Bhutto’s death is a loss to Pakistan and the world

Bhutto’s death is a loss
to Pakistan and the world

Even as President Bush stood at the lectern Thursday expressing his condolences to the family of Benazir Bhutto, he had to be concerned about the implications of her assassination on Pakistan, on its people and, closer to home, on United States policy and standing in the region.

Pakistan is a nuclear nation in turmoil, a turmoil most likely brought about by radicals who know that their quickest route to power is through the collapse of democratic civilian rule.

Benazir Bhutto put herself in danger in an attempt to restore a semblance of democracy to the country and wrest control from its autocratic President Pervez Musharraf. The irony is that her assassination could lead to a level of civic unrest that will give Musharraf the cover he needs to maintain control, or could lead to a complete breakdown that hastens the fall of Pakistan to religious fundamentalists.

Bhutto, whose previous terms as prime minister were not without controversy and hardly qualified her for political sainthood, is today a true martyr for democracy.

That her life was in danger was clear from the moment she returned to Pakistan. Her Oct. 18 homecoming was marked by bombings that killed 140 people. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also a former prime minister, was hanged in 1979 by Pakistan’s dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. Over the years, she saw both of her brothers assassinated and she survived other attempts on her life.

She made history as the first woman elected to head a secular state in a Muslim nation, and she would have made history again by returning to power.

A modern vision

In an interview two weeks ago with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth, Bhutto talked about bringing modern government to tribal areas of the nation. She described those areas as medieval, where “there’s no police system, there’s no court system, no appeal. They’re at the mercy of the tribal chiefs who are the heads of the clans. ... We’d like to give a council to those who respect our constitution — with a budget to decide for themselves how to spend the money. We want to give them a stake in the area.” That was her vision for co-opting fundamentalism and for fighting terrorism.

It made her an enemy of people who have no compunction about murder — or mass murder — to forward their political ends.

Pakistan has enormous strategic importance to the United States in the Middle East and Asia. Benazir Bhutto, as a woman who was admired for her intelligence and bravery — so much so that it offset the negative connotation of being pro-West — would have played a key role in any effort to stabilize the region.

Her death is a loss to her family, her nation and the world.

Those who seek peace must take time to mourn her murder, but they must be cognizant that these are very dangerous times and act accordingly. Filling the void her death leaves will be difficult, if not impossible. Missteps could be disastrous.