December 28, 2007

A Leader is Lost

The world mourns the death of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

By Suzanne Friedman with TIME reporting

Weeping and crying for justice, hundreds of thousands of mourners thronged the grave of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 28. She was assassinated a day earlier after speaking at an election rally in Rawalpindi, a city close to the country's capital, Islamabad. Three shots rang out and moments later, the attacker set off an explosion, killing himself and at least 22 other people. Pakistan's government said that Bhutto died from a skull fracture.

DAVID GUTTENFELDER--AP In October, cheering crowds greeted Bhutto's return to Pakistan.

On Thursday night, Bhutto supporters vented their anger at the government, burning shops, police stations and buses in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, the site of the suicide attack. Rioting continued on Friday.

Bhutto, who led Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996, was the first female prime minister of any Islamic nation. Hoping for a third term, she was campaigning for the parliamentary election set to take place on January 8.

A Life of Service

Benazir Bhutto was born into a prominent political family. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as Prime Minister until the military seized power in 1977. Two years later, he was executed by the dictatorship of General Zia ul Haq.

Benazir, a graduate of Harvard and Oxford, became the leader of the party her father founded, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Like her father, she fought for democracy and took a stance against extremism. At the age of 35, she was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. Two years into her term, she was forced out of office. In 1993, she was re-elected prime minister, but was dismissed again three years later.

Charges of corruption forced her to flee her homeland. After living abroad for eight years, Bhutto returned to Pakistan when its President, Pervez Musharraf, promised her amnesty, or a pardon from any government persecution. She arrived in Karachi on October 18. Twelve hours later, she was greeted by cheering crowds and an attempt on her life. Although she escaped harm, as many as 136 people were killed in explosions.

Bhutto blamed Islamic militants for the attacks. "We are prepared to risk our lives and we are prepared to risk our liberty, but we are not prepared to surrender our great nation to militants," she told reporters.

With many loyal supporters, Bhutto was positioned to become prime minister once again. She would have shared power with Musharraf. In recent weeks, however, she had voiced concern that Musharraf's government was not doing enough to protect her from harm. "The sham investigation of the October 19 massacre (is)... discomforting," she wrote. Still, she continued to campaign, standing side-by-side with her supporters.

The World Responds

World leaders were shocked and saddened by the news of Bhutto's murder. Many worried about how the tragedy would affect the democratic process in Pakistan.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, who had met Bhutto earlier on Thursday in Islamabad, said he was "deeply pained" by the murder of "a brave daughter of the Muslim world." In Britain, where Bhutto had attended Oxford University, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said she "risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan and she has been assassinated by cowards who are afraid of democracy."

What's Next for Pakistan?

Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has struggled to maintain a democracy. Tensions with its neighbors have led to conflict, including three wars with India. Much of Pakistan's population is poor and uneducated. Pakistan is the world's second most-populous Muslim nation. It is also the only Islamic state that has nuclear weapons.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks against the U.S., Pakistan became a U.S. ally in the war to remove the Taliban and al-Qaida from neighboring Afghanistan. On Thursday, President George W. Bush demanded that those responsible for Bhutto's death be caught and punished. "The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," he told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where he is on holiday. "Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice."

Now, following Bhutto's death, Pakistan's already-clouded future is even more uncertain. Syed Kamran Zafar, a PPP official, says Bhutto supporters are too shocked to think about what happens next. "We are not yet in a position to talk coherently," he says, before breaking down in tears. "We don't know what the future holds. Only that it will be without Benazir."

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