Report: Bhutto killed in attack

[almaty 19]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Perhaps not as much as you fear. Time will tell. I'm rooting for "non event" followed by "Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister" followed by "Prime Minister Sharif declares December 27 national Benazir remembrance day"

[almaty 19]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Perhaps not as much as you fear. Time will tell. I'm rooting for "non event" followed by "Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister" followed by "Prime Minister Sharif declares December 27 national Benazir remembrance day"

wow, politics are are f##ked there as here....

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Perhaps not as much as you fear. Time will tell. I'm rooting for "non event" followed by "Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister" followed by "Prime Minister Sharif declares December 27 national Benazir remembrance day"

wow, politics are are f##ked there as here....

Follow Indian domestic politics some day. It makes the system here look like it's run by angels. I say Indian and not Pakistani, only because there's more to follow in India. Pakistan's political process has always been very stop-and-go, interrupted by the military more often than not. The political culture is almost identical, though.

[almaty 19]

from TIME:

Just days before parliamentary polls in Pakistan, leading Prime Ministerial contender and anti terrorism crusader Benazir Bhutto was shot dead during an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. "She has been martyred," said party official Rehman Malik. The Associated Press, citing Malik, reported that Bhutto was shot in the neck and the chest before the gunman blew himself up. At least 20 bystanders were killed in the blast. Bhutto was rushed to a hospital But, at 6:16 p.m. Pakistan time, she was declared dead.

""How can somebody who can shoot her get so close to her with all the so-called security?" said a distraught Husain Haqqani, a former top aide to Bhutto, shortly after news of her death flashed around the world. Haqqani, who served as a spokesman and top aide to Bhutto for more than a decade, blamed Pakistani security, either through neglect or complicity, in her assassination. "This is the security establishment, which has always wanted her out," he said through tears.

For the past several months Pakistan has been plagued by a wave of violence that has seen hundreds of civilians killed in similar bombing attacks; and hundreds more military personnel, prompting President Pervez Musharraf to declare a state of emergency. On December 16th, Musharraf lifted the state of emergency, stating that the threat had been contained. The bombings, however, continued. Just hours before her assassination, Bhutto, 54, met with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss the threat of terrorism against both countries.

The U.S. has long supported a return to power by Bhutto, who was perceived to be a moderate willing to work with Washington on the war on terror. She was also seen as a democratic leader who would serve as a counter to the plummeting popularity of Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 military coup. It was thought that a power-sharing deal between the two, in which Musharraf stayed on as president while Bhutto lead as prime minister, would promote stability in this nuclear armed nation of 165 million. But from the day of her arrival in Pakistan after eight years in exile, Bhutto's return has been marred by violence.

On October 18th, a pair of bombs detonated in the midst a welcome home rally in Karachi for the former two-time prime minister, killing some 145 in a deliberate attempt on her life. The organization responsible for the carnage has not yet been identified, but Bhutto said she suspected al Qaeda and some unspecified members of Musharraf's government who did not want to see her return to power. Despite the clear threat to her life, Bhutto continued to campaign publicly with the kind of mass rallies that are the cornerstone of politicking in Pakistan. "I am not afraid," she told TIME last month, "I am ready to die for my country."

Haqqani, now a professor at Boston University, isn't sure what the latest bloodshed means for his country. "Will the Pakistani military realize that this is going to tear the fabric of the nation apart, and so really get serious about securing the country and about getting serious in dealing with the extremist jihadis?" he wondered. But he made clear he feels the best chance for such a policy has just evaporated. "She did show courage, and she was the only person who spoke out against terrorism," he said. "She was let down by those in Washington who think that sucking up to bad governments around the world is their best policy option."

Pakistan can ill afford to sacrifice the few moderate leaders it has left. Bhutto's death will plunge the upcoming elections into uncertainty and the country further into instability. And that is good news for terrorists.

Edited December 27, 2007 by almaty

[chri'stina 190]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Perhaps not as much as you fear. Time will tell. I'm rooting for "non event" followed by "Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister" followed by "Prime Minister Sharif declares December 27 national Benazir remembrance day"

wow, politics are are f##ked there as here....

Follow Indian domestic politics some day. It makes the system here look like it's run by angels. I say Indian and not Pakistani, only because there's more to follow in India. Pakistan's political process has always been very stop-and-go, interrupted by the military more often than not. The political culture is almost identical, though.

Yeah...I am just going by what Sujeet has talked about over the years but he agrees, Indian politics are really corrupt and make US politics look much much better. He likes the political stuff that goes on over here much more than in India.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Try a different date Dean--like 1951/10/16 (when Pakistan's first PM was bumped off).

[Kevin and 10]

I can see another S@!t Storm on the horizon.

[almaty 19]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Try a different date Dean--like 1951/10/16 (when Pakistan's first PM was bumped off).

wow, i thought this would turn into a riot....

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Perhaps not as much as you fear. Time will tell. I'm rooting for "non event" followed by "Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister" followed by "Prime Minister Sharif declares December 27 national Benazir remembrance day"

I'll present another scenario.

Fatima Bhutto (Murtaza's daughter) gets sympathy vote, by running with crocodile-tears for Bena atthai's passing (Fatima believes that Benazir bumped of Murtaza in 1996--and had actually sent articles to LA Times and WaPo), gets voted PM (and does same declaration).

Edited December 27, 2007 by CherryXS

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I have just heard from Sujeet about Bhutto being corrupt, not that any of the leaders over there have been much better. But still I do find it sad. There have been so many assasinations of leaders in that region, India included, over the years. It makes me mad how people don't want dialogue they just want to assasinate people.

The only people who will shed tears over Benazir will be the political lackeys who were looking forward to a return to 'the good life' under her political patronage.

As for dialogue... it doesn't work that way. Some people need killin

oh i think, there will be plenty of killin' starting today

Perhaps not as much as you fear. Time will tell. I'm rooting for "non event" followed by "Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister" followed by "Prime Minister Sharif declares December 27 national Benazir remembrance day"

I'll present another scenario.

Fatima Bhutto (Murtaza's daughter) gets sympathy vote, by running with crocodile-tears for Bena atthai's passing (Fatima believes that Benazir bumped of Murtaza in 1996--and had actually sent articles to LA Times and WaPo), gets voted PM (and does same declaration).

I can buy that.

[HAL 9000 96]

May she rest in peace

[Amby 490]

I saw this on the news this morning and I was trying to figure out who she was. I didn't realize she was the former prime minister. Tragic really.

[doodlebugg 10]

My mom called to tell me about this this morning. She kept saying "she was so very beautiful!". Very sad.

[bhajishah 4]

It seems democracy cant work in PK, their culture and beliefs is as varied as in Iraq. One wonders in a military state how the "enemies that we are fighting" according to Mushareff got so close to her in the capital city in order to assasinate her. I noticed the last time i went that in Swat and Peshawar you (women) even had to cover your mouth and nose to go out. and now the embassy spokesman says Pakistan is a liberal democracy , whatever. Mushareff seems to let alot of unstable things go on , that is how he keeps power (ie arijits statement) Alot of peoples were looking to Bhutto to make pakistan more democratic and modern. Its sad her dream wasnt realized. I dont think anyone else wil take it on, or one who would be followed in such masses.