Coup, terror, assassination: thy name is Pakistan

Dec 28: Pakistan is a strange country: violent, unstable and unrelenting. Created out of communal campaign, it has consumed a great majority of its leaders though assassination. Due to lack of democracy and rule of law, it has struggled all along, not only to keep its territorial integrity intact, but also to maintain friendly relations with neighbours like India. Nothing seems right in a country where military rulers have dominated the governance in its six decades of existence. Military dictatorships, coups, emergency, terrorism, perennial violent attacks, killings, promotion of terrorist attacks against India etc., have been the fundamentals to its character.

It is open secret that Pakistan has been aiding and abetting terrorist activities against India for long, and it has become Frankenstein monster for it, taking the toll on innocent humans on both sides of the border. In spite of all out efforts from US-backed Musharraf regime to fight terror, the ground situation is very volatile. With the general elections round the corner, the brutal Assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto, the most popular leader of Pakistan, comes as a deadly blow to democracy.

Ms Bhutto was walking back to her vehicle after addressing a rally at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Ali Bagh when a sniper shot at her twice and then blew himself up. One bullet hit her neck and one in the head while she stood up in her Toyota Mega Cruiser . For about 45 minutes the doctors struggled at the Rawalpindi General Hospital to rescue her, but failed and Pakistan lost a promising leader.

According to Adnkronos International (AKI) news agency, the Al-Qaeda terror group has claimed responsibility for the assassination Ms Bhutto. "We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat (the) mujahadeen," it quoted Al Qaeda commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid as saying in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English.

Liaquat Ali Bagh was the place where on October 16, 1951, Liaquat Ali, the first Prime Minisater of Pakistan, after whom the place was named, had been scheduled to make an important announcement in a public meeting when he was shot twice in the chest and was decalared dead in the hospital.

Tragedy has been the hallmark of Bhutto family. And this is the fourth death in a violent manner. Remember Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the father of the daughter of East, as Benazir was popularly called. Under Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship, Bhutto the father was awarded death sentence by a Lahore High Court in 1978. A year later, rejecting Bhutto’s plea, the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the verdict by a narrow 4-3 vote. He was prosecuted on April 4, 1979 admits appeals from various heads of the states. Another bout of tragedy struck Bhutto family when Shahnawaz, the youngest son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was killed under suspicious circumstances in France. On 20th September 1996, Murtaza Bhutto was shot dead along with six supporters during an altercation with the police. And what happened to Zia-ul Haq? He blew into pieces in a mid air blast in August 1987.

Earlier, Ms Bhutto survived a fatal suicide bomb attack in a rally in Karachi on October 18 this year in which about 136 people were killed. Given the serious security threat to her life, the government of Pakistan has not done enough to protect her, while many believes that the attack was engineered by close associates in the government of General Musharraf . What is surprising is that someone could so easily get close to her and had enough time to start shooting before activating his suicide belt. Bhutto spoke of risks to her life as Pakistani Taliban militants were quoted as saying they would launch suicide attacks against her when she returns home after eight years in exile.

After 8 years of exile in London and Dubai, Ms Bhutto came to Pakistan this October to revive a movement for democracy. With her popularity gaining round, the Islamic extremists along with President Musharraf were finding it difficult to contain her. Hence, the only option left was intimidation. She was, in fact, caught between two hostile forces – the Islamic extremists and the General.

While India, like other nations, expected restoration of democracy based on people’s representation via genuine election scheduled to be held coming January. A disturbed Pakistan is a cause of concern for India. And more importantly, if the rule transfers into the hands of Al-Qaida-backed Islamic extremists, India will have greater headache ahead.

Meanwhile the sudden assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto has left the world shocked and saddened. She died because the government provided inadequate security to her. She died because she was hated by Islamic extremists. She died because she put up resistance against the forces that are hell bent on disestablishing the peaceful co-existence. While the country is burning in fury of violent protests, the world watches in awe. For the people of Pakistan, the dream for a true democracy is snuffed out.

Will there be an end to coups, military rules and terror attacks in Pakistan?

- The writer is Editor, Consumer Unity & Trust Society or CUTS, in India -