A Moment of Silence
Saturday, December 29th, 2007Grim news greeted us soon after Christmas with the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister, and current candidate, Benazir Bhutto. There has been some chaotic response in the streets, but the U.S. State Department has not issued any new advisories — its basic Consular Information Sheet with appended warnings (the latest of which dates back to September) is dire enough. As it has for quite a while now, the State Department cautions against all non-essential travel to Pakistan, and strongly advises Americans who do go there to keep a low profile.
It’s been 20 years since Bhutto first became prime minister of Pakistan; she was only 35 at the time. Her first time in office overlapped Margaret Thatcher’s last two years as PM of Great Britain, for reference. Since 9/11, most of us have become more intimately aware of Muslim extremism and it now seems nothing short of astonishing that a woman not only served twice as prime minister of a Muslim country (she was returned to office in 1993) but was a serious candidate again in these turbulent times.
Bhutto had been living in self-imposed exile in Britain and Dubai until returning to Pakistan to lead a democratic movement this fall. Many were concerned about her safety, and there had been many threats on her life. In a recent interview, when asked about such threats, she said that no true Muslim would kill her, as the Koran says that anyone who kills a woman will go to hell.
Bhutto was buried next to her father, also a former prime minister, who was executed; one brother who was murdered, and another who died under mysterious circumstances. She leaves three children.
Anyone with a global perspective will be watching what happens next.
–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer
