One almost thought Pakistan had turned the corner and was heading towards democracy, if not thevenuine variety , at least the fake one. With army and Musharaff doing backseat driving.even that facade has been destroyed with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Reports from the spot conclusively point to the fact that security was non-existent. Rallyists are emotional at the best of times and first aid in minutes could havesavedher life. It was not to be and precious 20 minutes were wasted, according to a reporter.
Al Queda has owned up the dastardly act and blamed it on Benazir making common cause with the United States of America. It is now for the civilized nations of the world to ponder the issue and mount a concerted attack on the evil incarnate fundamentalist muslim organisations everywhere. It is not enough if the US takes the initiative. It has to be a wider offensive , with peaceloving people everywhere including Muslims being involved in the campaign.
Pakistan’s fate hangs in the balance. If Musharaff says he has othing to do with this atrocity, then the government of Pakistan has forfeited its right to govern. For the government’s duty is to govern. Protestations apart, Benazir was leading a political campaign and the elections were round the corner. The second attack took her life, while the first at Karachi was a bloody signal that she was not welcome. Similat treatment was meted out to Nawaz Sharief, which means that other agencies are working to wreck the return to normalcy m,ove symbolised by the elections. As of now, the election calendar has not changed. So it willbe nothing more than a fare.
A judicial investigation is likely to fix the blame. Such investigations elsewhere too have failed to unearth the truth, as witness J.F.Kennedy’s assassination.Perhaps the exception was the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, in many respects similar to Benazir’s tragedy. That too was during an election rally when there were clear signs that he would return to power. The guilty ones, trapped in a house in a Bangalore suburb chose the easy way out by chomping on their cyanide pills. Yet there are conflicting reports on the role played by the investigation head. the implication was that the gulty holed up in the house could have been caught alive. Someone was keen that the trail ended up the way it did.
ffff calling the shots.
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