Benazir has accused jehadi cronies of Zia of being behind the murderous bomb attacks on her convoy. Her husband Zardari is blaming it on ISI. So they are both singing the same tune.
Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto has accused supporters of late military ruler Mohammed Zia ul-Haq of being behind the bomb attack against her. More than 130 people were killed in the suicide attack on her convoy following her arrival in her home city, Karachi.
Ms Bhutto, who had just returned to the country after eight years of self-imposed exile, was unhurt.
Zia overthrew Ms Bhutto’s father, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977, and had him hanged two years later.
The military ruler died in mysterious circumstances in a plane crash in 1988. Subsequent elections saw Ms Bhutto elected for the first of two stints as prime minister. Speaking shortly after the attack on her convoy, Ms Bhutto told Paris-Match magazine: **"I know exactly who wants to kill me. ****“It is dignitaries of the former regime of General Zia who are today behind the extremism and the fanaticism.” **
There were two explosions after midnight local time as Ms Bhutto and her entourage were moving slowly through a crowd of hundreds of thousands of supporters.
Hundreds of people were injured and there were scenes of chaos, with the streets littered with bodies and body parts.
“The first blast was caused by a hand grenade. The second was the suicide attack,” Manzoor Mughal, a senior police official told Reuters news agency.
“The attacker ran into the crowd and blew himself up.”
He added that the head of the suspected bomber had been found, and it was estimated he had had 15-20kg (33-44lb) of explosives strapped to his body. ‘War on terror’
There has so far been no claim of responsibility, but police say they are investigating whether the attack has links to tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, which are deep wells of support for al-Qaeda and the Taleban.
Ms Bhutto - who heads the country’s largest political force, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) - has professed her support for the US-led “war on terror”, and said she was returning to Pakistan to combat extremism.
She escaped death or injury because she was travelling in an armoured truck.
Most of the dead were members of the PPP, although police vehicles took the main force of the blasts and more than 20 police officers are thought to have died. A cameraman for a local TV station was also killed. Ms Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, has accused Pakistani intelligence agencies of involvement.
Ms Bhutto’s return followed a deal with Pakistan’s military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf. The two could end up sharing power after elections in January.
The United States has encouraged their alliance, to maintain nuclear-armed Pakistan’s generally pro-Western stance.
Gen Musharraf said in a statement that the attack was “a conspiracy against democracy” and telephoned Ms Bhutto to offer his condolences.
The US said the blasts were clearly an attempt to stifle freedom in the country, but should not be allowed to derail impending elections.
Regional powers China and India, as well as the United Nations and the European Union, also denounced the attack.
On both occasions that Ms Bhutto served as prime minister, her government was prematurely dismissed by the president of the day under special powers. She left Pakistan in April 1999 - shortly before Gen Musharraf seized power in a coup, and two years after her husband was jailed and a series of corruption charges were brought against her. She denies the charges.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
Benazir has accused jehadi cronies of Zia of being behind the murderous bomb attacks on her convoy. Her husband Zardari is blaming it on ISI. So they both seem to be singing the same tune.
Well, jehaids are murderous cancer that much we all know, but I think blame lies with PPP leadership and BB herself. She was warned in no uncertain terms that something like this can happen. In fact, from what I heard Sindh home secretary called PPP leadership and asked them not put up this stupid show, but they did anyway. BB wanted to take our procession like the CJ, but little did she know that she is was no CJ. Now, over 130 innocent people are dead, and blame equally go to terrorists and BB.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
Well, jehaids are murderous cancer that much we all know, but I think blame lies with PPP leadership and BB herself. She was warned in no uncertain terms that something like this can happen. In fact, from what I heard Sindh home secretary called PPP leadership and asked them not put up this stupid show, but they did anyway. BB wanted to take our procession like the CJ, but little did she know that she is was no CJ. Now, over 130 innocent people are dead, and blame equally go to terrorists and BB.
I wholeheartedly agree with that.
When it comes to pointing fingers at who allowed extremists to flourish in Pakistan then the blame can be put on all sides from Zia onwards. Benazir's government in the 1990's actively encouraged and supported the Taliban and it's takeover of Afghanistan. Her Interior Minister Babar boasted of how the Taliban were "his babies", all the time when they were persecuting women and slaughtering Shia Muslims. It was during that PPP govt era and nurturing of the Taliban that Bin Laden moved to Afghanistan in 1996. It was from that Taliban horror that we are still suffering today, and for which we need to all unite to get rid of once and for all, instead of the constant accusations based on selective historical reasoning.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
Well I agree with all those who reckon that BB should atleast take 'indirect' blame for what happened yesterday. She is n't that naive not to have known what her going out in a procession in an open truck could lead to. It was an ill-advised plan (I would even say hutdharmi on her part) with no serious regard for the safety of the masses (who unfortunately are the ones who suffer the most everytime an atrocity like this happens). She (given her scandal-ridden political record and controversial personality, her two stints in power brought nothing but more misery...) should have known that she is no CJ (non-political, untarnished reputation though debatable) and her reaching out to the masses in such a way was fraught with extreme risk for the common man. This was esp. stupid given what had happened on May 12.
And yes she can't blame all the ills on military dictators. She did crap when she was in power. This is all crap about her supporting democracy, this is all a lie. By negotiating a deal with Musharraf, Bhutto has already compromised hopes for a legitimate democracy in Pakistan. The only reason Bhutto has decided to cooperate with Musharraf is to salvage an undisclosed amount of her personal assets still in Pakistan.
I for one don't think that BB can deliver on her promises of democracy and religious extremism and make credible changes in Pakistan.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
I wholeheartedly agree with that.
When it comes to pointing fingers at who allowed extremists to flourish in Pakistan then the blame can be put on all sides from Zia onwards. Benazir's government in the 1990's actively encouraged and supported the Taliban and it's takeover of Afghanistan. Her Interior Minister Babar boasted of how the Taliban were "his babies", all the time when they were persecuting women and slaughtering Shia Muslims. It was during that PPP govt era and nurturing of the Taliban that Bin Laden moved to Afghanistan in 1996. It was from that Taliban horror that we are still suffering today, and for which we need to all unite to get rid of once and for all, instead of the constant accusations based on selective historical reasoning.
Even Musharraf supported them whole heartedly till 9/11. Even now he dragged the issue of Lal Masjid to further his own political ambitions. Pathetic really.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
BB may be shia but Gen Babar went out of the way to help talibuns
That's correct. Babar spent more time in Afghanistan in the 1993-96 period than he did in Islamabad attending, such that westerners were referring to him as the 'Godfather of the Taliban'. All the he was feeding "his Taliban babies" with more and more fighters and weapons, and practically directing their march towards Kabul. In the last year of the PPP govt he achieved his dream when the Taliban captured Kabul, and with them Osama Bin Laden moved his base there as well. Just like Zia left the fasadi extremists for others to deal with, the Taliban mess created by the PPP govt was also left for successive governments to deal with as well. The sum total of the havoc that Zia ul Haq's extremist monsters have perpetrated on Pakistan, and what PPP government's Taliban creation have also done, is the same.
All successive government's are still cleaning up the bloody mess that Zia ul Haq and the PPP govt created in the 80's and 90's.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
So the first thing she does when she gets back, is bite musharraf's behind.
Total backstabber.
Idiots. And because of these internal bakhwaas politics how many innocents died?
And you know what? People need to stop being sold off like this. How many of these civilians were paid to stand there and show their "support"? If someone offered me money, I'd decline and stay at home during all this tamasha.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
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And you know what? People need to stop being sold off like this. How many of these civilians were paid to stand there and show their "support"? If someone offered me money, I'd decline and stay at home during all this tamasha.
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And you are an ABCD, living in the luxury of america with no worries about going hungry, and getting a house in 'jahez'.
Don't take any offense as I had to give you a reality check..
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
shriek: Enter Islam, which teaches you basic morals and principals. I mean, did Qazi sahab forget to instill some values into kids they were teaching Islam, or people teach their kids how to read the Quran in a language they don't UDNERSTAND only to not understand or practice Islam in the end.
It doesn't take rocket science to weigh 100 ruppees vs. putting your main household wage-earner's life in danger.
If people quit their laziness and took education seriously in Pakistan and if it were provided to people on a mass scale - 90% of this bull would end.
You're right - it does boil down to poverty and economic opportunity. But then dorks like Benazir should realize that this is the ONLY answer to eliminating extremism and jaahil behavior.
But they don't want people to get educated - that means, someone might challenge their leadership and their thekadaari that runs in their villages wont work anymore.
Nonetheless, I don't think one should cower down into pressure that easily. Pakistanis themselves are corrupt - they'll do anything for their ruppee.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
Education is the key [awareness and access to it] but then self-centered power hungry goons be it altaf, bb or qazi, gunja, PPI, ch shujaat, you name it etc don't really care since the poverty doesn't affect them. It is like those feudals who treat their serfs like crap in pakistan.
Re: Benazir accuses supporters of Zia-ul-Haq of being behind this latest atrocity
Education is the key [awareness and access to it] but then self-centered power hungry goons be it altaf, bb or qazi, gunja, PPI, ch shujaat, you name it etc don't really care since the poverty doesn't affect them. It is like those feudals who treat their serfs like crap in pakistan.
