After hearing about the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, local Pakistanis immediately started calling family and friends to find out what was going on.
"They were very afraid," said Mahboob Ahmed, who works in the IT department at Kansas University. "They are waiting to see what happens next." His in-laws live in Lahore, in southeastern Pakistan, and told Ahmed that within hours of Bhutto's death Thursday, the city of approximately 10 million people had virtually shut down.
Rauf Arif, a Fulbright scholar at KU and a journalist, said he was concerned for his family and country, and also wanted to be covering the story.
Bhutto's death "is like an assassination of our hopes," Arif said. "I wish that I was there, and at the same time my heart is crying for my country."
Ahmed said because Bhutto already had been targeted in a suicide bombing Oct. 18 upon her return to Pakistan from exile, her slaying didn't come as a complete shock.
"She gambled on her life," he said.
But now, the prospects for peace and democracy in Pakistan don't look good, Ahmed said.
"It has derailed the country back into uncertainty," he said.
Bhutto was killed after a rally for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections. After her death was announced, rioting broke out across Pakistan.
Some blamed Bhutto's death on President Pervez Musharraf for not providing security, but Musharraf blamed Islamic extremists.
Condolences from leaders poured in from around the world along with warnings about the threat of terrorism.
"This is a terrible loss to her supporters, the people of Pakistan and for democracy," said U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said al-Qaida and the Taliban must be considered suspects in the assassination.
"Terrorists plan and use such attacks to encourage chaos, instability and to put governments at risk," Roberts said.
He said if order were not restored quickly, "the government of President Musharraf may be at risk as well as cooperation with the United States."
Ahmed said there are many elements within Pakistan that could have been responsible for Bhutto's killing.
And both he and Arif said that the Jan. 8 elections should be postponed.
Arif said he hoped that order will prevail because he didn't want to see violence used to justify a military crackdown in the country.
Comments
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denak (anonymous) says…
The corruption charges were probably more politically motivated than an actuality.
Whoever was behind this, and personally I think Musharif is, they are getting exactly what they wanted. A powerful opponent dead and the possibility that the elections will be cancelled.
And if it is Musharif, he will get what he wants. No elections, Bhutto dead and more importantly, President Bush's staunch support. Bush will buy the story that Al-Quida was behind this and will continue to sink millions of dollars into his economy and by extension, his bank account.
Dena
Mkh (anonymous) says…
The extent of modern investigations into world events =
"al-Qaida did it"
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
about 150 people died in a double bombing of her motor cade when she returned to Pakistan. she herself blamed al-qaeda for that. evidence points to a a pak al-qaeda leader being behind this. it is very sad. I always appreciated her manner of speaking and representing her country here. she knew she was exercising courage to return to pakistan.
***
Arif said he hoped that order will prevail because he didn't want to see violence used to justify a military crackdown in the country.
agreed. however, if the martial law had not been lifted, would bhutto be alive today? is that kind of attack something that even could have been prevented by musharaf's martial law measures?
jonas (anonymous) says…
I have the feeling that "after assassination" can be removed from the headline without making it any less true
pearlgirl (anonymous) says…
i think the situation in pakistan is just a chaos which is getting worse day by day, almost every day there is sucide bombing. i don't think its alquaida, when something does not prove its blameed on alquaida, it could be alquaida, but after seeing the present circumstances in the country it could be anyone, any political party. its all going on for power, unfortunately those cruel power hungry people who are supposed to be called our leaders of pakistan don't care about its people. i have read the history of pakistan and this is nothing new of what happened, its been happening for long and i know this because i have read and lived in that part of the world.