Benazir Bhutto, 1953-2007

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/makingamartyrofbhutto

Some of the coverage is not entirely complimentary, calling her a child of privilege who was better at getting herself elected than she was at putting her power to work for the people, but given the circumstances in which she had held office previously, I think she was probably deliberately stymied by others and by the entire political situation in Pakistan.

She showed great courage returning to Pakistan from exile in October. I read a great deal of that coverage, of her return and the carnage of the immediate assassination attempt then, and wondered how she could ever expect to get through until the January election alive.

This is so sad for her family, certainly especially for her three children, and for the people of Pakistan who believed in her as a symbol of democracy. The poor, especially, were drawn to her and believed she would help them. To me, it is also very sad for the world to lose this highly educated, elegant Muslim woman with the courage to stand for democracy and moderate political policies in Pakistan.



I mourn her loss.

Maria

Yes, her family has a rather tragic history of assasinations and mysterious deaths. I feel most sorry for her son who is now being groomed to take over from his mother. It almost feels to me like he's being made a scapegoat. I really hope he has better luck than his predecessors.

Most of all, I hope Pakistan returns to normal as soon as possible. Another military coup in Pakistan would be bad news for India. Their military chiefs are known to be rather trigger happy atleast as far as India is concerned. I don't want my country to have to shift it's focus from economics to defense all over again. It's such a waste of time and energy, not to mention lives.

Yeah, the Bhutto family has had a rather violent past. But I wonder if Benazir's son can do much - his father has grave corruption charges against him, he has lived most of his life outside Pakistan and wouldn't really be having a clue to ground politics or even the Pakistani milieu, he's young, and he's already adopted the surname "Bhutto" to gain political mileage.... But the other option makes me shiver - Nawaz Sharif. It was during Sharif's time that the last war with India happened. I agree with Suchi when she says

Except that, Suchi, it's "its focus", not "it's focus"

I know, I know. That's one grammar lesson that I never really mastered. It's a life-long habit. Not easy to break.

Hey there, Suchi and Ani.

I was hoping for some input from you two. I didn't know that about Nawaz Sharif, but I knew there was something about him that made me uneasy.

At least they aren't actually pushing Bilawal into standing for office ... just sharing party chairmanship with his father. The reports say, "If the PPP wins the election, close Bhutto associate and party vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim would be Prime Minister."

Given Asif Ali Zardari's history, it was probably shrewd of him to include the son in the party leadership, rather than take that slot for just himself, but yeah, tough spot for Bilawal at only 19.

I spent almost the entire day yesterday reading report after report from the U.S., U.K. and India. I thought this story from The Telegraph in Calcutta, comparing the Bhuttos to the Nehru-Gandhis, was interesting:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071231/jsp/frontpage/story_8728092.jsp

It's good to see you, Ani-brain.

Maria