Benazir Bhutto 'killed in blast'


Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) says.
Other reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.
Ms Bhutto had just addressed a rally of PPP supporters in the town of Rawalpindi when the rally was hit by a blast.
At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack. Ms Bhutto has twice been the country's prime minister and was campaigning ahead of elections due in January.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7161590.stm

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has died after a suicide attack, according to media reports.

Geo TV quoted her husband saying the politician had died following a bullet wound in the neck.


Bhutto is helped from her vehicle following the October 18 suicide attack on her motorcade.

1 of 2 The suicide attack left at least 14 dead and 40 injured, Tariq Azim Khan, the country's former information minister, told CNN in a telephone interview.

The attacker is said to have detonated a bomb as he tried to enter the rally where thousands of people gathered to hear Bhutto speak, police said.

Bhutto is said to have been leaving the rally when the attack occurred and was taken to a hospital in an unconcious state, the Geo TV report said.

Earlier, a spokesman for Bhutto told CNN she was safe and taken away from the scene.

Video from the scene of the blast broadcast from Geo TV showed wounded people being loaded into ambulances.

Up to 20 people are dead, the report said.

Earlier, four supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Friday, local police said.

Several other members of Sharif's party were wounded, police added.

While President Pervez Musharraf has promised free and fair parliamentary elections next month, continued instability in the tribal areas and the threat of attack on large crowds has kept people from attending political rallies and dampened the country's political process.

Campaigners from various political groups say fewer people are coming out to show their support due to government crackdowns and the threat of violence.

Bhutto called it "an attack on democracy" and vowed it would not deter her political campaign.

Today's violence come less than two weeks ahead of January parliamentary elections and as many days after President Pervez Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of emergency he said was necessary to ensure the country's stability.

Critics said Musharraf's political maneuvering was meant to stifle the country's judiciary as well as curb the media and opposition groups to secure more power.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...rif/index.html

Major news networks are now reporting that following bomb blasts at Benazir Bhutto’s rally in Rawalpindi, shots were fired directly targeting her. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari says that one of these shots hit her in the neck and killed her.

According to early BBC reports:

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a military spokesman has announced on TV.
Earlier reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.

Ms Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally in the town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.

At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack and several more were injured. Ms Bhutto had twice been the country’s prime minister.

She was campaigning ahead of elections due in January.

‘She expired’
The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking.

Benazir Bhutto had been addressing rallies in many parts of Pakistan
PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar initially said that Ms Bhutto was safe. But later he told the BBC that Ms Bhutto had died.

Another member of the PPP, Wasif Ali Khan, told the Associated Press news agency from the Rawalpindi General Hospital: “At 6:16 pm (1316 GMT) she expired.”

Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges.

Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing.

Since her return relations with Mr Musharraf have broken down.

On the day of her return she led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead.

The PPP has the largest support in the country.

Earlier on Thursday at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi.

Reactions to Bhutto assassination

The killing of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a suicide attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi has drawn widespread national and international condemnation.

PAKISTAN PRESIDENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF
We shall not rest till we tackle this problem and eliminate all the terrorists. This is the only way the nation will be able to move forward, otherwise this will be the biggest obstacle to our advancement.

I want to take this opportunity to appeal to the nation to stay calm and show fortitude.


PAKISTAN OPPOSITION LEADER NAWAZ SHARIF
It is not a sad day, it is a dark, darkest, gloomiest day in the history of this country. Something unthinkable has happened. Something inconceivable, unthinkable has happened.


US PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH
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.


INDIAN PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH
In her death the subcontinent has lost an outstanding leader who worked for democracy and reconciliation in her country.

The manner of her going is a reminder of the common dangers that our region faces from cowardly acts of terrorism and of the need to eradicate this dangerous threat.


RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN
I hope the organisers of the crime will be found and that they get the punishment they deserve.

It is a challenge launched by the forces of terrorism against Pakistan, but also against the international community.


AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI
We in Afghanistan condemn this act of cowardice and immense brutality in the strongest possible terms. She sacrificed her life for the sake of Pakistan and for the sake of this region.


UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
I strongly condemn this heinous crime and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice as soon as possible.

This represents an assault on stability in Pakistan and its democratic processes.


EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL BARROSO
This is an attack against democracy and against Pakistan.

We hope that Pakistan will remain firmly on track for a return to democratic civilian rule.


FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY
I condemn this odious act with the greatest severity.

Terrorism and violence have no place in the democratic debate and in the combat of ideas and programmes. More than ever it is necessary for the [Pakistani] legislative elections to... take place in conditions of pluralism, transparency and security.


UK PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN
Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan and this atrocity strengthens our resolve that terrorists will not win there, here or anywhere in the world.

We will work with all in the Pakistani community in Britain and elsewhere in the world so that we can have a peaceful and safe and democratic Pakistan.


VATICAN SPOKESMAN FREDERICO LOMBARDI
This attack shows how extremely difficult it is to pacify a nation so wrought by violence.

We share the sadness of the Pakistani population.


IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN MOHAMMAD ALI HOSSEINI
The Pakistan government should use all efforts to identify the terrorist group which caused this incident and punish them to prevent terrorist groups from finding opportunities to undertake such actions again.


ISRAELI PRESIDENT SHIMON PERES
Benazir Bhutto was a courageous woman who did not hide her ideas, did not know fear and served her country with courage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7161660.stm

Brown: Bhutto killers are cowards

Mr Brown said it was a "sad day" for democracy

Brown statement
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned the killers of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto as "cowards afraid of democracy".

It was a "tragic hour" for Pakistan but terrorists must not be allowed to "win there, here or anywhere", he added.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary David Miliband called the apparent suicide bombing a "senseless attack".

The Tories said it was "an appalling act of terrorism" and the Lib Dems a "hammer blow" to democracy in Pakistan.

'Deeply shocked'

Ms Bhutto, a two-times prime minister, was killed as she campaigned in the northern city of Rawalpindi, ahead of elections due in January.

Mr Brown said: "This is a sad day for democracy. It's a tragic hour for Pakistan."

He added: "Benazir Bhutto was a woman of immense personal courage and bravery.

"Knowing, as she did, the threats to her life, the previous attempt at assassination, she risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan, and she has been assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy.

This is a dark day for everyone who believed in a stable and democratic future for Pakistan

Nick Clegg, Lib Dems


UK Pakistanis express shock

"Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists, but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan.

"And this atrocity strengthens our resolve that terrorists will not win there, here or anywhere in the world."

In a statement, Mr Miliband said he was "deeply shocked", adding: "This is a time for restraint but also unity.

"All those committed to a stable future for Pakistan will condemn without qualification all violence perpetrated against innocent people.

"In targeting Benazir Bhutto extremist groups have in their sights all those committed to democratic processes in Pakistan. They cannot and must not succeed."

Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party, was holding an election rally when gunfire and an explosion occurred.

'Hammer blow'

Conservative leader David Cameron said: "This is an appalling act of terrorism.

"Today Pakistan has lost one of its bravest daughters. Those responsible have not only murdered a courageous leader but have put at risk hopes for the country's return to democracy."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "This is a dark day for everyone who believed in a stable and democratic future for Pakistan.

"Benazir Bhutto was a courageous politician known throughout the world, not just Pakistan, for her forthright and sometimes controversial views.

"Her tragic death is a hammer blow against the dream of pluralism and tolerance in modern day Pakistan.

"In the light of her brutal assassination, the need for the full restoration of democracy in Pakistan in now paramount."

And Justice Secretary Jack Straw said: "The sense of grief at her senseless killing will I know be shared not just by Pakistani communities across the world but by everyone, because this terrorism is an attack on us all, regardless of race, religion or party.

"We will ensure that it is defeated."

Conservative MP Rob Wilson, vice chairman of the all-party Parliamentary group for Pakistan, called for calm.

"It is important that when such a shocking event takes place, we don't rush quickly to premature judgements - we must wait for the facts to become clear."

He said many questions remained unanswered, such as who was responsible, whether Ms Bhutto had been warned about the attack and whether she had been well protected by the Pakistan government.

"The best tribute to Mrs Bhutto's memory will be the country coming together, and free and fair elections taking place," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7161737.stm

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

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My ALLAH it is enough for my respect that I m "Your" person & it is enough for my pride that "You" are my GOD."You" are exactly the way I desire.Thus please mould me the way "You" desire.

A dream snuffed out

BENAZIR Bhutto is dead. She died amidst her supporters who revered her, and her father before her, and from whom she derived her strength, her legitimacy as a leader. She died because the state proved inadequate in protecting her.

She died at the hands of an assassin, a suicide bomber, God knows at whose behest. She epitomised courage and courted death because she said it was important for her to reclaim the political space lost to the extremists by the current government’s policies.

Among sinking hearts, an emptiness, and doom and gloom many questions will need to be answered. Did she die because she was a woman politician swimming against the tide of obscurantism? Did she die because she was in the process of staging a comeback after being dismissed twice on charges of corruption and misconduct? Did she die because she represented the aspirations of millions of her supporters — supporters so committed that they refused to blame the party leadership for many unfulfilled dreams?

The reception accorded to her as she returned home, ending years in exile on October 18, was a demonstration of such selfless dedication by several hundred thousand supporters. More than 150 people, mostly PPP activists, died in the bombing aimed at her that night in Karachi. Her supporters knew very well she was the target and yet thronged each venue she appeared at. Such was their bond.

While we appeal for restraint, the anger and the frustration of PPP supporters is understandable. The sniper’s bullet has snatched their dreams from them. Will we ever know who killed her?

She died literally yards from where Liaquat Ali Khan was felled by an assassin’s bullet and probably a mile from where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had his life snuffed out by the hangman’s noose. We know nothing about Liaquat Ali Khan’s murder and very little about Z.A. Bhutto’s killing beyond what his supporters say was a judicial murder.

No amount of condemnation will compensate for the sense of loss that fills millions of hearts across the land today. We can’t even begin to imagine the grief of her family who have been robbed of the jewel in their crown.

It is a tribute to the tenacity of Ms Bhutto, the politician par excellence, that she kept her father’s political legacy alive in a male-dominated society. He had championed the popular cause and had given a sense of dignity to the common man in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto had the mettle to do the same.

The repercussions of her murder will continue to unfold for months, even years. What is clear is that Pakistan’s political landscape will never be the same having lost one of its finest daughters.





Ref : http://www.dawn.com/2007/12/28/top3.htm

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Whoever did this wants two things: create unrest through violence; and get the elections postponed sine die. The postponement of elections will only increase the possibility of violence

Ms Benazir Bhutto is dead, assassinated. A grave tragedy, this could likely have even graver consequences.

She was walking back to her vehicle after addressing a rally at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27 when, according to reports, a man approached her, started shooting and then blew himself up. The bullet that entered her neck proved fatal.

That Bhutto was attacked is not surprising; it wasn’t the first time. What is surprising is that someone could so easily get close to her and had enough time to start shooting before activating his suicide belt. Or were there two people, one shooting and the other blowing himself up?

Who could have done it? The answer to this obvious question, unfortunately, is not so obvious. If motive is the benchmark, culprits can range from the rightwing elements — Al Qaeda and its affiliate groups had repeatedly threatened to take her out — to her political rivals to elements within the establishment and intelligence agencies.

Anyone, singly or in tandem, could be behind this murderous act. There is a strong undertow in Pakistan still of extremism — rogue elements within the establishment linked to extremist groups and right-of-centre political parties.

Bhutto had, after the gruesome Karachi bombings, pointed the finger at what she called the “Zia remnants”; later, however, she had decided not to press with that line. But the manner in which Pakistan’s politics is configured, the PPP rank and file will entertain no other thought except that the dark deed was committed by Bhutto’s rivals — and rivals range from the army (for whom Bhutto was a bete noire) to intelligence agencies to right-of-centre political parties to the extremist groups on the loose.

PPP cadres are already in a foul mood and in the coming days the possibility of increasing violence in the party’s strongholds cannot be discounted. The consequences of Bhutto’s assassination have to be seen on the basis of the vertical fault-line that has historically run through Pakistan’s politics and where the army has overtly and covertly tried to do everything possible to keep the PPP on the margins since its very inception (former Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt-Gen Hamid Gul, has publicly confessed that he put together the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad in 1988 to thwart the PPP).

Even now, while President Pervez Musharraf began to make overtures to the PPP, partly because he realised that the next phase of politics would require a much stronger PPP presence and partly because the Americans pushed him in that direction, Musharraf’s allies were extremely unhappy. It doesn’t bear repeating that Musharraf presides over a system where many functionaries of the government are not particularly enamoured either of his policy of alliance with the US or his idea of cultural liberalism and moderation.

An alliance between Musharraf and Bhutto, even one based on self-interest, was not in the interest of such players. That her rally in Karachi was targeted within hours of her landing on Pakistan’s soil shows that these elements meant business. It also proved that they considered her a grave threat and would strike again.

Turmoil suits extremist groups; the absence of Bhutto suits some political groups as well as some elements within the establishment. But unlike the extremist groups, those who are in this game to seek power must realise that some basic rules of the game are important all round — for themselves as well as the rivals. Without règle du jeu, the country can never acquire the stability which makes politics the only profitable game in town.

Where does Pakistan go from here?

That’s the question now and its answer will depend on Musharraf. He will have to make a decision and a smart one. And the only sensible decision is to not postpone the elections. Whoever did this wants two things: create unrest through violence; and get the elections postponed sine die. The postponement of elections will only increase the possibility of violence by signalling to an already bereaved PPP rank and file that the dastardly act of killing Bhutto was aimed at eliminating a political threat and keeping the country away from democracy.

In fact, the only way Musharraf can show his sincerity and even get himself, the army and perhaps his political allies absolved of the accusations that will now fly thick and fast, such being the nature of Byzantine politics, is to go ahead with the elections.

The talk about imposing another emergency will be akin to playing with fire. Investigations into this tragedy need sincerity, not a blanket imposition of drastic measures curtailing basic rights, not least because emergency in and of itself can have no impact on the efficacy of investigations intended to unearth the culprits who did this. Indeed, imposition of emergency and postponement of elections will serve to do just the opposite: convince the PPP cadres as also the majority of Pakistanis that Bhutto was targeted only so the ancien regime could carry on merrily.

Musharraf’s appearance on state television condemning Bhutto’s death, declaring three days of mourning and asking people to stay calm was a good gesture; that he did not mention any possibility of emergency is also a good signal. However, there has been rioting in various cities and if violence spreads it could give the government a reason to take extraordinary measures. That is what must be avoided. While it is important to maintain law and order, that can be done without getting into the morass of emergency.

This is a death whose shadow will linger over Pakistani politics for many years to come. There’s also a lesson in here for those who have ruled Pakistan for so long and defied the logic of establishing a succession principle. If Pakistan were a stable state, this death would still be mourned but no one would consider even a tragedy as big as this to be the undoing of the state itself.

Bhutto was fighting for just such stability; the only way to honour her and her sacrifice is for the country to return to democracy and to the creation of a legal-normative framework. And the first step to that is free and fair elections.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...-12-2007_pg3_2

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" Woods are lovely dark and deep But i have promises to keep And miles to go before i sleep "

The vacuum left by Bhutto's death
Ahmed Rashid, guest columnist and writer on Pakistan, on the future of Pakistan after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

As if things could not get worse in a country that has been torn apart by political strife and Taleban extremism in recent months, Pakistan has now been plunged into unimaginable grief, anger and chaos and an uncertain political future.

The killing of Benazir Bhutto will probably lead to the cancellation of national and provincial elections on 8 January.

With rioting across the country, it could also lead to the imposition of extraordinary measures by the military - a state of emergency or even martial law.

Ms Bhutto died just two miles from where her father, former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was hanged by a former military dictator 30 years ago.

There has been a bitter feud between the military and the Bhutto family-led Pakistan People's Party (PPP) ever since.

On Thursday party stalwarts were accusing the military of perpetrating the latest murder of a Bhutto - although that is extremely unlikely.

After Benazir Bhutto no politician or party is prepared to face up to the threat posed by Islamic extremism

The classic use of a sniper and a suicide bomb attack to cut her down bore all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda trained Pakistani suicide squad.

The personal tragedy for this family - Ms Bhutto's two brothers also died violently, one was poisoned, the other shot - has epitomised the footprints of Pakistan's bloody political scene since its inception in 1947.

Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated at a political rally nearly 60 years ago at the exact spot where Bhutto died.

Vacuum

Her death leaves the largest possible vacuum at the heart of Pakistan's shaky political system.

Twice elected prime minister, twice dismissed on charges of corruption and incompetence by the military, Ms Bhutto was still a giant of a politician in a land of political pygmies and acolytes of the military.

Ms Bhutto looked set to win the general elections in January. Earlier this year she and President Pervez Musharraf had been planning to work together with the army to curb the threat of extremism that Pakistan now faces.

Instead the country now seems to be slipping into an abyss of violence and Islamic extremism.

It was clear weeks ago that President Musharraf did not want to work with her, despite pressure from the Americans to do so.

He and the army have been siding emphatically with his former allies in the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and he was doing everything possible to make sure that they would win the elections.

Public anger at President Musharraf stems from not just the fact that the government failed to provide adequate security for Ms Bhutto, but that the government and army were never impartial and appeared all set to try to rig the elections against her Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

Rhetoric

More critical to Pakistan's future stability is that after Ms Bhutto no significant politician or party looks prepared to face up to the threat posed by Islamist extremism and the Pakistani Taleban who today are the main threat to the state.

In recent weeks she had confronted the Taleban extremists head on.

In a country where the only recent political advances have been made by the Pakistani Taleban, who have seized large chunks of territory, such a role was an immensely brave and necessary one.

Moreover, Ms Bhutto had the political base to conduct a war against extremists.

She commanded the diehard loyalty of at least one third of the electorate, who were vehemently against army rule and the Islamist extremists. The PPP is the closest the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has ever got to espousing a secular, democratic political culture.

President Musharraf may simply not survive the fallout of Ms Bhutto's death.

His crackdown last month on Pakistan's fledgling civil society was unacceptable to large parts of the population who saw lawyers, journalists and women being hauled off to jail. No Islamist fundamentalists were rounded up when he declared a state of emergency on 3 November.

In the present state of grief and shock, it is unlikely that other opposition leaders will want President Musharraf to stay on in office.

If the rioting and political mayhem worsens, if the opposition refuses to co-operate with him and the international community finally begins to distance itself from him, then the army may be forced to tell President Musharraf to call it a day.

Should that happen it is imperative that world leaders insist upon a return to civilian rule and elections and not another military dictatorship.

Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He is the author of three books including Taliban and, most recently, Jihad. He has covered Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia for the past 25 years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7162426.stm

U.S. suspects Taliban leader behind Bhutto plot

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN -- U.S. officials suspect a Taliban leader from Afghanistan may be behind the plot to assassinate former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a senior official said Friday.

The official identified Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud as a leading suspect, saying there's "good information that leads us to believe he is the guy responsible."

Earlier Friday, the Pakistani Interior Ministry said it had "intelligence intercepts" indicating Mehsud was behind the opposition leader's death the day before in Rawalpindi.

"As you all know, Benazir Bhutto had been on the hit list of terrorists ever since she had come to Pakistan," said the Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema. "She was on the hit list of al Qaeda."

Cheema said the Pakistani government intercepted a communication Friday in which Mehsud "congratulated his people for carrying out this cowardly act."

Robert Grenier, former CIA station chief in Pakistan and former head of the CIA's counterterrorism center, describes Mehsud as an Islamic radical leader in northwest Pakistan's South Waziristan closely associated with the Taliban.

Grenier said that Mehsud spoke publicly before Bhutto's return to Pakistan in October after eight years in self-exile that the former prime minister was marked for assassination.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that Mehsud allegedly pledged to dispatch suicide bombers against Bhutto but that Mehsud has denied that allegation.

The Interior Ministry also said earlier the suicide bomber belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni Muslim militant group with links to al Qaeda, Pakistan's GEO TV reported.

There was no sign the group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Pakistan opposition leader.

The U.S. State Department lists Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as a terrorist organization and said it had links to the Taliban. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf banned the group in 2001.

"In January 1999, the group attempted to assassinate former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif," the State Department Web site says.

Also Friday, the state-run news agency Associated Press of Pakistan reported al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for killing Bhutto.

The agency quoted Cheema as saying, "Al Qaeda in a statement has accepted the responsibility of her assassination, as in the past she had been receiving life threats from this terrorist group."

No one has accepted responsibility for Bhutto's death on radical Islamist Web sites that regularly post such messages from al Qaeda and other militant groups.

CNN could not independently confirm that al Qaeda has claimed responsibility.

Bhutto, 54, died as a result of a fractured skull after hitting her head on a lever in the vehicle she was riding in, Chema said.

He said Bhutto suffered no bullet or shrapnel wounds, contradicting all previous government statements regarding her injuries. Authorities had said Bhutto was targeted by gunshots seconds before a suicide bombing as she was leaving a rally.

On Thursday, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin citing an alleged claim of responsibility by the terror network for Bhutto's death, a DHS official said.

But FBI and other law enforcement officials said that the claim is unsubstantiated and that federal officials are not making any comments about its validity.

Italian news agency Adnkronos International apparently was the source of this claim, saying the terror network's Afghan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid had telephoned the agency with it.

"We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahedeen," the Italian news agency quoted Al-Yazid as saying.

The agency said that al Qaeda's No. 2 official, Ayman al-Zawahiri, set the wheels in motion for Bhutto's assassination in October.

One Islamist Web site repeated the assertion, but experts in the field don't consider the site to be a reliable source for Islamist messages.

The DHS official said the claim was "an unconfirmed open source claim of responsibility" and the bulletin was sent out at about 6 p.m. Thursday to state and local law enforcement agencies.

The official characterized the bulletin as "information sharing."

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the validity of such a claim is "undetermined." Kolko said the FBI and the intelligence community is reviewing it "for any intelligence value."


http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...eda/index.html