Benazir Bhutto served as Pakistan’s prime minister during two separate terms between 1988 and 1996. Her return earlier this year struck an ideological and political blow against President Pervez Musharraf’s military rule. She was killed today:
Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also killed at least 20 others, aides said.
…
The death of the charismatic 54-year-old former prime minister threw the campaign for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections into chaos and created fears of mass protests and violence across the nuclear-armed nation, an important U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.
No person or organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.
JP
Very sad. She truly was a brave, brave woman.
abelincoln
Senseless, horrifying and cowardly.
kamasutrajones
Saw this comment on another blog and I can’t help but totally agree:
“This is blow for democracy and women in Pakistan and in the entire Muslim world! We continue to faced with “extremist” Muslims and they do not want the U.S. or Western ways to influence their countries. The most disturbing fact is that they simply want all “infidels” to be killed. And yes, we as Americans are infidels worthy of the same death as Bhutto! Sad, yes, but yet another wake up call. The region is not ready for democracy nor a friend to America!!!”
Bitch Republic
I am very saddened by this news.
zeami99
The region is desperate for democracy, and the behavior of extremist groups does not characterize all Pakistan or ” that region”. I have been there and worked there, and like most places is filled with families who want to live in peace.
Woof
Definetly sad yes, but is anyone surprised?
Matt
Anytime someone is killed for their beliefs it is sad but I had no clue after a little research that she and her husband had been removed from government twice due to corruption with several European countries and she did support the Taliban. She thought they would stabalize Afganistan and improve trade.
hisurfer
It’s sad, and bad news for the region – but she was no more a liberal democrat than the generals and imams.
SeaFlood
This saddens me.
Ian J UK
She may not have been an angle, but she was the last best hope for her country and the region, a major step backwards in a country that was centiries behind the modern world already.
angie Cox
Didn’t she just bang her head ?..yeh right Bobby Kennedy must have hit his quite a wack on that pantry floor…….I just don’t think those darned bullets helped.