of an Islamic country at a young age. She became Pakistan’s prime minister twice. She was idolized by millions and led her party to victories and power and kept it intact while far away in exile. Her ignominy when she was booted out twice from government was mortifying. The world saw her with awe as a celebrity with an aura of mystery and tragedy surrounding her. The curse of the unknown which follows the Bhutto family always kept haunting her. Her father was hanged in 1979 when she was just 26 and the weeks and months before that tragic death, ordered by a military dictator, have been recorded in history as the most shameful for any civilized nation. A young daughter and a harangued mother were callously mistreated as the most important man in their lives was tortured, humiliated and then sent to the gallows for no fault of his. She then fought the dictator and was incarcerated and then exiled. She returned to a record welcome in 1986 and in 1988 rose to become the country’s prime minister. Within two years she was then ousted, blamed for corruption yet her tenacity brought her back into power soon. Her family troubles kept following her. One brother died in mysterious circumstances in France and another was murdered in cold blood near his ancestral home in Karachi while she was heading the government in 1996. Then came another exile and for years she ran from pillar to post round the world to bring democracy back to her country. A long and dark political winter ended this year when she played her cards smartly to obtain the crucial international support for her to return to her country and assume her position as the most popular leader. She made secret deals with the authoritarian rulers, inviting the wrath of many political opponents, but always with the aim of getting the country back on the road to a civil polity. She succeeded in achieving most of her political goals. She was allowed to return, again to a tumultuous welcome, the military started to retreat from the political scene, an army chief took off his uniform to assume his place as a civilian ruler, general elections were ordered for January and she was bravely preparing to lead her party into it. But she also made new and ferocious enemies on her way. These enemies, or those who were scared of her, made her as their prime target and finally succeeded in Rawalpindi yesterday.
More importantly her assassination threatens to derail the entire process of Pakistan returning to an elected democratic rule, especially by a coalition of moderate and liberal leaders who could confront the growing menace of religious extremism and fanaticism. This strategy had the full blessings of the west, specially the United States, as Washington carefully pushed General Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto to move closer to occupy that middle space and keep Pakistan from swinging perilously towards the right. Her death will be felt as a severe blow to US interests in Pakistan and in the region. Pakistan, it would be fair, to predict, is now in for very turbulent times. Benazir Bhutto will be buried alongside her father and brother with the world watching but she would not be forgotten without tears of sweat and blood.
Reference:
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=88146