Hydrablog

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122700122.html
Bhutto Assassinated at Rally
By Griff Witte and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 27, 2007; 11:04 AM [Pakistan] [south asia] [Pakistan as the new Afghanistan] [hydra central] [Pakistan seemingly teetering on the brink] [islamists, tribals, and jihadis striking back] [after her return iin October, the second attempt on Benazair Bhutto] [Bhutto successfully assassinated: a potential tipping point!] [questions will persist about how much security Musharraf had provided her] [but Musharraf too must now—even more than before—fear for what comes next] [followup] [it appears truly the frontline of the jihadis-West confrontation] [between now and January 2009, I can almost guarantee al Qaeda or jihadis will attempt another spectacular attack in the U.S. or at least West or against said assets] [12/27/2007 8:23:55 AM] [***]
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Dec. 27 -- Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday at a political rally, two months after returning from exile to attempt a political comeback.
Bhutto, 54, was shot at close range as she waved to supporters from the rooftop opening of a bulletproof car, witnesses said. Seconds later, a suicide bomber detonated explosives just behind Bhutto's car. The explosion killed at least 20 people,[both close-range gunfire and suicide bomber] [*******] and injured many others.
Also Thursday, at a different pre-election rally in this garrison city, a rooftop sniper opened fire on supporters of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif leaving four dead and at least five injured.
Bhutto's death comes 12 days before Pakistanis are set to vote in national parliamentary elections, which have already been marked by enormous political turmoil. President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in November -- a move that he said was to combat terrorism but was widely perceived as an effort to stave off legal challenges to his authority.
Bhutto was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital, where a surgeon worked in vain to save her. Thousands had gathered by the time an official emerged from the hospital to say Bhutto was dead; the announcement triggered a roar of rage and grief.
Devastated supporters smashed the glass doors of the hospital and stormed the building to try and view her lifeless body. Even as ambulances continued to arrive bearing dead and wounded from the bombing, the crowd outside the hospital tore down and burned campaign posters showing candidates from Musharraf's party. Yelling "Musharraf is a dog," they blamed him for Bhutto's death. [jihadis have successfully turned Pakistanis’ wrath against Musharraf rather than the jihadis who killed her] [quite artful really] [***]
Bush administration officials condemned the attack and said President Bush, who is vacationing in Crawford, Tex., was preparing a statement. The administration had played a key role in brokering the agreement between Musharraf and Bhutto that enabled her to return to the country Oct. 18. [******]
Musharraf strongly condemned the attack, and declared a national day of mourning, Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durrani told CNN. “We have lost one of our important, very important . . . leaders,” he said. Wire services reported tht Musharraf was meeting with top advisers to discuss postponing the Jan. 8 elections.
Bhutto was running for Parliament, and her Pakistan Peoples Party was expected to win enough seats for her to become prime minister.
A daughter of a wealthy and politically powerful Pakistani family, she had been elected prime minister twice, in 1988 and 1993, and was the first woman elected to lead a post-colonial Muslim state. She was the most popular candidate running, and had fared well in recent polls.
Bhutto, who survived numerous assassination attempts, becomes the latest member of her family apparently killed by political opponents.
Her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in 1979 by Pakistan’s then dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. Two of her brothers were assassinated.
Nine days after returning to Pakistan, Bhutto made a heavily guarded, widely chronicled visit to her father’s tomb, to scatter rose petals over his grave.
“I have led an unusual life. I have buried a father killed at age 50 and two brothers killed in the prime of their lives,” Bhutto wrote in a recent Op-Ed for The Washington Post. “I raised my children as a single mother when my husband was arrested and held for eight years without a conviction – a hostage to my political career.
“I made my choice when the mantle of political leadership was thrust upon my shoulders after my father’s murder. I did not shrink from responsibility then, and I will not shrink from it now.” [***********]
At her Oct. 18 homecoming reception in the port city of Karachi, bombing attacks killed 140 people -- but Bhutto emerged unscathed.
Her public appearances had drawn large crowds, and increasingly stringent security checkpoints. At a rally in Peshawar on Wednesday, police stopped a would-be bomber with explosives around his neck. Thursday's rally was relatively sparsely attended, according to those present, apparently because people feared additional attempts at violence.
Bhutto cut a deal with Musharraf to return to Pakistan, but after her arrival she accused rogue government officials of conspiring with Islamic extremists to assassinate her. The government vehemently denied the charge. At the same time, officials in the United States and Pakistan have increasingly talked about a resurgence of al-Qaeda-related violence in the country.
Distrusting the government, Bhutto relied on her own heavily armed security guards for protection, traveling in a bulletproof, white SUV. She complained at times that the government was not doing enough to ensure her safety. [*******]
Because of security concerns, she had considered giving up political rallies in favor of less-dangerous campaign tactics, including tape-recorded messages.
But she continued to appear publicly and to draw large crowds.
After her death was announced, former prime minister Sharif, who returned in late November from his own exile, came to the hospital to pay his respects. [very wise] [*****]
Sharif has been barred by the government from running for office Jan. 8. But his party is competing in the elections and also has been attracting large numbers of supporters to its rallies.
At the Sharif rally Thursday, party spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said, supporters were fired upon while waiting to welcome the former prime minister. Iqbal called the attack unprovoked, and accused Musharraf supporters of carrying it out.
Musharraf's party is "panicked by the astounding reception Mr. Sharif is getting," Iqbal said. "They're trying to use violence as an excuse to postpone the elections."
Wilgoren reported from Washington.
© 2007 The Washington Post Company