The Lahore Tribune

‘They’ tried it when she landed. ‘They’ got the desired affect but seemingly missed. This time around, not only did ‘they’ bombed the area but opened fire as well. The details are not available as to how the firing took place ‘after’ the 4kg explosive went off, but one thing is now a certainty: the first Muslim lady prime minister of the World and twice prime minister of Pakistan is dead.

Every so often, we hear about ‘the moment when everything changes for all times to come’. Right now, it is that moment.

I personally have never supported Ms Benazir and her party (the PPP). But this, by all means, goes beyond the immediate politics of pretty much everything. It goes without saying that no one, and I mean no one — even for a moment — deserves to go this way, to die in such an unnatural manner and for such obnoxiously stupid reasons. Fate, as we already should know, is not without a sense of irony; Benazir has died (primarily) due to gunfire wounds while leaving a political gathering at Liaquat Gardens; Liaquat Gardens is not only named after, but is also the same place where the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khan Liaquat Ali Khan was murdered with a bullet.

On the evening of 27th December 2007, Ms Benazir Bhutto died due to injuries sustained in a suicide bomb attack on her life. I feel like repeating this to actually believe it. I feel that almost everything within the Pakistani political makeup will change. There is already incident reports of people ransacking offices of political officials, of protestors burning vehicles and the subsequent sense of fear that things will turn for the worse. I, unfortunately, also feel that the same unjust rule, the same all-consuming lust for power, the same indifference that seems to be root cause of everything evil and the same ‘wheeling and dealing’ associated with the politicians of today will continue unabated.
This death, this tragic, tragic incident will provide more intrigue and more ‘play’ to what is already happening in the echelons of power in this country. When Liaquat Ali Khan was murdered, General Ayub writes in his autobiography, most of the politicians of the time were immediately looking for ways to fully exploit the vacuum obviously created by a deceased Prime Minister. I do not see why this tragedy will be any different. And that in itself, is a bigger tragedy.