Certainly, this end was one that Benazir Bhutto must not have foreseen after returning to Pakistan a few months ago after spending several years in political wilderness! On the 27th, she was murdered, allegedly by al-Qaeda terrorists, but quite possibly by other, more national, anti-establishment forces, in the open, as she was returning from an election rally, in Rawalpindi.
My take: She did not deserve this! If anyone did, it would have been some of the other top political leaders of Pakistan. However, and this is a moot point, she was as unfriendly to India as Pervez Musharraf's regime is, so why should we grieve as Indians?
We should, as Pakistan is our immediate neighbour, and with Benazir's removal from the opposition, the elections to be held in January 2008, have lost meaning. As it is, Nawaz Sharif, the other returned ex-Prime Minister has already been barred from contesting. Hence, it seems that Parvez Musharraf will continue to hold sway over the fortunes of this beleaguered country. With access to the nuclear button, God forbid if the nuclear weapons were to fall into the wrong hands!
1 comment:
No one but convicted rapists and murderers deserve to be the victims of violent crime. (And even for those who deserve it, dishing it out is still illegal in most countries.) The argument that Bhutto somehow brought this on herself is ludicrous. The fact that she knew she was taking a terrible risk and had been warned is no excuse for the person who committed the crime. Even the argument that she didn't die of a gunshot wound, but rather of smacking her head on the roof of the car has no merit; she would not have ducked into the car so quickly had someone not shot at her - right? The gunman bears ALL responsibility.
Yes, society has a responsibility to be a positive influence, and negative influences can lead someone to consider committing a crime. But ultimately, that person - endowed with free will - CHOOSES to act or not to act. There is no excuse.
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