Benazir's Murder and the Inconsolable Grief of the
Pakistani People
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Taimur Rahman

Tragically, the fate of the first female prime
minister in the Muslim world has met with a violent
end. The people of Pakistan are gripped by
inconsolable grief at the news of the murder of
Benazir Bhutto.

In the PPP the people of Pakistan saw a mainstream
political party that spoke about the rights of poor
people. The slogan of roti, kapra, makan (bread,
clothes, housing) galvanized millions against the
military dictatorship of Ayub Khan in the late 1960s.
The democratic reforms undertaken by Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto challenged the interests of the traditional
ruling class of Pakistan. The ruling class in turn
began to support Islamic fundamentalism and military
rule as a counter-weight to this democratic upsurge.
After Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the religious
fundamentalist regime of Zia ul Haq, Benazir Bhutto
led the PPP for the restoration of democracy. Despite
the ostensible return of democracy in 1988, the
establishment continued to harbour intense hatred and
refused to reconcile themselves to the "populist"
currents of the PPP. General Pervaiz Musharraf treated
the PPP no different than all previous military
dictators. Political rumors notwithstanding,
repression within the country forced Benazir into an
eight year exile.

The "war on terror", however, forced the army to
renege with great reluctance its long-standing
collaboration with religious fundamentalists. Seething
with hatred, the fundamentalists made a serious bid
for power this July leading to the episode of the lal
masjid (red mosque). Benazir was the only national
leader with the courage to take a clear and
uncompromising stance against Islamic extremism.
Moreover, she was the only political leader with the
popular support that made such a statement legitimate
and gave it weight.

Given the precarious position of Musharraf's
dictatorship, Benazir's stance opened up the
opportunity for a softening of the attitude of the
military towards the PPP. The military saw it as an
opportunity to stabilize their rule. The PPP saw it as
an opportunity to get their principle leader back into
the country. The West saw this as an opportunity to
stabilize Pakistan and keep it focused on the "war on
terror". People, groaning under poverty and increasing
cost of living, saw it as an opportunity to obtain
some relief. And the fundamentalists saw it as the
incarnation of their greatest mortal enemy. The latter
openly declared that they would kill Benazir if she
dared to return. In October, upon Benazir's return to
Karachi, they tried and failed. Today they did not.

The overwhelming number of people hold the military
dictatorship of General Pervaiz Musharraf responsible
for failing to provide adequate security. Furthermore,
the finger of suspicion cannot so easily be lifted
away from elements within the establishment. Benazir
herself stated that in addition to Islamic
fundamentalists in tribal areas, she suspected that
certain elements within the ISI also wanted her dead.

While there will be many who try to minimize the
public outcry against this incident by pointing to the
many short-comings, inconsistencies and faults of the
PPP, it is clear that the biggest fault of Benazir was
that she spoke for the secularism, democracy and most
importantly for the rights of the poor and
dispossessed of Pakistan. For this fault, she was
prepared to and did pay the ultimate price.

The Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party condemns the murder
of Benazir Bhutto.

Down with religious fundamentalism and military rule!
Long live a peoples revolution!

CMKP Website:- http://cmkp.tk
CMKP YahooForum:- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmkp_pk
CMKP News:- http://cmkp_pk.blogspot.com



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