Benazir Bhutto - 1953-2007

Jason Burke, of the Observer, writes about the possible suspects in the gun/bomb suicide attack on Bhutto's entourage, in advance of a rally in Rawalpindi.

Musharraf has declared three days of official mourning. It's very unclear if elections, a month from now, can proceed if the security of political leadership can't be guaranteed. Of course, cancelling elections is just what Islamist terrorists in Pakistan want. The renewal of democracy in Pakistan would create political leadership for the army to follow.

Bhutto was:

the first female prime minister to lead a Muslim country in modern times ... presenting herself as a moderate, willing to stand up to the Islamist militants in the madrassas and to take on the pro-Taliban fighters in the lawless Afghan border areas instead of making truces ... As prime minister she [had] showed more interest in human rights and the position of women in a traditional society, and she never attacked non-governmental organisations as did Nawaz Sharif, her main rival. On religious matters she had a more modern outlook, although like her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, she was also willing to pander to religious groups for short-term benefit.

James Forsyth points out that:

Musharraf now knows that the West has no palatable alternative to him—Nawaz Sharif is too Islamist for Washington and London’s comfort—and so will be less concerned about Western demands that this January’s Parliamentary elections go ahead.