Bhutto & Pakistan
December 29th, 2007Bhutto family in Pakistan has had great present but a tragic history.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, founder of Pakistan Peoples Party was a diplomat of a highest stature and of great charisma. While some claim his rule to be of immense censorship, others considered him to be the greatest leader of Pakistan after Jinnah. His dubious trial and hanging at the hands of a military dictator not only left the people in shock but also created a vacuum which could not be filled until the return of his daughter, Benazir.
Benazir was put to exile by Zia and when she returned, huge crowds awaited outside the airport to welcome the prodigal daughter. She had a clean slate and it was to no one’s shock that PPP won the elections with a clear victor in 1988. She was elected prime minister at the age of 35, making her the first women prime minister of the muslim world. Though she had the ambitions to take Pakistan forward but could not hold onto the flimsy power corridors of the country for long and her government was sacked by the then president on grounds of corruption. Her party won the elections the second time in 1993 and this gave her a second chance to prove herself. Yet again, massive corruption charges against her and her husband took the best of her government and it was sacked again.
Before the military coup of Musharraf in October 1999, she had left Pakistan and only returned two months ago on 18th October 2007. Her return, was thought to be the result of a political deal between herself and Musharraf. The deal in effect would have enabled Musharraf to secure her party’s support towards presidential election and in return, she was to be given safe passage to elections. All corruption charges against her were dropped and she was given a green signal to return to her homeland.
On the day of her return, her escort was attacked by suicide bombing, killing 150 people but she escaped. Her killers, thought it best to try again on 27th December and this time the luck was not in Benazir’s favor.
Her popularity was effected gravely by her deal with Musharraf but perhaps it was the kind of politics she wanted to carry out. Her death has rocked the country at its foundation. The reasons for which are several.
Her father was hanged after dubious trial and he was not only the most popular figure of the country but several heads of the arab and western nations were amongst his personal friends. All of them pleaded to General Zia to replace the death sentence given to Bhutto with a lesser punishment but Zia knew too well that the only way to be safe from the gravity which Zulfiqar Bhutto creates is to make him walk to gallows.
People were shocked when they found out that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has really been hanged. Mostly believed that the man of such connections and stature could not be hanged by a dictator but as the press quoted those times, “There was one grave and two men”. Time and circumstances did not give the people the vent to express their sentiments.
Benazir’s assassination has worked as a reminder to the people. Combining the disapproval of the injustice done to Zulfiqar Bhutto and the anger at Benazir’s assassination, the resentment in people’s minds has crossed the sane limits. They are out on the roads, showing openly that government has failed to place law and order in place. Out of all the responsibilities of the government, law and order is of utmost importance and if a government can not provide that then that government is of no use.
People of Pakistan are fiercely democratic and they now see the dictator taking away whatever was left with them as a hope towards democracy. I myself am strong opponent to her politics but whatever her politics was, it had hope of democracy in it. Her rule, though attracted corruption cases in huge quantities, yet was democratic and like any other democracy, required its iterations to transform Pakistan to a developed country.
Pakistan is the only country in the world having nuclear weapons and being governed by a dictator and being dictated by the west about its interests. In this hour of turmoil, Pakistan requires support from its friends outside its borders to pull it out from the grip of dictatorship. While a lot of people had differences with Benazir on the way of her politics, there is hardly anyone who considers her assassination to be of benefit to Pakistan.
Her death, brings an end to era where the Bhutto family played a key role in the politics of Pakistan. Her family’s legacy shall always be remembered for the times to come.
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Umar,
It is wonderful to have a good article from some one actually from Pakistan, the article was really helpful in understanding what is going on right now in Pakistan.
Do you think Binazir Bhuto had a role in her brother’s assassination as they write about it, or it is merely an accusation?
Do you think the charges of being financially corrupt were of the same nature? Because i know if a regime wants to make some one look dirty to justify its actions against the person, the regime is capable of going out of its way to make the person look dirty.
I hope all the best for the nation of Pakistan who really deserve all the best things that can happen to a nation. I am your neighbor in Iran, if nothing else in particular, at least my best wishes are there for you and your nation. Be well Umar
today i read some disturbing stuff about her ties with Israel (and in someway Mossad too)
Spanky,
I hope in our New Middle East, countries don’t pause threat for one another, I want all of ua backing one another, the way European Union is trying to be. I want Pakistan, Palestine and Israel, India and Saudi Arabia all countries that promote one another, under fair justified circumstances, that way we will all prosper.
Elinor,
Thank you for your kind words.
She was not in direct threat by her brother, who although could have been a threat to her indirectly if he was able to muster support from PPP followers. But as like any other high profile assassination, actual facts about her brother’s killing are not known as well. She was at the post of prime minister when her brother was killed but all her access and connections could not unfold the mystery of her brother’s killing. While her brother’s children accused Benazir to be part of the assassination conspiracy but other than I do not believe there is any evidence to support that.
Financial corruption may or may not be the part of the package. Bhutto family has an extremely rich background and owns multiple corporations outside Pakistan as well. Therefore, considering the factors of, immense family wealth, access to high government positions, foreign business interests, it is very difficult to pin point which of the transactions can be flagged as corrupt. But again, her husband was at one time considered the most corrupt individual in the country. Therefore, I am of the opinion that though some her cases were concluded in European courts and she was found guilty, there is a chance that she was innocent in some of these, but there is an equal chance that some of the valid cases never surfaced because of red tape and controlled judiciary. But one thing is for sure, there was more to it than what meets the eye.
Umar,
Thank you very much for the information.
So in this case her husband being able to succeed her in the party is not a very promising idea, or her son , as I read in the news.
Thanks a lot for this great and informative post.
I just found out today that her mother is apparently of Iranian/Kurdish origins.
Tht is quite common in most cities in Pakistan due to the fact tht it has been recently [just 60years] partitioned
Same in my family though, but a little different origin