Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party Assassinated at Rally
Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated earlier this morning, 12-27-07. As the world speculates about the impact her untimely death will have on national as well as international politics, it is a worthwhile endeavor to get to know the woman behind the position of opposition leader.
Born on 06-21-1953, Benazir Bhutto showed very early on that she was destined for political endeavors. Educated at catholic institutions in Karachi, she began her advanced education in the United States. Graduating in 1973 from Harvard University with a political science degree, she moved on to Oxford University and earned a graduate degree in politics, philosophy and economics. Perhaps the most shaping event of her political life took place upon her return to Pakistan in 1977: her father – former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who would be executed in 1979 by then acting President General Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq – requested her to contest local assembly elections and even though she only worked in an advisory role, her course in local politics was fixed.
Sent to the United Kingdom in exile, she became active with the Pakistan Peoples Party which was founded in 1967 by her father. Soon attaining leadership within the party, the socialist movement worked to better the lives of women and others who were oppressed or experienced violations of their rights by the ruling figures. Ms. Bhutto’s rise to national politics occurred in November of 1988 when in the first elections since her father’s execution the party received an unprecedented number of seats within Pakistan’s national assembly, and she no longer was just in a leadership position but the actual Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Sadly, her name became tarnished in a number of corruption scandals which came to light in 1990 and resulted in her dismissal as Prime Minister. Even though she was once more elected in 1993, 1996 once again saw her dismissed for similar reasons. Ms. Bhutto steadfastly claimed that none of the allegations were true but instead all politically based. This cloud of allegations and counterclaims hung over her head until the current time and was welcome fodder for those who opposed her September, 2007 criticism of President Pervez Musharraf who refused to engage in democratic reforms so urgently needed in Pakistan.
Hanging on to power since 2001, President Musharraf soon utilized every means available to him so as to squash any form of opposition and yet Benazir Bhutto was the gadfly that would not go away or be silenced. In the wake of what many viewed as his latest power grab – the October 6, 2007 indirect elections were considered rigged from the get go since neither Ms. Bhutto nor Nawaz Sharif of the opposition party were permitted access under threat of deportation – President Musharraf permitted Ms. Bhutto to once again return to Pakistan and promises were made to give her blanket amnesty for any pending corruption charges.
With nothing standing in the way of her return, Ms. Bhutto specified October 18th, 2007 as the day she would re-enter Pakistan. Sadly, it also set her on a collision course with death. As an outspoken women’s rights advocate and having changed her stance from a pro-Taliban to an anti-Taliban opinion, she hoped to win a third election and regain power for her party in early 2008.
Her return was greeted with enthusiasm and also violence. On the day of her return two homicide bombers murdered 134 people. Unwilling to be deterred by a violent minority, Ms. Bhutto sent an official letter to President Musharraf and alleged involvement by four close political allies of his as the ringleaders in her assassination attempt. Using the growing civil unrest as a reason for immediate and heavy handed action, Mr. Musharraf declared a state of emergency on 11-03-2007 which set off further confrontations with Ms. Bhutto and her socialist party.
Faced with growing open opposition, Ms. Bhutto was forced to undergo house arrest on 11-08-2007 in an attempt to silence her vociferous opposition to the state of emergency. Even though a day later and amidst growing opposition from national and international leaders the house arrest was lifted, the ability of opposition leaders to speak out was severely curtailed. Attending rallies and granting interviews, Benazir Bhutto became a visible force of opposition to be contended with.
Thus she presented an easy target and was murdered on December 27th, 2007 when she left a political rally. A homicide bomber opened fire and then self-detonated, killing her and more than 20 others.
The impact of her death is felt worldwide. World leaders have come out in condemnation of the assassination and reaffirmed their commitment to seeing terrorist violence stamped out. Financial markets were reactive and showed a hike in oil prices and a drop in points. At the root of these changes is the very real fear of a heightened state of political unrest which have some even wonder about the possibility of a civil war.
As of the writing of this article it is hard to tell how local politicians and citizens will react to the murder of the opposition leader. Granted, in a country where life is cheapened by the daily threat of homicide bombings and where underhanded dealings with terrorist forces are alleged as a matter of course, it is easy for some to claim that it will be business as usual for most.
On the other side of the coin are those who believe that Ms. Bhutto’s death will cause heads to roll – literally as well as figuratively – since the fact that her assassin was able to approach her so closely points to allegedly complicit behavior of those in charge of her protection as well as the protection of those attending opposition rallies. Conspiracy theories are ripening and will soon be disseminated as factual – some of them allege India as being in cahoots with the murderer while others of course blame Mr. Musharraf as the one force who has the most to gain from Ms. Bhutto’s untimely death.
Speculation abounds whether Mr. Musharraf will see this assassination as a way of canceling the January 2008 elections and thus strengthen his stranglehold on Pakistan. Since with Ms. Bhutto’s death there are no internationally recognized opposition power players who are immediately available to step in and take her place, the odds are good that a period of infighting within the opposition may actually work in his favor. Unwittingly playing into his hands may be Nawaz Sharif, leader of the opposing Muslim League-N who has already announced that he and his party will boycott the elections in January. Of course, if Ms. Bhutto’s party and other opposition parties concur, they do have the collective power to force Mr. Musharraf to end his military rule and step down. The odds are good, however, that this will not occur without bloodshed.
As those incensed by her death are rioting in the streets, it is only a matter of time to see who will be proven right.
