Horrible news from pakistan Benazir Bhutto was killed

NoH8

Horrible news from pakistan Benazir Bhutto was killed

NoH8

I just heard this on the news. What a courageous pioneer to be not only an advocate, but also a woman, so unusual in her country. So sad .

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, a party security official and police said.

"She is injured," said party security official Rehman Malik.

Police at the scene said about 15 people had been killed.

A Reuters witness said he saw about eight bodies on a road as well as a mutilated human head.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said initial reports suggested it was a suicide bombing and more than 10 people had been killed.

A suicide bomber killed nearly 150 people in an attack on Bhutto on Oct. 18 as she paraded through the southern city of Karachi after returning home from eight years in self-imposed exile.

Earlier, gunmen opened fire on supporters of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, from an office of the party that supports President Pervez Musharraf, killing four Sharif supporters, police said.

Sharif was several kilometres away from the shooting and was on his way to Rawalpindi after attending a rally.

Sharif, who was overthrown by Musharraf in a 1999 coup and allowed back into the country just last month after seven years in exile, blamed supporters of the pro-Musharraf party for the violence.

But a spokesman for the party denied that its workers were involved.

The shooting occurred near an office of the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (Q).

"Somebody from inside the election office opened fire," said senior police official Shahid Nadeem Baloch.

"But I can't say they were Q people," he said, referring to the pro-Musharraf party. "It's an election office and lots of people sit there during election time."

TenderIsOurMight

I am so sorry to hear this news...another death of a promising healer.



Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, my heart mourns each day for the commoners...



Tender

abbadoodles

I'm only surprised it took this long.  She was out in public all the time and was a marked woman.

Truly horrible.

Tina

Blundin2005

There are no words.....

Fitztwins

Pissed me off. Had a feeling her time was short on this earth.

Idiots.

Beesie

Fitztwins,  I thought the same thing.  It's horrible but it did seem inevitable.  I doubted that she would live to see an election.  Earlier this morning I heard the tail end of a news report, just the words "it's believed she was shot through the neck".  Right away I knew it was Bhutto.  I checked the web and sure enough.... At that point they didn't yet have word that she had died and I was so hoping that she would survive, leave Pakistan and try to carry on the fight from somewhere else, which maybe would have been just a little bit safer.  But unfortunately that's not to be.  Pisses me off too.    

ADK

Unbelievable.  I am in shock.  She was a very brave woman.

Anonymous

I have felt so disturbed and sad since hearing this this morning. What an awesome, courageous woman, now shot down in her prime. But it did seem almost inevitable. In fact, her insistence upon being so in touch with her people is what led to her assasination. Apparently, she was in a bullet-proof, enclosed car and she had just stood up with her head coming out of the open sunroof. Damn!

~Marin

BethNY

I have been watching CNN all day, and they just opened an email she sent before her death only to be opened if she was assinated totally blaming president musharraf for not getting her proper security.... there will be so many terrible repercussions because of this.

Crude oil has now skyrocketed b/c there is fear of attacks in pakistan that could hurt neighboring iran- which obviously has all the oil.

This is so terrible.  She was such a brave leader.

twink

This is truly very sad.  She was the only viable opposition to Musharraf, who had clearly reached the end of his political usefulness in Pakistan. 

One must remember though, assasination makes martyrs out of undeserving people.  She was twice ousted from office on corruption charges (substantiated by non-political sources), found guilty of money-laundering by the Swiss justice system, proven to have taken substantial kick-backs in commercial deals in France, Asia and Poland.  Clearly not  a human of impeccable moral character.  Just sayin'

Jenniferz

I've heard the same things, Twink.  But then I wonder....who in any government is really "lily-white"?  It is a shame that this had to happen, but like Beesie said, it wasn't really surprising.

Jennifer

JapanLynn

Horrible, horrible...those poor people in Pakistan can't get a break. 

Interesting perspective on Bhutto's political career, Twink...but she still did a lot of good, and was able to become a force in a society where women are so marginalized.  I'm w/ Jenniferz--almost everybody in high gov't. positions has done things they wouldn't want to become common knowledge.

Sad, sad...

Lynn

Anonymous

I just sad about this.  Heard it briefly on the news and knew I could find out what happened by coming here.  I liked her - although I know very little about her.  It was just a gut instinct that I liked her.

Amy thanks for starting this thread.  I knew you would.

Nicki

Fitztwins

I wonder why this saddens me so much? because she was such a strong woman? wanted change? She was making a difference? she didn't have to die? some zealout wanted it so.

LIfe is unfair and hard.

Anonymous

This from http://www.time.com/ :

"But there are some who think the Bush Administration is not without blame. Hussain Haqqani, a former top aide to Bhutto and now a professor at Boston University, thinks the U.S., which has counted Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as a key ally against terrorism since 9/11, bears some of the responsibility. "Washington will have to answer a lot of questions, especially the Administration," he says. "People like me have been making specific requests to American officials to intervene and ask for particular security arrangements be made for her, and they have been constantly just trusting the Musharraf Administration." U.S. officials said they were leery of intervening in another nation's internal affairs, and didn't want to give Bhutto Washington's imprimatur. "

Excuse me? Here I refer to my thoughts like on the Oprah thread... we need to take care of our security and should not be blamed for the lack of security for foreigners outside of our country.  Why should we be blamed for their lack of security simply because she was fighting for democracy???   We need to back off of the other countries and stop being the bully and facing this kind of scrutiny. We are not the parents of the world.

I am sorry for her death, especially that it was violent. Sad for her family and her country. But I don't think the problems of the world lie at our feet.

Poppy

I was listening to a friend of BB's who was writing a book with her on NPR today. He said that many times he'd said to her, (basically) "You're educated, you have a wonderful family, etc... why not go to London or somewhere and live a good and peaceful life." BB's response was always that democracy in Pakistan was her priority. Her family understood that. I guess after seeing your father and two brothers murdered you have an idea of what the future probably holds...

I was devastated when I heard this news today. I remember thinking she was so beautiful and powerful and to be a woman PM in that part of the world was just incredible to me. She did so much good and hopefully her legacy will live on.

Erica

JoanofArdmore

I understand that her being a woman was something the killers held against her.Of course they would.I'm sure they wanted her hidden in a burqua, at home having children.

I am SO miserable about this.

She was a bright, brave, brilliant, beautiful woman.

And, to me, a big  hope of the Middle East.

And now she is dead.

I am greiving bigtime about her.

I walked away from the radio news when they put bush on to talk(lie) about her.

This makes 2 strong, wonderful females in the same timeframe.

I'm worried.

Jamais deux sans trois.

NoH8

I was so sad all day too. I had a previously planned trip to see my grandmother and cousins and couldn't stay home to watch cnn all day.

Rocker, I mostly agree with your point and maybe agree with you 100%. I do not think we have any business messing in other country's political processes. I think if we're going to manipulate another country's process, even under the guise of promoting democracy, we do have some responsibility (by we I mean the gov, not you and me) in any fall out that our manipulation causes. I doubt very many americans would take too kindly if saudi arabia insinuated itself into our elections, backed and promoted a candidate. If we add to the flames of an already burning fire,  we'd better have are water hoses ready to help put it out rather than running from that fire screaming, "someone started that fire." I was horrified that we gave $10 billion dollars to Musharraf to promote democracy. I bet the money could have done a lot more for health care right here in the US.

I don't know enough about her alleged corruption charges to comment- I'd like to see a paper trail by an unbiased (not the US gov) an unbiased group to see what's propaganda and what's real. Even if she did-- doesn't excuse her assassignation and I know that's not what anyone suggested.

Anonymous

I heard on GMA this morning that part of her studies included focusing on the lives and works of Indira Ghandi and Joan of Arc, Apparently this was her father's desire so that she could be prepared to lead. I was so impressed by that, as I was by the litany of clips they showed of her at various times throughout her life, talking about her responsibility to her country and her people. I agree with her followers....she is truly a martyr!

~Marin

Sierra

JUST TERRIBLE INDEED

SHE WAS AN AWESOME AND AMAZING WOMAN

CAN NOT SAY ANY MORE

Sierra

The time is NOW!

JoanofArdmore

Marin, Interesting!

My father, French, named me after Jeanne DArc.And I AM almost always on some crusade.

But if anything will martyr me, it will be Femara.

Now I understand entirely.A woman schooled about Indira Ghandi and Joan of Arc is NOT going to cower and stay out of her country.

TenderIsOurMight

Joan,



Who was the second (wo)man in your "jamous deux sans trois"?



Scary, reminds of the 1960's here in the US, first John Kennedy, then Robert Kennedy, then ML King. I still think of those very days.



So sad for her children too. Now will they feel they must live up to a family legacy? How very hard on them.



Tender

JoanofArdmore

Tender ,Jamais deux sans trois referred to Benazir, and Tatiana, the glorious Siberian Tiger who was murdered by zoo visitors.

Same types both of them--glorious, strong, bright females.Killed by pigs.

nosurrender

Joan, I feel the same way about that beautiful tiger! She was murdered. I know I am cross pollinating posts here- but I had to respond.

I feel just terrible about Mrs. Bhutto's murder. She was so driven and such an inspiration and I don't know what is going to happen now in that region without her.