Who killed Benazir Bhutto and why
(Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir wrote an insider’s analysis of the situation in Pakistan, following the brutal killing of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, on December 27, 2007. His article will be first published in a leading Polish weekly “Wprost”(vprost = direct) on Monday, January 7, 2008. Today we present some excerpts from this article in a short preview. The full text will be posted on the CFP on Monday. – David Dastych)
Hamid Mir - Islamabad-Benazir Bhutto left this world in 2007 but she will keep shining on the international scene with a new agenda in 2008. The Late Benazir Bhutto wanted to become a bridge between the Muslim world and the West. Can her wish become a reality after her assassination on December 27th 2007?
The answer is “yes.” Just a few days before her death, the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim country finalized the manuscript of her new book entitled “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West”. Mark Siegel had worked on it with Benazir Bhutto as a collaborating writer from the West. Harper Collins, the renowned American publishing company is trying to market this book in February 2008.The launching of the book will accelerate the debate about the reconciliation between Islam and the West through democracy. This debate may give a new life to Benazir Bhutto, but keeping this debate alive will be the biggest challenge for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in 2008.
Father and son at the helm of PPP
Benazir Bhutto and BilawalThe new year 2008 will bring a lot of challenges for the new Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, Mr. Bilawal Zardari(19) and the Co-Chairperson his father, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari (52).The same kind of challenges were faced by the late Benazir Bhutto in 1979, after the hanging of her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto by a Pakistani military regime. At that time her mother Nusrat Bhutto took over the party as Chairperson and Benazir Bhutto (26) was declared Co-Chairperson. In 1979, General Zia ul Haq postponed the general elections for an indefinite period because he was aware that PPP would be benefited by the wave of sympathy created after the hanging of its founder chairman. PPP never faced the challenge of going into elections in 1979. The only big challenge was the political survival of the party and the Bhutto ladies met that challenge with lots of courage. Later on it was the Co-Chairperson Benazir Bhutto who led the party in practical terms and now her widower, Asif, will lead the party as Co-Chairperson in the same way.
In 2008, the new Chairman and Co-Chairman of PPP have to face much bigger problems than these their party faced in 1979. President Pervez Musharraf cannot delay the elections for more than two months, and they already have been scheduled for February 18, 2008. Bhutto’s party will go into the election campaign immediately after the assassination of its legendary leader Benazir. Finding out the mastermind behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is another big challenge. Her husband Asif Ali Zardari is not interested in any investigation of the case under the current regime. He has already pointed his fingers toward alleged suspects. He is more focused on the coming elections, he is sure of sweeping the polls and he would like to get the killers of his wife when his party comes into power. His son Bilawal is ready to participate in the election campaign because he also wants to contribute in the “revenge through democracy” plan.
A majority of the activists and sympathizers of PPP were very happy on the first press conference of Asif Ali Zardari as the Co-Chairman, because he showed a lot of confidence and spirit to continue the mission of his wife. On the other side, many in the government were not looking comfortable when Asif declared pro-Musharraf Muslim League-Q as the “Killers League.” It is feared that when PPP sweeps the coming polls, it will immediately start confronting some alleged suspects who are very close to President Musharraf. There are no doubts that the year 2008 will be much more tough for President Musharraf than 2007. Some of his close advisers are trying to find out a way through which they could avoid a direct confrontation with the PPP, but they are facing problems. Bilawal is not ready to forgive the killers of his mother like Benazir forgave the killers of her father in the larger interest of the country in 1988. He cannot forget the pains and problems her mother faced without her husband in exile (…)
Last-minute threats
Just a few hours before her assassination on December 27th, Benazir Bhutto informed Afghan President Hamid Karzai about threats on her life. Benazir Bhutto was also warned that her meeting with Hamid Karzai--just a few days before the Pakistani elections scheduled for January 8, 2008--could create more troubles for her. She was advised to avoid meeting Karzai because some extremists would have another opportunity to declare that a “Pakistani American Agent” (as they often called her) met an “Afghan American Agent” (Karzai). But she ignored all the concerns raised by her close associates. Sources present at the last Karzai-Benazir meeting revealed that the Afghan President prayed for the safety of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and in return she responded that “life and death is in the hands of Allah and that is why I have the courage to stare in the eyes of death without any fear.” (…)
Benazir’s ‘second life’
The last 30 years of her life were full of struggle and troubles, but she proved to be a “lady of iron nerves.” She was a caring wife, a loving mother and a very courageous political leader. Just a few days before her assassination, Benazir Bhutto told this scribe at a breakfast meeting that she was aware of the threats on her life, but she still believed that “there is a difference between a politician and a leader; a politician always asks [others] for sacrifices and a leader always offers own sacrifice and she is ready to sacrifice her life for Pakistan”. Just a few days after these words she became martyred for the sake of democracy in Pakistan (…)
Her son Bilawal is sure that democracy will not only be the best “revenge” for his mother’s assassination but the best way to complete her wish for becoming a bridge between Islam and the West, because only true democracy can become a common agenda of cooperation between the two civilizations. Only true democracy can resolve the problems of extremism and terrorism (…)
Mörder von Benazir Bhutto: Wohl eher "James Bond" als Al-Kaida
MK ULTRA - CIA-Terror in Saudi-Arabien und Pakistan?
Hamid Mir, the author of this article, is a top Pakistani reporter, head of the Geo TV Bureau in Islamabad. He has won a world-wide acclaim for his interviews with Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, before and following 9/11. His new book about OBL is due to appear in Britain, later this year.
Ths article was first published at Canada Free Press
Hamid Mir - Islamabad-Benazir Bhutto left this world in 2007 but she will keep shining on the international scene with a new agenda in 2008. The Late Benazir Bhutto wanted to become a bridge between the Muslim world and the West. Can her wish become a reality after her assassination on December 27th 2007? The answer is “yes.” Just a few days before her death, the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim country finalized the manuscript of her new book entitled “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West”. Mark Siegel had worked on it with Benazir Bhutto as a collaborating writer from the West. Harper Collins, the renowned American publishing company is trying to market this book in February 2008.The launching of the book will accelerate the debate about the reconciliation between Islam and the West through democracy. This debate may give a new life to Benazir Bhutto, but keeping this debate alive will be the biggest challenge for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in 2008.
Father and son at the helm of PPP
Benazir Bhutto and BilawalThe new year 2008 will bring a lot of challenges for the new Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, Mr. Bilawal Zardari(19) and the Co-Chairperson his father, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari (52).The same kind of challenges were faced by the late Benazir Bhutto in 1979, after the hanging of her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto by a Pakistani military regime. At that time her mother Nusrat Bhutto took over the party as Chairperson and Benazir Bhutto (26) was declared Co-Chairperson. In 1979, General Zia ul Haq postponed the general elections for an indefinite period because he was aware that PPP would be benefited by the wave of sympathy created after the hanging of its founder chairman. PPP never faced the challenge of going into elections in 1979. The only big challenge was the political survival of the party and the Bhutto ladies met that challenge with lots of courage. Later on it was the Co-Chairperson Benazir Bhutto who led the party in practical terms and now her widower, Asif, will lead the party as Co-Chairperson in the same way.
In 2008, the new Chairman and Co-Chairman of PPP have to face much bigger problems than these their party faced in 1979. President Pervez Musharraf cannot delay the elections for more than two months, and they already have been scheduled for February 18, 2008. Bhutto’s party will go into the election campaign immediately after the assassination of its legendary leader Benazir. Finding out the mastermind behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is another big challenge. Her husband Asif Ali Zardari is not interested in any investigation of the case under the current regime. He has already pointed his fingers toward alleged suspects. He is more focused on the coming elections, he is sure of sweeping the polls and he would like to get the killers of his wife when his party comes into power. His son Bilawal is ready to participate in the election campaign because he also wants to contribute in the “revenge through democracy” plan.
A majority of the activists and sympathizers of PPP were very happy on the first press conference of Asif Ali Zardari as the Co-Chairman, because he showed a lot of confidence and spirit to continue the mission of his wife. On the other side, many in the government were not looking comfortable when Asif declared pro-Musharraf Muslim League-Q as the “Killers League.” It is feared that when PPP sweeps the coming polls, it will immediately start confronting some alleged suspects who are very close to President Musharraf. There are no doubts that the year 2008 will be much more tough for President Musharraf than 2007. Some of his close advisers are trying to find out a way through which they could avoid a direct confrontation with the PPP, but they are facing problems. Bilawal is not ready to forgive the killers of his mother like Benazir forgave the killers of her father in the larger interest of the country in 1988. He cannot forget the pains and problems her mother faced without her husband in exile (…)
Last-minute threats
Just a few hours before her assassination on December 27th, Benazir Bhutto informed Afghan President Hamid Karzai about threats on her life. Benazir Bhutto was also warned that her meeting with Hamid Karzai--just a few days before the Pakistani elections scheduled for January 8, 2008--could create more troubles for her. She was advised to avoid meeting Karzai because some extremists would have another opportunity to declare that a “Pakistani American Agent” (as they often called her) met an “Afghan American Agent” (Karzai). But she ignored all the concerns raised by her close associates. Sources present at the last Karzai-Benazir meeting revealed that the Afghan President prayed for the safety of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and in return she responded that “life and death is in the hands of Allah and that is why I have the courage to stare in the eyes of death without any fear.” (…)
Benazir’s ‘second life’
The last 30 years of her life were full of struggle and troubles, but she proved to be a “lady of iron nerves.” She was a caring wife, a loving mother and a very courageous political leader. Just a few days before her assassination, Benazir Bhutto told this scribe at a breakfast meeting that she was aware of the threats on her life, but she still believed that “there is a difference between a politician and a leader; a politician always asks [others] for sacrifices and a leader always offers own sacrifice and she is ready to sacrifice her life for Pakistan”. Just a few days after these words she became martyred for the sake of democracy in Pakistan (…)
Her son Bilawal is sure that democracy will not only be the best “revenge” for his mother’s assassination but the best way to complete her wish for becoming a bridge between Islam and the West, because only true democracy can become a common agenda of cooperation between the two civilizations. Only true democracy can resolve the problems of extremism and terrorism (…)
Mörder von Benazir Bhutto: Wohl eher "James Bond" als Al-KaidaMK ULTRA - CIA-Terror in Saudi-Arabien und Pakistan?Hamid Mir, the author of this article, is a top Pakistani reporter, head of the Geo TV Bureau in Islamabad. He has won a world-wide acclaim for his interviews with Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, before and following 9/11. His new book about OBL is due to appear in Britain, later this year.Ths article was first published at Canada Free Presssfux - 5. Jan, 18:19 Article 3752x read
