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Former Pakistani Pm Benazir Bhutto Allegedly Killed In Suicide Attack
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 9:12am |
 Coolness: 202105 | Benazir Bhutto 'killed in blast'
Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a military spokesman has announced on TV. Earlier reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital. Ms Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally in the town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off. At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack and several more were injured. Ms Bhutto had twice been the country's prime minister. She was campaigning ahead of elections due in January. 'She expired' The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar initially said that Ms Bhutto was safe. But later he told the BBC that Ms Bhutto had died. Another member of the PPP, Wasif Ali Khan, told the Associated Press news agency from the Rawalpindi General Hospital: "At 6:16 pm (1316 GMT) she expired." Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges. Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing. Since her return relations with Mr Musharraf have broken down. On the day of her return she led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead. The PPP has the largest support in the country. Earlier on Thursday at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi. |
| I'm feeling gangsta right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» moondancer replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 9:32am |
 Coolness: 93145 | :( :( :(
Come back. |
| I'm feeling bored right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» basdini replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 9:43am |
 Coolness: 146080 | "Bhutto suffered bullet wounds in the aftermath of the bomb attack, TV networks were reporting"
[ edition.cnn.com ] something about this smells like shit here...it doesn't feel right... anybody else getting that impression? |
| I'm feeling surly right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 11:07am |
| Coolness: 202105 | Major opposition leader killed right before elections?
Suicide bomber + shooting attack at once? This is ugly. Update » nothingnopenope wrote on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 11:11am Four Sharif Aides Killed, 12 Hurt in Pakistan Gunfire (Update2)
By Khaleeq Ahmed and Khalid Qayum Enlarge Image/Details Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- At least four supporters of Pakistan's former premier Nawaz Sharif were killed and another 12 wounded in the capital, Islamabad, when gunshots were fired on an election rally. People ``fired on our workers who were gathering for an election public rally,'' Siddique-ul-Farooq, a spokesman for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said in a phone interview today. Farooq said supporters of Nawaz Khokar, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam, the party backed by President Pervez Musharraf, fired at the rally. Sharif, who was barred this month from running in the ballot, was headed to the neighboring garrison town of Rawalpindi for a public rally. Pakistan's parliamentary elections are scheduled for Jan. 8, as international calls including by the U.S. and human rights groups for free and fair voting mount. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam denied the charge by Farooq that its supporters fired at the rally. ``This is baseless,'' Tariq Azeem, the party's spokesman said on the phone from Islamabad. ``Our party supporters were not involved in any clash. We condemn the shooting of innocent people and demand action against the culprits.'' Police didn't say who fired at the rally. Chaos, Injuries ``There is a lot of chaos there and we can't tell yet how many more injuries there may be,'' Mohammed Hussain Laasi, a police official, said in a phone interview. ``The incident took place when supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, who were heading toward Rawalpindi, were fired upon.'' Pakistan has allowed as many as 200 observers to monitor the fairness of the national elections, the foreign ministry said in a statement on its Web site. Opposition leaders Sharif and Benazir Bhutto say voting will be rigged in favor of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam. The Election Commission has failed to take action on requests by Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party about the pro- Musharraf party using police to ``harass other parties' activists,'' according to a statement by Bhutto's party today. New York-based Human Rights Watch has said restrictions that remain on the media and the firing of judges make a legitimate election campaign impossible. While Musharraf lifted six weeks of emergency rule on Dec. 15, when the decisions were implemented, he didn't rescind the curbs on journalists or give judges their jobs back. Strict Curbs ``The removal of independent-minded judges has rendered free and fair elections impossible, while strict curbs on media further impede accurate reporting on the political and electoral processes,'' said a Dec. 22 statement by Human Rights Watch. Pakistan's Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, which oversees the nation's private broadcasters, last week banned the live transmission of election rallies. Bhutto and Sharif, who were Prime Ministers from 1988 to 1999, have agreed to cooperate in some constituencies by not fielding candidates against each other, in a bid to defeat contenders from the Musharraf-backed party. Both leaders said their parties are contesting the elections under protest to ensure the field isn't left open to the pro-Musharraf group. The president said a day before lifting the state of emergency that he will ensure free and fair elections. Musharraf imposed the state of emergency on Nov. 3 after firing Supreme Court judges as they were about to rule on the legality of his re-election in October for a second five-year term. Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, stepped down as army chief Nov. 28 and was sworn in as Pakistan's civilian president a day later. Update » nothingnopenope wrote on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 11:23am "The more we try to control events in the middle east, the more they control us. I am sick and tired of spending billions each year to enact policies that make things worse. We can't even control crime in Washington DC yet we think we can run the world."
Ron Paul 2008 |
| I'm feeling gangsta right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» moondancer replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 1:30pm |
| Coolness: 93145 | There's something particularly chilling about her death. As if it were someone I had met and shook hands with it's hard to believe it's true. I guess it's just the fact she was so strong and determined and confident and such a big inspiration and hope to her supporters. I hope their hope isn't buried in the sand with her. It's discouraging but mostly sad to see someone so strong and determined fall.
[video]www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/live/nb/wm/video/now3_nb.asx[/video] |
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| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 6:07pm |
| Coolness: 202105 | I always liked her because not only did having a female head of state piss off the fundamentalists, it put Pakistan's government on a level that even the USA hadn't attained yet. |
| I'm feeling gangsta right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» basdini replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 8:20pm |
| Coolness: 146080 | they are blaming it on the islamist for the moment, it's funny, musharaf seems to benifit from this so i can't shake the feeling that it was someone in the security services that did this...Sharif (the other former PM) is a political light weight compared to Bhutto and has already said he was going to boycott the election, so it seems that Musharaf is nearly sure to win an election if it indeed does happen 12 days from now as it's supposed to... |
| I'm feeling surly right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» bob_ replied on Thu Dec 27, 2007 @ 11:12pm |
 Coolness: 103085 | unfortunately, it's not a big surprise for me :(
les militaires voulaient sa peau, les fondamentalistes aussi... juste l'attentat quand elle est revenue au Pakistan était un signe... |
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| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Sat Dec 29, 2007 @ 12:18am |
| Coolness: 202105 | [ wonkette.com ]
These are extremely graphic. The news was showing these photos but was editing/censoring the surrounding scene (which is filled with dead, dismembered bodies). Apparently the "news" is afraid to show people what actually happened, and just focussed on the grieving man, without showing the reason for his anguish. |
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| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Trey replied on Sat Dec 29, 2007 @ 12:09pm |
 Coolness: 103645 | Mr Musharraf is responsible for her death as much as George W. Bush is responsible for 911.
It's intriguing how Western media portrays their optimism on the Pakistan election as progress for democracy, that democracy is an exemplar for the road to peace. Also how they "champion" one person as hope, like the last king of Afghanistan for that country. At least Ms Bhutto wanted to help her fellow countrymen. If Ms.Bhutto was such a people person, after all she is the leader of Pakistan People’s Party, where was she in the last 6 years? She, the former prime minister, SELF-imposed exiled to escape major corruption charges. She secretly try to work out a deal with Mr Musharraf, he would drop the charges, he would remain president, and she would be prime minister ( eventually she ended the negotiations ). Her father was assassinated, her brothers too which one was by poison. Not even a year back in her the country, suicide bombers killed 140 of her followers. Mr Musharraf himself said that he can not provide security in certain areas. Whether he has the means or not, we can't be sure. He can barely keep the country together. So Ms Bhutto isn't too careful and still campaign as the people's person. How stubborn can you be? Who would win the election, whether it is going to be fraudulent, or whether it will legitimized Musharraf's presidency is a moot point in the long run. When you have many fighting for power and it's tearing the country apart and dividing the people, it's a great breeding ground for religious zealots. That's how extremist would want it and we certainly don't want extremist taking over Pakistan, a nuclear power state. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Wizdumb replied on Sat Dec 29, 2007 @ 2:05pm |
 Coolness: 123190 | i liked her but her approach was suicided for the PPP. making herself its figurehead made it difficult for it to function in her absence from exile etc... if she knew what was best she would have made a platform that the party could use as its own rather than in her stead.
apart from that, i think she did more good than bad and she was a breath of fresh air to stagnant political regimes of the middle east. it's awful convenient that this happened 2 weeks before elections.... anyway democracy seems to be highly overrated and the truth to the matter is, is it truly democratic to impose democracy on people? tragic |
| I'm feeling battery operated right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Trey replied on Sat Dec 29, 2007 @ 8:26pm |
| Coolness: 103645 | I think she had too much pride. She should have cut a deal with Musharraf. Yes he is cookie cutter dictator, sacking the judiciary branch prove that. However having her as PM and him as President could've balance the Pakistan's government, if at least for short term gain. We will never know now.
Musharraf said it over and over, that he is keeping the extremists and terrorist at bay. He does just enough so they always remain a level of a threat, thus keeping him in power. After all, if he falls, who will take over? civil war is bad. A new front would opened up. Also, I think that India has a Muslim population greater than Pakistan's. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Sun Dec 30, 2007 @ 7:59pm |
| Coolness: 202105 | True democracy is the best system as far as I am concerned, but I have yet to see a truly democratic country. The USA is definitely not a good example (especially in the democracy = peace department). Canada isn't either, since it has plenty of laws that restrict the free will of the people. |
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| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Wizdumb replied on Sun Dec 30, 2007 @ 9:13pm |
| Coolness: 123190 | "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"
Mao Zedong |
| I'm feeling battery operated right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» moondancer replied on Mon Dec 31, 2007 @ 8:47am |
| Coolness: 93145 | It's easy to critisize Ms. Bhutto's subborness but I think Pakistan needs someone stubborn like that to have any chance of stopping extremists taking over pakistan. Nobody who isn't stubborn and fearless can have any kind of power in that kind of environment. Her worst qualities might have also been her best. The fact of the matter is no one would have listened to her the way they did and no one would have taken inspiration from her the way they did if they didn't see her determination and that she meant business. I think she was rightfully stubborn.
Also I don't believe this is so much about "democracy" as about having a decent government and if true democracy doesn't exist than all they'll have is Musharaff and that is unacceptable as far as I can see. I dunno where talk about forcing democracy on people comes into this at this point, they're supposed to have it already. The last election in which Musharaff got re-elected is very widely believed to have been rigged. He's also accused(and governments before him) of persecuting anyone who has a voice for democracy(like all of Bhutto's family) and either rewarding or leaving alone the extremists. This is not simply about Bhutto. It's about the fact that no one can do anything against dictator governments because they all just get killed. That's why only someone who is willing to die and who is stubborn will do. She's not considered an ideal leader to her people at all, just the most likely person to be able to help pakistan right now. It seems that Bhutto's followers burn cars and government property when they're angry, kind of like french youths, and then you have the suicide bombers carrying out assasinations which just so happen to benefit Musharaff. Also I think in critisizing her relationship with Musharaff you have to be careful. You make it sound as if making a deal is easy as 1, 2, 3 and then everything will just be peachy. As if Musharaff would not want things his way and she would not want things hers. [ www.moneycontrol.com ] Also another thing.. there is a lot of mention in the news abotu this havign ntohign to do with the government yadayadayaday. I don't believe that. There were so many fingers pointed and claims not supported that I can't believe this now. I mean if when asked the gofvernment said "we dunno well find out" thatr woudl be one thing but to say "were sure it was the extremists even though we have no clue!", or there was "even Bhutto said it was islamists who bombed her last rally" somehow manifested into "Bhutto said it was a branch of the government"(probably after they realised their sources were liars). Then there was talk of people claiming responsibity that seemed to come and go. Update » moondancer wrote on Mon Dec 31, 2007 @ 9:09am That's not to mention a ton of other inconsistencies or stuff that seems just slightly off. There was too much stuff in the reporting of this death that was just weird. For example, it makes absolutley no sense that they can't determine the way she died. If it was from a bullet there should be a goddamn bullet in her neck, it's simple. |
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Former Pakistani Pm Benazir Bhutto Allegedly Killed In Suicide Attack
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