Bhutto killing will trigger chaos, Valley observers fear

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

A YSU student who is the son of Pakistan’s chief of police was awakened early Thursday with news of the assassination.

YOUNGSTOWN — Benazir Bhutto’s assassination likely will destabilize Pakistan’s government and create chaos as candidates vie to succeed her, observers in the Mahoning Valley say.

Bhutto was killed Thursday by a gunman after speaking at her own election rally; the gunman then discharged a bomb.

Mustansir Mir, professor of Islamic studies at Youngstown State University said the main question is who will succeed Bhutto as the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party. Bhutto also served as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 and 1993 to 1996.

“No one has the stature, power, charisma, experience or background” Bhutto had, Mir said. “She alone represented her party.”

Mir, a native of Lahore, Pakistan, said Bhutoo did not follow her own party’s platforms. She was advocating democracy for her country, but she was not overly democratic. He said that there is no one trained to fill her shoes but that she was grooming her children for political careers.

Pakistan’s elections are planned for the beginning of January. Mir said the PPP could get many sympathy votes if the elections do not get postponed.

Depending on the country’s reactions to Bhutto’s death, the army could say that the country is out of control and could take over.

“This will probably destabilize government,” Mir said. He said it could also “strengthen the hands of the army again.”

Pakistan goes through cycles of violence, he said.

Her killing follows other violence:

USome 50 people were said to be killed in a mosque bombing in northwest Pakistan last Friday.

U Four were killed before an election rally Thursday that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was to attend just outside of Rawalpindi, which is where Bhutto was shot.

Naveed Shoaib, a graduate student in math and computer science at YSU and son of the Pakistan chief of police, woke to a phone call about Bhutto’s death Thursday morning.

Shoaib thought she would be re-elected in January.

“To me, she was a great leader,” Shoaib said. He said he thinks President Musharraf may have to reinstate emergency rule in Pakistan.

He said he expects “big political chaos.”

“She was working hard to get the political system back on track,” Shoaib said. “It’s a real sad day in Pakistan.”

U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he hopes that chaos won’t happen.

“It is my hope that her assassination will not result in unrest or a violent reaction, but that the country will find the strength to come together and reject the violence and extremism that could destroy and destabilize Pakistan,” he said in a statement.

Voinovich was in the Middle East at the time of the assassination to meet with Musharraf as part of a congressional delegation. The visit has now been canceled because of the state of unrest Pakistan is now in.