Banazir assassination
Dec 29th, 2007 by Tian
“We are seeking power for the people. We want free, fair and transparent elections. Where there is dictatorship, there is extremism.” - Benazir Bhutto
The death of Benazir Bhutto came as a big shock!
The news reached me during the dinner of <i>”Malam Perpaduan”</i> organized by KeADILan Kapar division. Anwar got the message from his Blackberry.
I have deep sympathy for Bhutto’s family. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hung on 4 April 1979 (a decade earlier Martin Luther King was shot dead). The event was vaguely imprinted in my teenage memory. I was astonished with the arrogance and cruelty of d General Zia who decided to execute Zulfiqar despite massive international appeals.
Two of Benazir’s younger brothers Shahnawaz and Mir Murtaza both suffered mysterious death.
I met Benazir in September 2000 at the First International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) held in Manila. She was then living in exile but still commanding great influence back in Pakistan. She was a powerful and charismatic speaker.
The conference was attended by several hundreds delegates from 46 political parties of 20 Asian countries. I went on behalf of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and our Malaysian delegation including the ruling party UMNO. It was interesting to see our UMNO delegates (headed by Khalil Yaacob) having to sit through speeches after speeches on democracy and human rights. When came to UMNO’s turn, the only subject brought up was the glorious record of Malaysian economic development.
The killing of Benazir is a reminder that authoritarianism is never an assurance to peace and security. When Benazir returned from her exile, she rightly pointed out that terrorism and extremism have worsened under the military rule of Musharraf.
General Musharraf’s war against terror has brought more instability and violence to Pakistan. The continuous military rule and emergency order by Musharraf had severely undermined democracy in Pakistan and had in effect worsened the crisis.
Musharraf must be held accountable for Benazir’s death. Evidently the military had failed to provide safety protection for Benazir and other politicians involving in the election campaign.
It is highly suspicious that why the military was quick to blame the killing on ‘radical’ Islamic groups. In fact, Benazir posed no direct threat to Islamic militants, instead her rising popularity challenged the military power and the leadership of Musharraf. The culprits of crime might be within Musharraf’s circle.
In any case, the violent death of Benazir reaffirm the need for speedy democratization. The world must stand in solidarity with the struggle of Pakistani people.