Tweet
Pakistan's Bhutto Assassinated in Attack at Rally (Update3)
By Naween A. Mangi, Khalid Qayum and Khaleeq Ahmed
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in an election-rally attack in Rawalpindi, threatening the stability of a nuclear-armed nation that is a focal point of the West's war on terror.
At least 16 people died and more than 60 were injured in the gunfire-and-bomb attack on Bhutto's rally, police said. The opposition leader, 54, had survived a previous attempt on her life when she returned from exile two months ago.
Rioting broke out as her supporters gathered outside the hospital where her death was confirmed and in cities across Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf, who had allowed her return to participate in parliamentary elections planned for Jan. 8, appealed for calm in a message broadcast on state television.
``I don't think elections will be possible now,'' said Hassan Abbas, a Pakistani political analyst at Harvard University.
The death of the nation's most popular politician also deepens a vacuum within its civilian leadership to the benefit of the two other communities that strive to rule Pakistan: the military and Islamic militant movements.
``Long-term, it raises very, very serious questions about the stability of Pakistan,'' Farzana Shaikh, Pakistan analyst at the London-based Chatham House foreign policy institute, said in a phone interview from Montpellier, France.
Mourning Period
Musharraf announced three days of mourning in the country.
``We will fly the Pakistan flag at half-mast in her honor,'' Musharraf said. ``Terrorists are the greatest threat to Pakistan and we won't rest till we defeat terrorism.''
Musharraf convened an emergency meeting with top officials to discuss their response to the assassination, according to state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Bhutto, the first female leader of an Islamic nation, died in the blast or was shot by the bomber before he blew himself up, Bhutto spokesman Farhatullah Babar told state-run television. Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said earlier in a phone interview that she was killed in the bombing.
In Rawalpindi, where the army has its headquarters, shops were torched and Bhutto's backers clashed with police. Bhutto supporters poured into the streets across Sindh, the southern province that was her home, burning tires and setting fire to shops in Tando Allah Yar, Khairpur and Larkana, where she lived.
``It was Benazir Bhutto that posed the main threat to pro- Musharraf parties,'' Chatham House's Shaikh said.
Worldwide Condemnation
World leaders condemned the killing, and the United Nations Security Council scheduled a meeting later today to discuss the assassination. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Pakistanis to ``work together for peace and national unity.''
President George W. Bush said from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, ``We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror.'' The U.S. had backed a partnership between Bhutto and Musharraf.
``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,'' Manmohan Singh, prime minister of neighboring India, said in an e-mailed statement. ``Mrs. Bhutto was no ordinary political leader, but one who left a deep imprint on her time and age.''
October Attack
The opposition leader survived an assassination attempt on the night of her return to Pakistan in October after eight years in self-imposed exile. At least 136 people died when suicide bombers attacked her welcome procession on Oct. 19 in Karachi, where thousands of supporters had gathered to receive her.
Harvard- and Oxford-educated Bhutto was born in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, and was the eldest of two sisters and two brothers. She is survived by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, son Bilawal and two daughters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa.
Bhutto attributed her interest in politics to her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the prime minister overthrown by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in a 1977 military coup.
``She was, like her father, a deeply flawed leader,'' Shaikh said. ``But, she was one of the few popular leaders of Pakistan. She did street politics like no other. She was able to give people a certain sense of belonging.''
Zia ul-Haq went on to become president in 1978. The elder Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was hanged in 1979 after his conviction on charges of authorizing the murder of an opponent. Both of Bhutto's brothers were also killed.
`It Chose Me'
``I didn't choose this life, it chose me,'' Bhutto wrote in the preface to the second edition of her autobiography, ``Daughter of the East,'' in April 2007. ``Born in Pakistan, my life mirrors its turbulence, its tragedies and its triumphs. Pakistan is no ordinary country. And mine has been no ordinary life.''
Bhutto was imprisoned for five years, mostly in solitary confinement, just before her father's execution. She later lived in London, returning to Pakistan in 1986. She was married to a man from a land-owning family of agriculturists in 1987.
``An arranged marriage was the price in personal choice I had to pay for the political path my life had taken,'' she wrote in her autobiography. ``My own parents had married for love and I had grown up believing the day would come when I would fall in love and marry a man of my own choosing.''
Zia ul-Haq's dictatorship ended when he was killed in a plane crash in 1988. Her government was dismissed in 1990. She won a second term in 1993 and was dismissed once again on charges of corruption in 1996.
Managed Party
She lived in Dubai and London since 1999 after being charged in Pakistan with taking kickbacks on state contracts. She wasn't convicted on the charges. While outside Pakistan, she spent time lecturing at universities and think-tanks around the world. She also remotely managed her party.
Zardari, Bhutto's husband and a member of the senate, also spent over eight years in jail on 18 corruption cases. He was released in 2004 without any convictions.
Bhutto flew back to Pakistan after Musharraf, 64, gave her amnesty on the corruption charges and agreed to give up control of the military by Nov. 15. In return, Bhutto didn't object to him being re-elected president by parliament and he won another five-year term.
Vowed to Campaign
The former premier had said she would limit mass election rallies and campaign by telephone to avoid a repeat of the Oct. 19 terrorist attacks.
``We do not want to endanger our leadership unnecessarily, and we certainly don't want to risk potential mass murder of my supporters,'' Bhutto wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 23. ``If we don't campaign, the terrorists have won and democracy is set back further. If we do campaign, we risk violence. It is an extraordinary dilemma.''
Bush banked on the relationship to return stability to a nuclear-armed country that, according to U.S. intelligence reports and officials, is failing to combat a growing Islamist threat.
``Bhutto symbolizes everything that's anathema to the extremists,'' Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said in a telephone interview. ``They want a Taliban-like theocratic state in Pakistan and she stands for democracy, modernity and change.''
Bhutto's moderate view of Islam and close contacts with the Bush administration made her a potential target for extremists in the world's largest Muslim nation after Indonesia. Islamic militants had threatened to assassinate Bhutto on her return from exile.
`A Symbol'
``I know that I am a symbol of what the so-called Jihadists, Taliban and al-Qaeda, most fear,'' she wrote. ``I am a female political leader fighting to bring modernity, communication, education and technology to Pakistan.''
The twin bombings on her return to Pakistan in October also injured more than 500 people in the deadliest attacks since Musharraf took power in a coup in 1999.
Musharraf had been informed that three people may be behind the attempts to kill her, Bhutto told reporters on Oct. 22, without identifying them.
``We will not be intimidated,'' she told reporters at her Karachi residence, Bilawal House. ``Despite the heavy loss we incurred, we will continue.''
`Al-Qaeda'
Bhutto received a letter from ``friends of al-Qaeda'' on Oct. 23, threatening more suicide attacks, possibly using women bombers, her lawyer Farooq Naik said. Bhutto also said her houses in Karachi and Larkana in the southern province of Sindh were under threat.
Musharraf imposed emergency rule in Pakistan on Nov. 3 as the Supreme Court neared a decision on the legality of his re- election as head of state while also serving as army chief.
Bhutto called Musharraf's decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency a mini martial law and said it jeopardized her power-sharing talks with the army ruler.
To contact the reporters on this story: Naween A. Mangi in Karachi at nmangi1@bloomberg.net ; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad at paknews@bloomberg.net ; Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: December 27, 2007 12:13 EST
By Naween A. Mangi, Khalid Qayum and Khaleeq Ahmed
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in an election-rally attack in Rawalpindi, threatening the stability of a nuclear-armed nation that is a focal point of the West's war on terror.
At least 16 people died and more than 60 were injured in the gunfire-and-bomb attack on Bhutto's rally, police said. The opposition leader, 54, had survived a previous attempt on her life when she returned from exile two months ago.
Rioting broke out as her supporters gathered outside the hospital where her death was confirmed and in cities across Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf, who had allowed her return to participate in parliamentary elections planned for Jan. 8, appealed for calm in a message broadcast on state television.
``I don't think elections will be possible now,'' said Hassan Abbas, a Pakistani political analyst at Harvard University.
The death of the nation's most popular politician also deepens a vacuum within its civilian leadership to the benefit of the two other communities that strive to rule Pakistan: the military and Islamic militant movements.
``Long-term, it raises very, very serious questions about the stability of Pakistan,'' Farzana Shaikh, Pakistan analyst at the London-based Chatham House foreign policy institute, said in a phone interview from Montpellier, France.
Mourning Period
Musharraf announced three days of mourning in the country.
``We will fly the Pakistan flag at half-mast in her honor,'' Musharraf said. ``Terrorists are the greatest threat to Pakistan and we won't rest till we defeat terrorism.''
Musharraf convened an emergency meeting with top officials to discuss their response to the assassination, according to state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Bhutto, the first female leader of an Islamic nation, died in the blast or was shot by the bomber before he blew himself up, Bhutto spokesman Farhatullah Babar told state-run television. Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said earlier in a phone interview that she was killed in the bombing.
In Rawalpindi, where the army has its headquarters, shops were torched and Bhutto's backers clashed with police. Bhutto supporters poured into the streets across Sindh, the southern province that was her home, burning tires and setting fire to shops in Tando Allah Yar, Khairpur and Larkana, where she lived.
``It was Benazir Bhutto that posed the main threat to pro- Musharraf parties,'' Chatham House's Shaikh said.
Worldwide Condemnation
World leaders condemned the killing, and the United Nations Security Council scheduled a meeting later today to discuss the assassination. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Pakistanis to ``work together for peace and national unity.''
President George W. Bush said from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, ``We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror.'' The U.S. had backed a partnership between Bhutto and Musharraf.
``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,'' Manmohan Singh, prime minister of neighboring India, said in an e-mailed statement. ``Mrs. Bhutto was no ordinary political leader, but one who left a deep imprint on her time and age.''
October Attack
The opposition leader survived an assassination attempt on the night of her return to Pakistan in October after eight years in self-imposed exile. At least 136 people died when suicide bombers attacked her welcome procession on Oct. 19 in Karachi, where thousands of supporters had gathered to receive her.
Harvard- and Oxford-educated Bhutto was born in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, and was the eldest of two sisters and two brothers. She is survived by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, son Bilawal and two daughters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa.
Bhutto attributed her interest in politics to her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the prime minister overthrown by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in a 1977 military coup.
``She was, like her father, a deeply flawed leader,'' Shaikh said. ``But, she was one of the few popular leaders of Pakistan. She did street politics like no other. She was able to give people a certain sense of belonging.''
Zia ul-Haq went on to become president in 1978. The elder Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was hanged in 1979 after his conviction on charges of authorizing the murder of an opponent. Both of Bhutto's brothers were also killed.
`It Chose Me'
``I didn't choose this life, it chose me,'' Bhutto wrote in the preface to the second edition of her autobiography, ``Daughter of the East,'' in April 2007. ``Born in Pakistan, my life mirrors its turbulence, its tragedies and its triumphs. Pakistan is no ordinary country. And mine has been no ordinary life.''
Bhutto was imprisoned for five years, mostly in solitary confinement, just before her father's execution. She later lived in London, returning to Pakistan in 1986. She was married to a man from a land-owning family of agriculturists in 1987.
``An arranged marriage was the price in personal choice I had to pay for the political path my life had taken,'' she wrote in her autobiography. ``My own parents had married for love and I had grown up believing the day would come when I would fall in love and marry a man of my own choosing.''
Zia ul-Haq's dictatorship ended when he was killed in a plane crash in 1988. Her government was dismissed in 1990. She won a second term in 1993 and was dismissed once again on charges of corruption in 1996.
Managed Party
She lived in Dubai and London since 1999 after being charged in Pakistan with taking kickbacks on state contracts. She wasn't convicted on the charges. While outside Pakistan, she spent time lecturing at universities and think-tanks around the world. She also remotely managed her party.
Zardari, Bhutto's husband and a member of the senate, also spent over eight years in jail on 18 corruption cases. He was released in 2004 without any convictions.
Bhutto flew back to Pakistan after Musharraf, 64, gave her amnesty on the corruption charges and agreed to give up control of the military by Nov. 15. In return, Bhutto didn't object to him being re-elected president by parliament and he won another five-year term.
Vowed to Campaign
The former premier had said she would limit mass election rallies and campaign by telephone to avoid a repeat of the Oct. 19 terrorist attacks.
``We do not want to endanger our leadership unnecessarily, and we certainly don't want to risk potential mass murder of my supporters,'' Bhutto wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 23. ``If we don't campaign, the terrorists have won and democracy is set back further. If we do campaign, we risk violence. It is an extraordinary dilemma.''
Bush banked on the relationship to return stability to a nuclear-armed country that, according to U.S. intelligence reports and officials, is failing to combat a growing Islamist threat.
``Bhutto symbolizes everything that's anathema to the extremists,'' Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said in a telephone interview. ``They want a Taliban-like theocratic state in Pakistan and she stands for democracy, modernity and change.''
Bhutto's moderate view of Islam and close contacts with the Bush administration made her a potential target for extremists in the world's largest Muslim nation after Indonesia. Islamic militants had threatened to assassinate Bhutto on her return from exile.
`A Symbol'
``I know that I am a symbol of what the so-called Jihadists, Taliban and al-Qaeda, most fear,'' she wrote. ``I am a female political leader fighting to bring modernity, communication, education and technology to Pakistan.''
The twin bombings on her return to Pakistan in October also injured more than 500 people in the deadliest attacks since Musharraf took power in a coup in 1999.
Musharraf had been informed that three people may be behind the attempts to kill her, Bhutto told reporters on Oct. 22, without identifying them.
``We will not be intimidated,'' she told reporters at her Karachi residence, Bilawal House. ``Despite the heavy loss we incurred, we will continue.''
`Al-Qaeda'
Bhutto received a letter from ``friends of al-Qaeda'' on Oct. 23, threatening more suicide attacks, possibly using women bombers, her lawyer Farooq Naik said. Bhutto also said her houses in Karachi and Larkana in the southern province of Sindh were under threat.
Musharraf imposed emergency rule in Pakistan on Nov. 3 as the Supreme Court neared a decision on the legality of his re- election as head of state while also serving as army chief.
Bhutto called Musharraf's decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency a mini martial law and said it jeopardized her power-sharing talks with the army ruler.
To contact the reporters on this story: Naween A. Mangi in Karachi at nmangi1@bloomberg.net ; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad at paknews@bloomberg.net ; Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: December 27, 2007 12:13 EST
Comment