Monday, December 31, 2007

The Future Pakistan Deserves

The Future Pakistan Deserves
By Muhammad Nawaz Sharif
Washington Post, January 1, 2008; A11

LAHORE, Pakistan -- There is no law and certainly no order in my country. What happened this past week has shaken every Pakistani. Benazir Bhutto was no ordinary person. She served as prime minister twice and had returned to Pakistan in an effort to restore our country to the path of democracy. With her assassination I have lost a friend and a partner in democracy.

It is too early to blame anybody for her death. One thing, however, is beyond any doubt: The country is paying a very heavy price for the many unpardonable actions of one man -- Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf alone is responsible for the chaos in Pakistan. Over the past eight years he has assiduously worked at demolishing institutions, subverting the constitution, dismantling the judiciary and gagging the media. Pakistan today is a military state in which a former prime minister can be gunned down in broad daylight. One of my own political rallies was fired upon the day Benazir Bhutto was killed.

These are the darkest days in Pakistan's history. And such are the wages of dictatorship. There is widespread disillusionment. At all the election rallies I have addressed, people have asked a simple question: Criminals are punished for breaking laws, so why should those who subvert the constitution not be punished? Those who killed Benazir Bhutto are the forces of darkness and authoritarianism. They are the ones who prefer rifles to reason.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and my own Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) have traditionally been political rivals. We fought each other through elections. We won some. We lost some. That is what democracy is all about. Whoever has the majority rules. Bhutto and I both realized while in exile that rivalry among democrats has made the task of manipulation easier for undemocratic forces. We therefore decided not to allow such nefarious games by the establishment.

I fondly remember meeting with Benazir in February 2005. She was kind enough to visit me in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where I lived after Musharraf forced me into exile. We realized that we were fighting for the same thing: democracy. She, too, believed in the rule of law and rule of the people. A key point of the Charter of Democracy that we signed in May 2006 was that everyone should respect the mandate of the people and not allow the establishment to play dirty politics and subvert the will of the people. After the Jeddah meeting we regularly consulted each other on issues of national and international importance. On many occasions we tried to synchronize our strategies. We had agreements and disagreements, but we both wanted to pull Pakistan back from the brink of disaster.

And while the PPP may have been our traditional rival, it is a national asset whose leadership has inspired many Pakistanis. Political parties form part of the basis on which the entire edifice of democracy rests. If our country is to move forward, we need an independent judiciary, a sovereign Parliament and strong political parties that are accountable to the people. Without political parties, there will be hopelessness, and authoritarianism will thrive. Dictators fear the power of the people. That is why they pit parties against each other and then try to destroy those parties -- to further their own agenda. This is what has happened in Pakistan in recent years.

So, what is the way out of the depths to which Pakistan has been plunged? First, Musharraf should go immediately. He is the primary and principal source of discord. Second, a broad-based national unity government should be immediately installed to heal the wounds of this bruised nation. Third, the constitution should be restored to what it was in 1973. The judiciary should be restored to its condition before Nov. 3 -- countering the boneheaded steps Musharraf took under the garb of "emergency" rule. All curbs on the media should be removed. Finally, fair and impartial elections should be held in a friendly and peaceful environment under such a national government so that the people are able to choose their representatives for a Parliament and government that can be trusted to rebuild the country rather than serve the agenda of a dictator.

These are the only steps that will give the country a semblance of stability. If Musharraf rules as he has for the past eight years, then we are doing nothing but waiting for another doomsday.

The world must realize that Musharraf's policies have neither limited nor curbed terrorism. In fact, terrorism is stronger than ever, with far more sinister aspects, and as long as Musharraf remains, there remains the threat of more terror. The people of Pakistan should not be antagonized any further for the sake of one man. It is time for the international community to join hands in support of democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan. The answer to my country's problems is a democratic process that promotes justice, peace, harmony and tolerance and hence can play an effective role in promoting moderation. With dictatorship, there is no future.

The writer is head of the Pakistan Muslim League and was twice elected prime minister of Pakistan.

Also See:
BB Showed Way to Future - Rasul Bakhsh Rais
New Footage of Benazir's Murder at Channel 4

Pakistan: Looking Ahead



The elections must go ahead
Hassan Abbas, Guardian's Comment is free.., December 31, 2007
Click here to see a shorter version in today's Guardian

Pakistan is reeling in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's murder, as anger and overwhelming sadness drive its people towards hopelessness and violence. In the midst of all this, the government is foolishly trying to distort the facts surrounding Bhutto's killing by trying to shift the blame from its own incompetence and possible involvement. Without credible elections, restoration of the independent judiciary and effective curbs on the activities of the country's intelligence agencies in internal affairs, Pakistan cannot be rescued from a certain slide into more chaos.

Pakistan's history is full of cover-ups and Bhutto's murder is proving to be no different. Innumerable acts of violence creating choreographed instability in the country, abrupt dismissals of various governments and assassinations of many political and military leaders remain uninvestigated, or unresolved and shrouded in mystery.

Repeated martial laws and military interference in politics is the leading cause behind Pakistan's failure to develop democratic institutions and a culture of accountability. An "insecurity" complex inspired the country's military to meddle in regional conflicts and pursue a secretive "foreign policy", for which the country is paying through its nose today. Shortsighted and uninformed policy decisions of the United States and the west, pertaining to Pakistan in particular and south-west Asia in general, further added to the problems in the region. For instance, the aftermath of the western-sponsored and supported "jihad" in Afghanistan in the 1980s is still haunting the region, as well as the rest of the world.

Coming to the present scenario, prospects of democracy started to rise when Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif returned to the country and decided to contest elections. Movement for the rule of law spearheaded by lawyers and civil society actors in response to the unlawful deposition of the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, since March 2007 was also a healthy development for the country. However, Musharraf started backtracking on the understanding he had developed with Bhutto, as his political allies began to feel uncomfortable with the reception she was getting all across the country.

Circumstantial evidence suggests that, since mid-November, some hardliner and extremist elements within the Musharraf camp have been saying Bhutto was pursuing an "American agenda" to "topple Pakistan's army" and get rid of the nukes - a conspiracy theory. Some Pakistani journalists and analysts closely aligned with Musharraf started producing "news analysis" to this effect soon afterwards (for a glimpse, click here). Intriguingly, a video clip was also telecasted from some media outlets (eg ARY TV and PTV) on November 29 showing that Islamabad police had confiscated a vehicle in the capital city with around two-dozen American M16 and Israeli Uzi guns. Clearly, this was an attempt to suggest that the US and Israel were planning to create violence in the country. The clip zoomed in on markings on the US weapons which read: "Property of the US government". Many media channels that deciphered the deceptive motive of the "news item" refused to run it.

Statements made by Bhutto which were critical of the role played by Dr AQ Khan in nuclear proliferation were also hyped by government media managers. Despite all these manipulations and disinformation, her political campaign continued to gain momentum. At this point (around mid-December), Musharraf started to make statements challenging Benazir's support base and refused to accept her demands regarding election matters and provision of adequate security for her. And then came the assassin's bullet - in a professionally executed targeted killing - raising important questions about the identity of the killers and the role of elements from within the establishment. In an email on October 24, Benazir, while analysing threats to her life, maintained that the real "threat [is] not from the US perceived angle but estab[lishment] elements".

The resultant chaos has shaken the state's foundations and federation. PPP has a huge task ahead under the new leadership of Benazir's 19-year-old son Bilawal and his father Asif Zardari - a combination of youth and experience guided by the Bhutto legacy. This is in line with south Asia's democratic traditions - where individuals and their backgrounds are often deemed more important than institutions because of the public's emotional ties to charismatic leaders. It is quite likely that PPP will sweep the coming elections, whether held on January 8 or a bit later, benefiting from an additional sympathy vote all across the country.

Such an eventuality, if uninterrupted by the military establishment, will give Pakistan another chance to be rescued. Musharraf on the other hand is becoming increasingly irrelevant and there is a growing possibility that military leadership will distance itself from him and return to its professional job and regain people's confidence. Such a scenario requires acumen and sagacity on the part of political and military leadership. The past provides little comfort in this regard, but one hopes that Benazir's sacrifice will pay off, ushering Pakistan towards a progressive democratic order.

Indian view on Benazir's Assassination and its aftermath

Tolerating terror By Vikram Sood
Hindustan Times, December 30, 2007

In the preface to the revised edition of her autobiography, Daughter of the East, Benazir Bhutto begins by saying: “I didn’t chose this life; it chose me. Born in Pakistan, my life mirrors its turbulence, its tragedies and its triumphs.” She goes on, “Once again Pakistan is in the international spotlight. Terrorists who use the name of Islam threaten its stability. The democratic forces believe terrorism can be eliminated by promoting the principles of freedom. A military dictatorship plays dangerous games of deception and intrigue. Fearful of losing power, it dithers, keeping the forces of modernisation at bay while the flames of terrorism flourish.” She wrote this in April 2007.

Bhutto represented modernity to the increasingly obscurantist power-brokers in Pakistan and, therefore, a threat to them. She represented, in some ways, a democratic hope for ordinary Pakistanis. She was thus perceived as a threat to the entrenched khaki interests.

Bhutto ended her autobiography with prophetic words. She said, “So as I prepare to return to an uncertain future in Pakistan in 2007, I fully understand the stakes not only for myself, and my country, but the entire world. I realise that I can be arrested. I realise that like the assassination of Benigno Aquino in Manila in August 1983, I can be gunned down on the airport tarmac when I land... But I do what I have to do, and am determined to return to fulfil my pledge to the people
of Pakistan, to stand by them in their democratic aspirations.” It almost happened this way on the day of her arrival.

Ultimately, her prophecy came true. Judging from the last video clips of Bhutto’s life, the assassin knew she was wearing a bullet-proof vest, so he aimed for her neck. He knew her route, and was waiting for her. The assassin or assassins were trained, skilled and the bomb blast was either a fall-back or a diversion to allow escape. We will never know.

It is reasonable to assume that there must have been an assessment about the threat to Bhutto’s life, especially after the October attack. Despite this, the assassin had easy access to his target. This can only mean that those involved in providing her security were lax, or just callous and careless or worse, they were complicit.

The assassination has occurred at a time when Musharraf’s approval rating and his credibility among Pakistanis is at its lowest — lower than that of Osama bin Laden and Bhutto. People are prepared to believe the worst about him and not willing to accept the best from him. There has been a constitutional breakdown and institutional collapse in the country. The former Chief Justice of Pakistan and other judges have been locked up, the media have been gagged, political parties emasculated and other centres of nationalist dissent, like Baloch leaders Akbar Khan Bugti and Balach Marri, killed by Pakistani authorities. Any judicial probe ordered now would lack credibility because the courts have been widely suborned by Musharraf.

It is interesting and worrying to read a recent report (November 2007) by SENLIS Council, a Britain-based international policy think-tank. The report is called ‘Afghanistan on the Brink’, but also discusses Pakistan. There is also a map that shows permanent Taliban presence in all of the NWFP, most of Punjab and northern Balochistan. Sindh is depicted as having substantial Taliban presence. Bhutto’s assassination only emphasises this growing Taliban presence and the support or sympathy they receive from various sections of the Pakistani establishment.

Repeated attacks in recent months on the army and the ISI in Rawalpindi by unknown assailants signify that there is something more sinister happening in Pakistan.

Yet, those who planned and executed this attack must have taken several aspects into consideration. Bhutto’s death leaves the PPP without an effective and acceptable leader. The immediate beneficiaries in an election now would be Musharraf’s boys in the PML(Q), while the blame for the killing falls on al-Qaeda. If the PPP does manage to win the elections riding on a sympathy vote, despite various efforts by the authorities to prevent this, its leadership will be divided and thus easy to handle. If, like the PML(N), the PPP too chooses to boycott the elections, then the PML(Q) will have a free home-run. The hope is that the agitation will eventually die down and the murder will become just another episode in Pakistan’s history.

It does not matter if the elections are described by every Pakistani as a farce, since approval from the US to go ahead with them has already been received. As of now, the elections are supposed to be held on schedule, but if the violence in the country escalates and the army has to be called in, it is possible that they may have to be postponed. The calculation probably is that the leaderless agitation and the anger on the streets will eventually subside. It has to be remembered that the last time elections in Pakistan were ordered by a dictator, the country split. And as already stated in these columns earlier (August 20, 2007), Pakistan faces a bigger crisis today than it did in 1971.

For American policy-makers, having messed around in the region for decades, salvaging US policy means protecting Pakistan.

This, in turn, means bolstering Musharraf under all circumstances, even when it was known that there is institutionalised double-crossing of benefactors in the hunt for terrorists and in the use of largesse supplied. This has been America’s Magnificent Obsession.

The current American blind spot for the generals of Pakistan is similar to that for the Shah of Iran and other surrogates in the past. Unfortunately, instead of persuading the US towards our perceptions of policy towards Pakistan, we are now seen to be following the US in putting all our eggs in a leaking Musharraf basket.

Second, all countries have an army, while in Pakistan, it is the army that has a country. No one denies the importance of the armed forces or intelligence agencies, but unless Pakistan adopts a system of governance where the army retains its special perks and privileges, yet remains subservient to the civil authority, Pakistan will never start to move towards being a ‘normal’ country.

Third, very often, Pakistanis refer to the ‘root cause’, meaning Kashmir, in the context of improving Indo-Pak relations. There is a larger issue here. Pakistan must address its own ‘root cause’ first — its increasingly jehadi mindset. The mullahs are winning in Pakistan thanks to what is taught to its children not just in madrasas but even in mainstream schools. A curriculum of hatred and bigotry only leaves the young with warped notions about the rest of the world as some of them find their way into the corridors of power.

Bhutto’s assassination may make some difference internally in Pakistan but will have little immediate impact on Indo-Pak relations. Her assassination in Rawalpindi, the unofficial capital of Pakistan, only heightens the fact that terrorists have the ability to strike at symbols of power and their own mentors in that country. The extent to which power in Pakistan is being wielded by an intolerant section, in league with some in centres of power, is frightening. The drift towards radicalism and intolerance that began with the jehad in the 1980s has now become a tidal wave which many outside Pakistan fail to recognise or accept.

(Vikram Sood is former Secretary, Research & Analysis Wing)

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Beyond Pakistan’s 9/11 —Suroosh Irfani

View: Beyond Pakistan’s 9/11 —Suroosh Irfani
Daily Times, December 31, 2007

Telescoped into Bhutto’s assassination is an ongoing struggle within Islam that globalisation is bringing to a head. In all probability, Bhutto has dealt with this crisis in her forthcoming book that attempts at reconciling Islam and modernity

Benazir Bhutto’s assassination on December 27, 2007 virtually amounts to Pakistan’s 9/11. As the country was rattled by shock, disbelief and outrage, Baitullah Mehsud, Al Qaeda’s chief in Pakistan, and a cleric in Waziristan were congratulating each other on Bhutto’s killing, as indicated by the transcript of a telephonic conversation between the two released by the government on Friday.

The terrorists had every reason to be jubilant: they had silenced the one voice that consistently warned of the grave danger religious extremism posed to Pakistan’s viability as a modern democratic state. Indeed, the struggle for democracy for Bhutto was inseparable from reclaiming the ‘real Pakistan’ from the encroachments of religious extremists. This had become clear from the moment of her return after 8 years of exile on October 18, 2007. Overwhelmed by the rapturous welcome of her People’s Party supporters at Karachi airport, she declared, “This is the real Pakistan...not the militants, nor the military...we are giving voice to the moderates that don’t want to see this country taken over by terrorists”.

However, the festive mood of the welcoming crowd reflected only one face of the ‘real Pakistan’ — the pluralism of devotional Sufism factored into mass politics. Another face was Jinnah’s mausoleum symbolising the founding father’s modernist vision, where her procession was headed but never made it because of the suicide bombing. The disruption of her rally simply mirrored Pakistan’s reality: a rudderless society held hostage by religious extremism. In such a milieu, her assassination was a story foretold.

Even so, blaming President Musharraf or a security lapse for the assassination would miss the larger picture. As noted in a Daily Times news analysis (“Who killed Benazir Bhutto?” December 29, 2007) Bhutto’s assassination also needs to be seen as part of the crisis of globalisation — where the free flow of capital, technology and information is changing the way people think and live and creating tensions between tradition and modernity — of which the bombings of girls’ schools in Swat and Waziristan is one example.

Telescoped into Bhutto’s assassination is an ongoing struggle within Islam that globalisation is bringing to a head. In all probability, Bhutto has dealt with this crisis in her forthcoming book that attempts at reconciling Islam and modernity and where she hopes to present Pakistan as “a positive model for 1 billion Muslims around the world”. A theme that also resonates though her campaign manifesto calling for “a moderate and modern Islam that marginalises religious extremists, treats all citizens and especially women with equal rights, selects its leaders by fair and free elections, and provides for transparent, democratic governance that addresses the social and economic needs of the people as its highest priority”.

Until such time that her book is published, it is useful to draw a leaf from Akbar Ahmed’s new book to help understand the nature of the crisis we are facing today. Entitled “Journey into Islam: Islam and the Crisis of Globalisation” (Penguin, 2007), Ahmed’s is an account and analysis of “how Muslims are constructing their religious identities” under the impact of globalisation and a ‘War on Terror’ that has heightened tensions between Muslims and the West on the one hand, and Muslims themselves on the other.

Ahmed analyses these tensions in terms of three ‘models’ of Islam, giving each model the name of an Indian city — Ajmer, Deoband and Aligarh. The names are broad generic terms for three different (and often conflicting) approaches to Islam worldwide.

The Ajmer model refers to “all those Muslims inspired by the Sufi and the mystical tradition within Islam”. Islamic figures in this model range from Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, founder of the Chishti Sufi order buried in Ajmer, Maulana Rumi, and Fethullah Gulen, a hafiz-e Quran who became “a great Sufi master himself through the inspiration of Maulana Rumi” and has millions of followers involved in educational reform.

Likewise, Aligarh, site of the first modern college founded in India, includes nineteenth century reformers like Syed Ahmed Khan in India and Muhammad Abduh in Egypt, the socialist and modernising leaders of the Middle East, and the democratic leaders of Malaysia. Aligarh, then, reflects “a broad but distinct modernist Muslim response to the world”. And whether they are devout or secular Muslims, followers of Aligarh share the desire to engage with modern ideas while preserving what to them is essential Islam.

As for Deoband, drawing its name from India’s leading madrassa founded in the 19th century, it refers to orthodox mainstream Islamic movements — the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas in the Middle East. Besides Ibn Tamiya in the past, these movements are identified with modern religious figures like Syed Qutb and Maulana Maududi. “Taliban, Osama bin Laden, and members of Al Qaeda also identify with the same spiritual lineage and argue that changes in the world are anathema to Islam, which can only be preserved by retreating to its beginnings, in the Prophet’s [pbuh] example and the Quran”.

At the same time, Ahmed’s models also reflect broad Muslim responses to one another. For example, “Ajmer followers think Deobandis are too critical of other faiths and too preoccupied with opposing mysticism, while they find Aligarh followers too concerned with the material world”. As for Aligarh, they view themselves as members of the Muslim vanguard who “perceive Ajmer as backward and dismiss Deoband as a rabble of ignorant clerics”. On their part, while Deoband followers are dismissive of the Ajmer model that they view as bordering on heresy, they are equally critical of Aligarh for being “too secular and too influenced by the West”.

The above models offer a lens for understanding why suicide bombers were targeting rallies of the People’s Party, even before Bhutto returned from exile. Going by Ahmed’s model, the October 18 and December 27 bombings of Bhutto and her supporters signified a ‘Deoband’ backlash against the twin targets of Ajmer and Aligarh: the carnivalesque PPP crowd signifying Ajmer, and Bhutto’s “campaign manifesto” reflecting Aligarh.

The graphic increase in Deobandi militancy reflected in the ongoing ‘jihad’ for enforcing Shariah in the northern areas of Pakistan is consonant with Ahmed’s observation that the Deoband model is gaining strength with the heightening of tensions between ‘Islam’ and America following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The three models, however, are not ‘watertight’ concepts — there is flexibility, overlap, and even creative transformation from one category to another. Ahmed cites Iqbal as an example of a creative synthesis of the three approaches.

As for Pakistan and the next elections, there is every possibility that the sympathy wave for Bhutto will make it possible for the Pakistan People’s Party to once again emerge as the largest party representing the federation. At the same time, a patch up between the two wings of the PPP is necessary to bring together all the Bhuttos on a single platform in the struggle that lies ahead.

Such a patch up seems all the more urgent at a moment when the ‘Trojan horse’ of extremism seems to run through the mindset of leaders and cadres of various other parties and sections of the ‘establishment’ — making one wonder if the nation’s yearning for fair and free elections will ever materialise at all.

Suroosh Irfani teaches Cultural Studies at National College of Arts, Lahore

Also See:
The Musharraf Problem by Barnett Rubin - WSJ

Democracy is best revenge



PPP demands UN probe into Benazir’s assassination
The News, December 30, 2007

NAUDERO: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the party of Pakistan's murdered opposition leader Benazir Bhutto called for a United Nations probe into the circumstances of Benazir slaying in a gun and suicide bomb attack Thursday.

PPP named her 19-year-old son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as its new leader Sunday and announced it would contest upcoming general elections.

Bilawal Bhutto, a student at Britain's Oxford University, was named party chairman at an emergency meeting, taking the reins of the party formerly led by his mother and grandfather, both of whom met violent deaths.

The party also appointed Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari as co-chairman.

"Democracy is the best revenge," Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told a chaotic news conference in the Bhutto family's ancestral home here, vowing the party's "long and historic struggle for democracy will continue with a new vigour."

Zardari said the Pakistan People's Party would take part in the scheduled January 8 parliamentary elections, seen as a key step in Pakistan's transition to civilian democracy. "We will go to elections," he told reporters.

The decisions came just three days after Bhutto's assassination at a rally stunned the nuclear-armed nation and left a void at the head of the PPP, the country's largest political party.

Taking part in the election has the potential to restore some much-needed stability after the street violence triggered by her slaying that has left at least 38 people dead.

The PPP meeting in the Bhutto family's ancestral home in Naudero, deep in southern Pakistan, began amid emotional scenes as thousands of mourners beat their chests in grief and denounced President Pervez Musharraf.

"Bilawal is the new chairman of the party and Asif Ali Zardari will assist him as co-chairman," a party official said.

It means the party leadership follows the bloodline for a third generation, some four decades after it was founded by Bilawal's grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a prime minister who was ousted and later hanged by the military.

Political commentator Najam Sethi said Zardari would "run the show to keep the place warm" for Bilawal, much like India's Sonia Gandhi for her son Rahul.

PPP vice president Makhdoom Amin Fahim and its Punjab provincial president Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will sit on a "advisory council" for their young leader, party officials said.

Also See:
Profile: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - BBC

Political reform Pakistan's only hope

Political reform Pakistan's only hope by Wendy Chamberlin and Marvin Weinbaum
The Sydney Morning Herald; December 31, 2007

Rarely in situations of such volatility as Pakistan faces today is the objective so clear. Pakistan needs stability. The greatest threat to the country derives from internal terrorism, lawlessness and fractured regional politics.

Can national stability best be secured through a strongman government of the kind offered by the President, Pervez Musharraf? Or is stability best guaranteed through a democratic election that restores civilian rule committed to cracking down on extremist violence, building the rule of law and delivering services to the people? Benazir Bhutto promoted the second option. Tragically, she died doing so.

The former prime minister's assassination is being called a victory for the forces of extremism and a heavy setback for the cause of democracy. Her murder brought down an eloquent advocate for both a progressive state and society and more aggressive policies against al-Qaeda and domestic terrorists.

Many may argue for proceeding with the parliamentary elections scheduled for tomorrow week. The hope is that free and fair elections could calm the anger over the events of last week and prevent a return to military dictatorship.

The trouble with this thinking is that most Pakistanis believe the election process is already unfree and unfair. Changes Musharraf made to the courts and constitution during the recent six weeks of emergency rule had tilted the process in his favour long before Bhutto was killed. These elections are already too tainted to win public credibility.

We believe the path to a stable Pakistan does begin with elections, but not through the process that is unfolding. What Pakistan needs is a pause and then a bold regrouping. Elections are an opportunity, however challenging, to change the tenor and course of the country's politics - of being a transforming event.

If Musharraf is to remain president, he should reach out to all political parties in a spirit of national reconciliation. This represents the best hope of saving Pakistan from an extended period of instability. His first step should be to name a neutral caretaker government, one whose members are selected on the basis of consultation with the major political groups.

Musharraf would instantly win national approval if he reappointed the Supreme Court justices he deposed during emergency rule; this would be a magnanimous gesture of his commitment to building an independent judiciary. A new federal election commission, willing and capable of enforcing its own regulations, must be named, and the present campaigning restrictions must be lifted. The authorities should also update the jerry-built electoral rolls to better insure against disenfranchising some voters and allowing others to cast fraudulent ballots.

Government limitations on media coverage of politics should be lifted. Most critical, the administration of elections must be taken out of the hands of local officials, many of whom are loyal to the governing party above all else.

Ideally, out of this new political chemistry another breed of leaders will emerge - one defined by a commitment to democratic principles and values rather than family or regional affiliation. From its current low point, Pakistan has a rare chance for renewal or, even more boldly, reinvention.

An election held without these changes would result in victors who lack credibility and would almost certainly provoke a violent backlash. Reforming the process and establishing ground rules among the parties in a new political compact will take months. But these changes can be conducted in a spirit of inclusion and transparency so that a longer process of change does not appear as just an excuse for extending Musharraf's dictatorial powers. Above all, the military must stand back from the political scene and exercise its legitimate role of defending the nation and constitution.

The US role in Pakistan is delicate. Our relationship is with the Pakistani people, not one man or one institution. Our close embrace of Musharraf (and, to an extent, Bhutto) contributes to his unpopularity and to low US approval ratings in Pakistan. We must support honest attempts to foster reconciliation across civil society. Above all, the US must not be seen to be engineering a political outcome. This is the surest way to undermine what we are hopeful of achieving. The US has a high stake in Pakistan's stability, but we must leave the selection of Pakistan's leaders to the Pakistani people.

Wendy Chamberlin is a former US ambassador to Pakistan; Marvin Weinbaum is a former State Department Pakistan analyst.

Also See:
The Mourning After - By Hussain Haqqani, Indian Express - December 30, 2007
In pictures: More Pakistan unrest - BBC
Pakistan inches back to 'normal' - AFP
Pakistan's flawed and feudal princess - William Dalrymple, The Observer
My long journey with a vulnerable but brave charmer By Jason Burke - The Observer

Killers of Benazir Bhutto


This series of pictures obtained exclusively by Dawn television channel from an amateur photographer show the alleged shooter who fired at former premier Benazir Bhutto before another man blew himself up near her vehicle. The channel said the images matched the video released by the Interior Ministry a day earlier. daily times

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Analyzing Various Theories About 'Who Killed Benazir"



'You Can Name Musharraf As My Assassin If I Am Killed': Benazir
Her exchange of e-mails with a confidant shows Benazir was on the verge of exposing an ISI operation to rig the January 8 election
by Amir Mir; OutlookIndia.com - December 29, 2007

O n November 13, 2007, I had a one-to-one meeting with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto at the Lahore residence of Senator Latif Khosa. She said she had no doubt about the people who had masterminded the attack on her on October 18, the day she had returned to Pakistan from exile. Benazir told me, "I have come to know after investigations by my own sources that the October 18 bombing was masterminded by some highly-placed officials in the Pakistani security and intelligence establishments who had hired an Al Qaeda-linked militant—Maulvi Abdul Rehman Otho alias Abdul Rehman Sindhi—to execute the attack." She said three local militants were hired to carry out the attack under the supervision of Abdul Rehman Sindhi, an Al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militant from the Dadu district of Sindh.

Before Benazir arrived in Pakistan, Sindhi had been mysteriously released from prison, where he had been incarcerated for his role in the May '04 bombing of the US Cultural Centre in Karachi. She said she subsequently wrote a letter naming her would-be assassins. When I asked her who the recipient of the letter was and whether she had named Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as well, she had smiled and said, "Mind one thing, all those in the establishment who stand to lose power and influence in the post-election set-up are after me, including the General. I can't give you further details at this stage. However, you can name Musharraf as my assassin if I am killed."

Twenty-four hours after Benazir was assassinated, Asia Times Online , a Hong Kong-based web newspaper, reported that Al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for her killing, further adding that the death squad consisted of Punjabi associates of the underground anti-Shi'ite militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, operating under Al Qaeda orders. "We terminated the most precious American asset who had vowed to defeat the mujahideen." These were the words of one Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a top Al Qaeda commander for the Afghanistan operations as well as an Al Qaeda spokesperson. "This is our first major victory against those (Benazir and Musharraf) who have been siding with infidels (the West) in the fight against Al Qaeda..." Interestingly enough, Sindhi—the person whom Benazir had named in our conversation—is an LeJ member.

But few here believe LeJ could have managed to carry out the attack without assistance from sections in the establishment. Analysts believe Al Qaeda has become a convenient smokescreen to explain motivated attacks on political rivals. The question people are asking is: What motive could the establishment have in killing Benazir?

Top political sources told Outlook that hours before Benazir was assassinated, she was on the verge of exposing an ISI operation to rig the January 8 general election. They say she had been collecting incontrovertible proof about a rigging cell allegedly established at an ISI safe house in Islamabad. The cell was tasked with changing the election results in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) on the day of the polling. Sources say a close confidant of Benazir had sent an e-mail message on December 25 to her address—sazdubai@ emirates.net.ae—informing her that Brigadier Riazullah Khan Chib was working in tandem with Intelligence Bureau director Brigadier General (retd) Ejaz Hussain Shah to manipulate election results.The PML-Q (a party of Musharraf loyalists) was in power before the National Assembly was dissolved, and was the instrument through which Musharraf had ruled Pakistan over the last five years.

The e-mail message to Benazir said the so-called Election Monitoring Cell was to ensure that ballot papers in over 100 constituencies of Punjab and Sindh were stamped in favour of the PML-Q. These ballot papers were to be stamped at the ghost polling stations established in the provincial headquarters of the ISI and the IB, and were to be counted before the presiding officers were to announce the results. "All this is being done because of the fact that Musharraf simply can't afford a hostile parliament as a result of the 2008 polls," the e-mail message said.

Benazir replied to the e-mail message from her Blackberry the same day. She wrote, "I was told that the ISI and the MI have been asked not to meddle. But I will doublecheck." On December 27 at 1.12 pm, a few hours before she was assassinated, Benazir sent a mail to the confidant asking, "I need the address of the safe house (in Islamabad) as well as the phone numbers of the concerned. Pl try and obtain ASAP. Mbb, Sent from my BlackBerry(r) wireless device."
The confidant wrote back at 3:06, "I have re-checked the information with the same source which earlier said the ISI and the MI have been asked not to meddle. The source claims that Brigadier Riazullah Khan Chib retired from the ISI a few months ago but was re-employed, since he belongs to the arm of the artillery and considered close to Musharraf who too comes from the same wing of the army. The source says Chib's cover job is somewhere else but he is actually supervising a special election cell which is working in tandem with the chief of the Intelligence Bureau. I have further been told that Brigadiers Ejaz Shah and Riaz Chib are close friends because of their having served (in) Punjab as the provincial heads of the ISI and the Punjab regional director of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) respectively in the past. Both are considered to be loyalists of the Chaudhries..." It was the powerful Chaudhry brothers of Punjab province (Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi) who spawned the PML-Q after engineering a split in the PML (Nawaz).

T he confidant's message further stated: "The rigging cell/safe house in question is located on Shahra-e-Dastoor, close to the Pakistan House Bus Stop in Sector G-5 of Islamabad. It is a double-storey building, without inscribing any address, as is the case with most of safe houses. The cell consists of some retired and serving intelligence officials, which will show its magic on the election-day. Let me further inform you that Musharraf had granted Sitara-e-Imtiaz Military to Brig (Retd) Riaz Chib on December 17, 2007, for his meritorious services in operational field. Before his retirement, Chib was in charge of the ISI-led Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB) which used to deal with the internal security matters, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan."

Weeks before her return on October 18, Benazir had been accusing Ejaz Shah of plotting to kill her. She told me in our meeting that she was in London when she was told about the conspiracy to assassinate her. She then added, "Having come to know of the plot, I instantly wrote a letter to General Musharraf, naming those in the establishment possibly conspiring to kill me, seeking appropriate action. However, it did not occur to me then that I was actually committing a blunder and signing my own death warrant by not naming Musharraf himself as my possible assassin.It later dawned upon me that Musharraf could have possibly exploited the letter to his advantage and ordered my assassination." Following the October 18 attack, it was disclosed that Shah was one of the three persons whom Benazir had named in her letter to Musharraf.

However, a week before my conversation with Benazir, a high-level meeting reportedly presided over by Musharraf in Islamabad had already dismissed her accusations as "childish". Those who participated in the meeting were informed that the suicide attack on Benazir bore the hallmarks of Al Qaeda, arguing that she has incurred the wrath of militants because of her support for the military operation against the Red Mosque fanatics in Islamabad in July and for declaring that she would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to question the father of the Pakistani nuclear programme Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan about his proliferation activities.

Days before her return to Pakistan, Benazir told The Guardian that she felt the real danger to her came from fundamentalist elements in the Pakistan military and intelligence establishment opposed to her return. She scoffed at the assassination threats of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, saying, "I am not worried about Baitullah Mehsud. I am worried about the threat within the present government. People like Baitullah are mere pawns."

Asked in an interview on NBC a day later whether it was not risky to name a close friend of Musharraf (Shah) as being someone who's plotting against her, Benazir said: "Well, at that time I did not know whether there would be an assassination attempt that I would survive. And I wanted to leave on record the (name of) suspects. I also didn't know that he (Shah) was a friend of General Musharraf. But I asked myself that even if I knew that he was a friend and I thought of him as a suspect, would I have not written? No, I would have written."

But this isn't to say that investigations into the assassination of Benazir will reveal the names of those who masterminded it. Like all infamous assassination cases, the mastermind will remain a shadowy figure on whose role people will only speculate about in whispers.

Also See:
Robert Fisk: They don't blame al-Qa'ida. They blame Musharraf - The Independent, Dec 29, 2007
Bhutto's jihadist Enemies - Time, Dec 29, 2007
Benazir was warned by a friendly country - The News, Dec 29, 2007
Fatima Bhutto - Farewell to Wadi bua - The News, Dec 29, 2007
Why is Sindh Burning? - BBC Urdu
Videos Showing the Shooters - Teeth Maestro

Benazir Bhutto Tribute

The Making of a Murder in Pakistan



The making of a murder in Pakistan By Hassan Abbas
Zaman, Turkey, December 29, 2007; The Australian, Dec 31, 2007; Taipei Times, Taiwan, Dec 31, 2007; The Sunday Times, Srilanka - Dec 31; The Jodon Times, December 31, 2007

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the first Muslim woman to lead a Muslim country, is a serious blow to Pakistan’s prospects for democracy and, indeed, its viability as a state.

As chaos and confusion set in, we should not lose sight of President Pervez Musharraf’s partial responsibility for this turn of events. At the very least, he cannot be absolved from his government’s failure to provide Bhutto with adequate security.

Instead, Bhutto had to pay with her life for courageously challenging extremists of all stripes -- from al-Qaeda and Taliban to the country’s religious political parties and military hardliners.

As heir to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the legendary democratic leader who was hanged by Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq’s government in 1979, Benazir emerged as a symbol of resistance at a young age -- but languished in jails and exile in the 1980s. Z. A. Bhutto’s legacy was empowerment of the impoverished and defense of ordinary people’s rights amid feudalistic politics and military rule. Rather than bowing to the military junta, he embraced the gallows.

Hours before his hanging, Benazir was allowed to see her father for the last time, writing in her autobiography: “I told him on my oath in his death cell, I would carry on his work.” She largely lived up to the promise.

Her first stint as prime minister (1988-90) was brief and disorganized. Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, the former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, confirmed that he sponsored an alliance of right-wing political parties to stop her from getting a parliamentary majority. Information about Pakistan’s nuclear program and ISI operations in Afghanistan were out of her domain.

Her second term in office (1993-96) was longer and better, but her government again fell early, owing to charges of mismanagement and corruption. In reality, machinations by the intelligence agencies also played a part. The military had developed an entrenched distrust of her, given her position as a popularly supported pro-Western leader who wanted peace with India.

After almost a decade in self-imposed exile, Bhuto’s return to Pakistan in October gave her a fresh political start. Pakistan had changed, as military dictatorship and religious extremism in the north played havoc with the fabric of society. A tentative arrangement with Musharraf, together with Western support -- particularly from the United Kingdom and the United States -- eased her return, which hundreds of thousands of people welcomed, though terrorists greeted her with a string of suicide bombings.

Bhutto’s contacts with Musharraf’s military government drew criticism, but she remained adamant that a return to democracy was possible only through a transition in which Musharraf would give up his military post, become a civilian head of state, and conduct free and fair elections.

To the dismay of some democratic forces, Bhutto stayed the course even after Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3 and removed the country’s top judges to ensure his re-election. Indeed, she even persuaded other important political leaders to participate in the planned Jan. 8 election, which she viewed as an opportunity to challenge religious extremist forces in the public square. She seized that opportunity by bravely traveling throughout the country, despite serious threats to her life, arguing for a democratic and pluralistic Pakistan.

One can understand why religious extremists like Al-Qaeda and Taliban would target her, and the government claims that it is impossible to defend against a suicide attack. But Bhutto was reportedly killed by a sharp shooter before the terrorist blew himself up. So in the eyes of Pakistan’s people and especially of Bhutto’s supporters, the intelligence services, either alone or in collaboration with extremists, finally decided to eliminate her.

Whether or not the government was involved, the fact remains that Pakistan has lost a desperately needed leader. With Pakistan’s future in the balance, the West’s help and support will be crucial, but that means recognizing that Musharraf is not the only leader who can resolve Pakistan’s myriad problems and manage the war on terror. On the contrary, by nurturing the current environment of instability and uncertainty, Musharraf himself must be regarded as one of Pakistan’s biggest problems.

Hassan Abbas served in the administrations of both Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf. He is now a research fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is the author of “Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army and America’s War on Terror.” © Project Syndicate 2007

Also See:
Bhutto: Who ordered her killing? - BBC - December 29, 2007
Why I cried, at last - By Shaheen Sehbai - The News, December 30, 2007
Benazir Bhutto: the final interview By Rageh Omaar, Telegraph, Dec. 29, 2007
U.S. gave Bhutto intelligence on dangers she faced - Los Angeles Times - Dec 29, 2007
Picture at the top: From Los Angeles Times

Friday, December 28, 2007

Latest Analysis on Developing Situation in Pakistan...



THIS IS WHAT DAY 1 IN OUR CITY LOOKS LIKE WITHOUT HER
Daily Times, December 29, 2007

The void left behind by AHMED RASHID, Zaman, Turkey, December 29, 2007
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has left a huge political vacuum at the heart of this nuclear-armed state, which appears to be slipping into an abyss of violence and Islamic extremism.
The question of what happens next is almost impossible to answer, especially at a moment when Bhutto herself seemed to be the only answer.
Pakistanis are in shock. Many are numb and others are filled with unimaginable grief. Thousands have taken to the streets, burning vehicles and attacking police stations in an explosion of violence against the government. Bhutto’s death Thursday will almost certainly lead to the cancellation of the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections (already, the nation’s second-largest opposition party has called for a boycott if the vote is held) and the possible imposition of extraordinary measures by the military -- another state of emergency or even martial law. President Pervez Musharraf’s own political future has never been less certain.

For Complete text, click

Future Unclear After Bhutto Assassination
The killing of the former Prime Minister will hurt the army's reputation, but how Musharraf and others will proceed is still in question
by Manjeet Kripalani; BusinessWeek - December 28, 2007

A tragedy born of military despotism and anarchy By Tariq Ali, December 28, 2007
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto heaps despair upon Pakistan. Now her party must be democratically rebuilt

Benazir’s killing calculated attack on democracy, says sacked CJP - Daily Times, December 29, 2007

Tens of thousands attend Bhutto's burial, vow revenge - Chicago Tribune, December 28, 2007

Thursday, December 27, 2007

"We Will Not be Deterred" - Benazir's Memorable Quotes


‘We will not be deterred’- Benazir’s memorable quotes
Daily Times, December 28, 2007

* "I told him on my oath in his death cell, I would carry on his work." — Recalling a visit to her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, before his execution in 1979.

* “The primary message of the visit and the talks will be that freedom has returned to Pakistan. It is not only a success for the people of Pakistan but for all those who believe in freedom." — Preparing for a visit to the United States in 1989, a few months after she first took office as prime minister.

* “The voter has gotten more demanding. In 1988, the voters just wanted democracy. Our campaign was much more general then. Now we are more specific." — 1993 Associated Press interview on her ultimately successful bid for re-election. She had been ousted in 1990.

* “I always said that I was innocent and a victim of a politically motivated trial." — Commenting in 2001 when her 1999 conviction on corruption charges was suspended and a new trial ordered.

* “I haven’t given myself away. I belong to myself and I always shall." — Vowing in 1987 that her arranged marriage to Karachi businessman Asif Ali Zardari would not upstage her political career.

* “Democracy needs support and the best support for democracy comes from other democracies. Democratic nations should ... come together in an association designed to help each other and promote what is a universal value — democracy." — 1989 speech at Harvard University.

* “We have to modify our campaign to some extent because of the suicide bombings. We will continue to meet the public. We will not be deterred." — In October, shortly after narrowly escaping a suicide bombing on her return to Pakistan from an eight-year exile.

Also See:
How many Bhuttos will you kill? - Daily Times
Bhutto Knew a Return to Pakistan Was Risky - NPR
Harvard classmates, local Pakistanis mourn Bhutto - Boston Globe
Bhutto's death rocks Pakistan - Christian Science Monitor
Utter, Utter Horror - The News

See Some Videos from www.fora.tv:
Benazir at CFR
Benazir at the Oxonian Society
Benazir at IISS

Bhutto's Legacy

Bhutto's Legacy
By HUSAIN HAQQANI; Wall Street Journal December 28, 2007

Benazir Bhutto's tragic assassination highlights the fears about Pakistan that she voiced over the last several months. Years of dictatorship and sponsorship of Islamist extremism have made this nuclear-armed Muslim nation of 160 million people a safe haven for terrorists that threaten the world. Bhutto had the courage and vision to challenge both the terrorism and the authoritarian culture that nurtured it. Her assassination has already exacerbated Pakistan's instability and uncertainty.

Riots have been reported from several parts of the country as grief has fanned anger against a government that is deeply unpopular. As Pakistanis mourn the death of a popular democratic leader, the United States must review its policy of trusting the military-dominated regime led by Pervez Musharraf to secure, stabilize and democratize Pakistan.

The U.S. should use its influence, acquired with more than $10 billion in economic and military aid, to persuade Pakistan's military to loosen its grip on power and negotiate with politicians with popular support, most prominently Bhutto's successors in her Pakistan People's Party. Instead of calibrating terrorism, as Mr. Musharraf appears to have done, Pakistan must work towards eliminating terrorism, as Bhutto demanded.

The immediate consequence of the assassination will likely be postponement of the legislative elections scheduled for Jan. 8. Bhutto's party led in opinion polls, followed by the opposition faction of the conservative Pakistan Muslim League (PML), led by Nawaz Sharif. Immediately after Bhutto's assassination, Mr. Sharif announced that he is now joining the boycott of the polls called by several smaller political parties. If Mr. Musharraf goes ahead with elections, it is unlikely that it would have much credibility.

In her death, as in her life, Benazir Bhutto has drawn attention to the need for building a moderate Muslim democracy in Pakistan that cares for its people and allows them to elect its leaders. The war against terrorism, she repeatedly argued, cannot be won without mobilizing the people of Pakistan against Islamist extremists, and bringing Pakistan's security services under civilian control.

Unfortunately, at the moment Bhutto's homeland (and mine) remains a dictatorship controlled through secret police machinations. Mr. Musharraf's regime has squandered its energies fighting civilian democrats instead of confronting the menace of terrorism that has now claimed the life of one of the nation's most popular political figures. His administration will have to answer many tough questions in the next few days about its failure to provide adequate security to Bhutto, particularly after an earlier assassination attempt against her on Oct. 18.

The suicide bombing on that day, marking her homecoming after eight years in exile, claimed the lives of 160 people, mainly Bhutto supporters. But the government refused to accept Bhutto's requests for an investigation assisted by the FBI or Scotland Yard, both of which have greater competence in analyzing forensic evidence than Pakistan's notoriously corrupt and incompetent law enforcement.

The circumstances of the first assassination attempt remain mired in mystery and a complete investigation has yet to take place. Television images soon after Bhutto's assassination showed fire engines hosing down the crime scene, in what can only be considered a calculated washing away of forensic evidence.

Bhutto had publicly expressed fears that pro-extremist elements within Pakistan's security services were complicit in plans to eliminate her. She personally asked me to communicate her concerns to U.S. officials, which I did. But instead of addressing those fears, Mr. Musharraf cynically rejected Bhutto's request for international security consultants to be hired at her own expense. This cynicism on the part of the Pakistani authorities is now causing most of Bhutto's supporters to blame the Musharraf regime for her tragic death.

In her two terms as prime minister -- both cut short by military-backed dismissals on charges that were subsequently never proven -- Bhutto outlined the vision of a modern and pluralistic Muslim state. Her courage was legendary. She stepped into the shoes of her populist father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, without much training or inclination for politics, after he was executed by an earlier military ruler, Gen. Zia ul-Haq.

She was demonized by the civil-military oligarchy that has virtually run Pakistan since 1958, the year of Pakistan's first military coup. But she retained a hard core of popular support, and her social-democratic Pakistan People's Party is widely regarded as Pakistan's largest political party.

In 1988, at the age of 35, Bhutto became the youngest prime minister in Pakistan's troubled history, and the first woman to lead a Muslim nation in the modern age. For her supporters, she stood for women's empowerment, human rights and mass education. Her detractors accused her of many things, from corruption to being too close to the U.S.

During her second tenure as prime minister, Pakistan became one of the 10 emerging capital markets of the world. The World Health Organization praised government efforts in the field of health. Rampant narcotics problems were tackled and several drug barons arrested. Bhutto increased government spending on education and 46,000 new schools were built.

Thousands of teachers were recruited with the understanding that a secular education, covering multiple study areas (particularly technical and scientific education), would improve the lives of Pakistanis and create job opportunities critical to self-empowerment. But Pakistan's political turbulence, and her constant battle with the country's security establishment, never allowed her to take credit for these achievements.

For years, her image was tarnished by critics who alleged that she did not deliver on her promise. During the early days after Mr. Musharraf's decision to support the U.S.-led war against terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11, conventional wisdom in Washington wrote her off. But Pakistan's constant drift into extremism, and Mr. Musharraf's inability to win Pakistani hearts and minds, changed that.

Earlier this year, the United States and the United Kingdom supported efforts for a transition to democracy in Pakistan based on a negotiated settlement between Bhutto and Mr. Musharraf. She was to be allowed to return to Pakistan and the many corruption charges filed against her and her husband, Asif Zardari, were to be dropped.

Mr. Musharraf promised free and fair elections, and promised to end a bar imposed by him against Bhutto running for a third term as prime minister. But on Nov. 3, his imposition of a state of emergency, suspension of Pakistan's constitution, and arbitrary reshuffling of the country's judiciary brought that arrangement to an end. He went back on his promises to Bhutto, and as elections approached, recrimination between the two was at its height.

Benazir Bhutto had the combination of political brilliance, charisma, popular support and international recognition that made her a credible democratic alternative to Mr. Musharraf. Her elimination from the scene is not only a personal loss to millions of Pakistanis who loved and admired her. It exposes her nation's vulnerability, and the urgent need to deal with it.

Mr. Haqqani, a professor at Boston University and co-chair of the Hudson Institute's Project on Islam and Democracy, is the author of "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military" (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005). He has served as adviser to several Pakistani prime ministers, including Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir Assassination...



Benazir Bhutto, 54, Lived in Eye of Pakistan Storm
By JANE PERLEZ and VICTORIA BURNETT; New York times, December 27, 2007

Charismatic, striking and a canny political operator, Benazir Bhutto, 54, was reared in the violent and turbulent world of Pakistani politics and became the country’s and the Muslim world’s first female prime leader.

A deeply polarizing figure, the “daughter of Pakistan” was twice elected prime minister and twice expelled from office in a swirl of corruption charges that propelled her into self-imposed exile in London for much of the past decade. She returned home this fall, billing herself as a bulwark against Islamic extremism and a tribune of democracy.

For Complete Story, click here

Bhutto's death heightens democracy concerns
Story Highlights - CNN - December 27, 2007
NEW: Musharraf blames terrorists; appeals for solidarity, cooperation
Karzai says Bhutto "sacrificed her life for the sake of Pakistan"
Bush calls on Pakistan to honor Bhutto by continuing democratic process
Defying death threats, ex-PM Benazir Bhutto killed after bombing at rally


(CNN) -- World leaders reacted with shock and condemnation Thursday to the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, some expressing concern about the nation's democratic process.

The opposition leader died after a suicide bombing at a political rally in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi ahead of parliamentary elections set for January 8.

President Bush, vacationing at his Texas ranch, condemned the assassination as a "cowardly act by murderous extremists." See Bhutto shortly before her death »

Bush urged Pakistan to "honor Benazir Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life." Watch Bush condemn the killing »

In Washington, the State Department also condemned the attack. "It shows people are still intent on undermining democracy in Pakistan," said deputy spokesman Tom Casey.

Pakistan -- which maintains nuclear weapons -- has been a key ally of the United States during its war against al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in neighboring Afghanistan. Watch assassination aftermath »

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had met with Bhutto just hours before her death.

Karzai said Bhutto "sacrificed her life for the sake of Pakistan, and for the sake of this region." She had "love and desire for peace in Afghanistan, for prosperity in Afghanistan, and for Afghanistan and Pakistan that would be happy, prosperous and have good relations with each other," said the Afghan president.

For Complete Story, click here

Also See:
Benazir - Life History: Time, December 27, 2007
An assassin strikes - Economist

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated


Bhutto Killed in Suicide Attack on Election Rally
By Naween A. Mangi and Khalid Qayum

Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister, died of injuries sustained in a suicide bomb attack on an election rally in Rawalpindi. She was 54.

``She's dead,'' a Bhutto aide, Imran Hayat, said as he sobbed in a telephone interview from Rawalpindi General Hospital, where she was treated after the blast. At least 15 people were killed in the bombing and more than 60 injured, police said.

The opposition leader survived an assassination attempt on the night of her return to Pakistan in October after eight years in self-imposed exile. At least 136 people died when suicide bombers attacked her welcome procession on Oct. 19 in Karachi, where thousands of supporters had gathered to receive her.

Harvard and Oxford-educated Bhutto was born in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, and was the eldest of two sisters and two brothers. She is survived by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, son Bilawal and two daughters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa.

Bhutto attributed her interest in politics to the assassination of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the prime minister overthrown by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in a 1977 military coup.

Zia ul-Haq went on to become president in 1978. The elder Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was hanged in 1979 after his conviction on charges of authorizing the murder of an opponent. Both Bhutto's brothers were also murdered.

`It Chose Me'

``I didn't choose this life, it chose me,'' Bhutto wrote in the preface to the second edition of her autobiography, Daughter of the East, in April 2007. ``Born in Pakistan, my life mirrors its turbulence, its tragedies and its triumphs. Pakistan is no ordinary country. And mine has been no ordinary life.''

Bhutto was imprisoned for five years, mostly in solitary confinement, just before her father's execution. She later lived in London, returning to Pakistan in 1986. She was married to a man from a land-owning family of agriculturists in 1987.

``An arranged marriage was the price in personal choice I had to pay for the political path my life had taken,'' she wrote in her autobiography. ``My own parents had married for love and I had grown up believing the day would come when I would fall in love and marry a man of my own choosing.''

Zia ul-Haq's dictatorship ended when he was killed in a plane crash in 1988. Bhutto then became the first elected woman prime minister of an Islamic nation. Her government was dismissed in 1990. She won a second term in 1993 and was dismissed once again on charges of corruption in 1996.

Managed Party

She had lived in Dubai and London since 1999 to avoid allegations of misstating her wealth and taking kickbacks on state contracts. While in exile, she spent time lecturing at universities and think-tanks around the world. She also remotely managed her party. None of the five charges against her received a court conviction.

Zardari, Bhutto's husband and a member of the senate, also spent over eight years in jail on 18 corruption cases. He was released in 2004 without any convictions.

Bhutto flew back to Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf, 64, gave her amnesty on the corruption charges and agreed to give up control of the military by Nov. 15. In return, Bhutto didn't object to him being re-elected president by parliament and he won another five-year term.

The former premier had said she would limit mass election rallies and campaign by telephone to avoid a repeat of the Oct. 19 terrorist attacks.

``We do not want to endanger our leadership unnecessarily, and we certainly don't want to risk potential mass murder of my supporters,'' Bhutto wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 23. ``If we don't campaign, the terrorists have won and democracy is set back further. If we do campaign, we risk violence. It is an extraordinary dilemma.''

Partnership

The U.S. backed a partnership between Bhutto and Musharraf. President George W. Bush banked on the relationship to return stability to a nuclear-armed country that, according to U.S. intelligence reports and officials, is failing to combat a growing Islamist threat.

``Bhutto symbolizes everything that's anathema to the extremists,'' Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said in a telephone interview. ``They want a Taliban-like theocratic state in Pakistan and she stands for democracy, modernity and change.''

Bhutto's moderate view of Islam and close contacts with the Bush administration made her a potential target for extremists in the world's largest Muslim nation after Indonesia. Islamic militants had threatened to assassinate Bhutto on her return from exile.

`A Symbol'

``I know that I am a symbol of what the so-called Jihadists, Taliban and al-Qaeda, most fear,'' she wrote. ``I am a female political leader fighting to bring modernity, communication, education and technology to Pakistan.''

The twin bombings on her return to Pakistan in October also injured more than 500 people in the deadliest attacks since Musharraf took power in a coup in 1999.

Musharraf had been informed that three people may be behind the attempts to kill her, Bhutto told reporters on Oct. 22, without identifying them.

``We will not be intimidated,'' she told reporters at her Karachi residence, Bilawal House. ``Despite the heavy loss we incurred, we will continue.''

Bhutto received a letter from ``friends of al-Qaeda'' on Oct. 23, threatening more suicide attacks, possibly using women bombers, her lawyer Farooq Naik said. Bhutto also said her houses in Karachi and Larkana in the southern province of Sindh were under threat.

Musharraf imposed emergency rule in Pakistan on Nov. 3 as the Supreme Court neared a decision on the legality of his re- election as head of state while also serving as army chief.

Bhutto called Musharraf's decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency a mini martial law and said it jeopardized her power-sharing talks with the army ruler.

To contact the reporters on this story: Naween A. Mangi in Karachi at nmangi1@bloomberg.net ; Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net

Pakistan & the "War on Terror" - New Items Worth Looking into

Pakistan's missing are doubly lost
With a Supreme Court installed by Musharraf, hundreds allegedly picked up by security forces have no champion in the judiciary.
By Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times, December 27, 2007

KARACHI, PAKISTAN -- Abid Raza Zaidi winces occasionally as he tells how police hung him upside down and beat him with leather straps to get him to confess to taking part in a deadly bombing in Karachi.

He remembers being forced to stand for hours without rest, and the strange serenity he felt when police said they had determined he was guilty and would execute him in the morning.

For Complete Story, click here

Karzai in Pakistan to Mend Ties
By SALMAN MASOOD and CARLOTTA GALL, New York Times, December 27, 2007

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan signaled an improvement in relations between their countries after an unusually cordial meeting here on Wednesday and called for greater cooperation in fighting terrorism.

For Complete Story, click here

EARLY WARNING by William Arkin
Washington Post, December 26, 2007
U.S. Troops to Head to Pakistan
Beginning early next year, U.S. Special Forces are expected to vastly expand their presence in Pakistan, as part of an effort to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency forces and clandestine counterterrorism units, according to defense officials involved with the planning.

These Pakistan-centric operations will mark a shift for the U.S. military and for U.S. Pakistan relations. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the U.S. used Pakistani bases to stage movements into Afghanistan. Yet once the U.S. deposed the Taliban government and established its main operating base at Bagram, north of Kabul, U.S. forces left Pakistan almost entirely. Since then, Pakistan has restricted U.S. involvement in cross-border military operations as well as paramilitary operations on its soil.

But the Pentagon has been frustrated by the inability of Pakistani national forces to control the borders or the frontier area. And Pakistan's political instability has heightened U.S. concern about Islamic extremists there.

According to Pentagon sources, reaching a different agreement with Pakistan became a priority for the new head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, Adm. Eric T. Olson. Olson visited Pakistan in August, November and again this month, meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen. Tariq Majid and Lt. Gen. Muhammad Masood Aslam, commander of the military and paramilitary troops in northwest Pakistan. Olson also visited the headquarters of the Frontier Corps, a separate paramilitary force recruited from Pakistan's border tribes.

Now, a new agreement, reported when it was still being negotiated last month, has been finalized. And the first U.S. personnel could be on the ground in Pakistan by early in the new year, according to Pentagon sources.

U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. William Fallon alluded to the agreement and spoke approvingly of Pakistan's recent counterterrorism efforts in an interview with Voice of America last week.

"What we've seen in the last several months is more of a willingness to use their regular army units," along the Afghan border, Fallon said. "And this is where, I think, we can help a lot from the U.S. in providing the kind of training and assistance and mentoring based on our experience with insurgencies recently and with the terrorist problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think we share a lot with them, and we'll look forward to doing that."

If Pakistan actually follows through, perhaps 2008 will be a better year.

Restoration of Pro-Nov 3 Judiciary Most Important

Looking beyond the polls
By I.A. Rehman: Dawn, December 27, 2007

WITH polling day less than a fortnight away, the greatest cause of anxiety among democratic-minded people is whether the anti-authoritarian stirrings of the past few months will survive the so-called general election. The question touches on the present society’s capacity for realising a democratic change as well as the direction of its strivings.

Whatever the outcome of the electoral exercise, it has already split the political community into two camps, one of them hoping for salvation by joining the process and the other by boycotting it. Neither camp apparently has a reason to be sanguine about its success.

Those joining the electoral race are crying themselves hoarse that the establishment is determined to rig the election and their inability to foil such designs will hardly be challenged. The boycott group argues that, instead of leading to a democratic dispensation, the election will only extend and legitimise authoritarian rule. But, regardless of the logic in its stand, this group too has not been able to demonstrate the strength needed to defeat the forces of the status quo.

That this division has weakened the democratic forces is quite obvious. The reasons that made unity among the parties professing adherence to representative rule impossible are now less important than the need to guard against the possibility of the rift continuing into the post-election period. Nobody should ignore the danger that those who come out on top in the election, howsoever it is conducted, or whoever are chosen by the establishment to lend it a democratic faƧade, may not be able to force the people’s agenda on their more powerful partners.

If that happens, those in assemblies and those outside will exhaust themselves fighting one another and thereby give a new lease of life to the autocracy that they should be fighting unitedly. Is it possible to ensure that after the polls the two camps will be able to jointly work for the restoration of democracy? Can the civil society elements out in the field — lawyers, media people, students — accomplish this?

The task has been made harder by the failure of political parties to nourish democratic ideals through regular contact with the masses during periods between elections. Lack of organised cadres has been the single most important cause of division on the boycott issue.

This is the fatal flaw in national politics that has enabled one authoritarian regime after another to make a mockery of civilised governance. And this is the truth the events of 2007 have laid bare, for what happened on Nov 3 constituted the greatest assault ever on the Pakistani people’s democratic rights. Now the restitution of the rights of the judiciary has been pushed to the top of the country’s agenda.

For more than 50 years political parties have tried to hide their lack of public support by shifting the responsibility of guarding democracy entirely to the judiciary. All parties, small ones as well as those that supposedly constitute the mainstream, have expected the courts to save them from the consequences of their sloth, lack of conviction and alienation from the people. And when, some months ago, the judiciary chose to fulfil its constitutional duty they were quick to assume that democracy had finally triumphed. It hadn’t.

The reality the political parties faced in November last was that they had exaggerated the role of the judiciary in enabling authoritarian regimes to stay in power as long as they did and to do whatever they had chosen to do, and that it was time they accepted the challenge of resisting autocracy, a challenge they could not pass on to any other institution or body of people.

The unity of pro-democracy forces the country needs will hinge on an understanding on the restoration of the judiciary to its pre-November 2007 status.

Unfortunately, some of the major players are reluctant to accept this formulation. The reasons vary from party to party. Some find it hard to overcome their subjective responses to the judiciary’s past performance while some others have consciously or unconsciously accepted the theory that the courts have been harrying the knights engaged in saving the world from terrorists. This complaint is similar to inefficient prosecutors’ protests at courts’ refusal to convict the accused without evidence and both grievances merit summary dismissal. The case for taking a stand on the restoration of the judiciary, on the other hand, can easily be summed up.

The mess one notices all around is largely due to the executive’s acts of omission and commission. It cannot possibly disown responsibility for first promoting militancy and then making a hash of the campaign to overcome it. It is also responsible for inviting judicial activism by neglecting its normal duties to the people. There would have been no need for the courts to reprimand the establishment’s privileged knights if the administration had rendered to the people what was due to them, if the police and security agencies had functioned within the law, if women had been protected from feudal brutality, and if bonded haris had been recognised as human beings.

The November attack on the judiciary has resulted in freeing a manifestly incompetent executive of any semblance of accountability. The consequences to the people are too grim to be ignored. Fears of an increase in police excesses and abuse of law to suit a predatory executive’s convenience are not unfounded. The restoration of the judiciary is necessary to repair the accountability bar to the executive’s actions that has wantonly been destroyed. The undoing of a wrong done to some justices is less important than the need to free the judiciary of its fears of an executive that recognises no limits to its powers.

More importantly, the people have been eagerly looking for means to make the polity immune to relapsing into absolute rule by the military after each spell of limited and strictly regulated representative governance. Progress towards this end demands, among other things, that elected representatives should be able to roll back the extra-democratic measures of authoritarian regimes. The idea is not unknown to students of Pakistan’s politics. The movement against Ayub Khan was aimed at ridding the country of the anti-democratic assumptions underlying the system of Basic Democracies and the so-called constitution of 1962. Similarly the prolonged agitation against the eighth amendment of Gen Zia was directed at demolishing institutionalised encroachments on democratic principles.

Now a large part of the population believes Pakistan will not be able to negotiate the crisis of the state unless the Nov 3 measures are expeditiously rolled back. Restoration of the judiciary is thus essential as the first step towards ensuring protection against any disruption of the constitutional order in future.

The people will forgive the boycott generals for challenging autocracy without gathering any soldiers behind them and the election-wallas their haste in coming to the executive’s rescue if they do not lose sight of the fact that the long-term survival of both depends on fighting for justice for the judiciary.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

JUI's Fazl Under Threat from Suicide Bombers - What Goes Around Comes Around!

Suicide attacker stalking Fazl
* Interior Ministry sends a letter to the JUI-F chief about threats of potential suicide attacks against him
Staff Report; Daily Times, December 27, 2007

islamabad: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maualna Fazlur Rehman has stopped attending public meetings in the wake of intelligence agencies’ reports that pro-Al Qaeda organisations in Pakistan are planning to kill him, presumably for his offering support to the United States against militants along the Durand Line.

Letter: Sources said that the Crisis Management Cell, after receiving reports from intelligence agencies, sent a letter to Fazl five days ago, revealing the threats of potential suicide attacks on him. The letter has also been forwarded to the provincial and federal authorities concerned.

The sources said that according to secret agencies’ reports Muhammad Tariq Musa, a resident of Multan, had been tasked to kill Fazl.

The reports said the Taliban had chosen Musa to kill the JUI-F chief because of the former’s proficiency in Seraiki and Pushto languages that will help him get into the processions of the Maulana.

The sources said Fazl did not attend a public meeting a few days ago due to fear of an attempt on his life. “Fazl has assured his former Taliban well-wishers that he is ready to remove all reservations of the Taliban,” the sources said.

The sources said that the Taliban believed Fazl supported the government in its operations against Lal Masjid, in Swat and Waziristan. “The Taliban believe that Fazl had supported the government in its operations against mujahideen during the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in the NWFP. They (Taliban) believe that in his recent meetings with US officials, including Ambassador Anne Patterson, Fazl had offered the US his support against militants and in return sought their help in becoming the prime minister of Pakistan,” the sources said.

Talking to Taliban?

Urgent talks on Afghan expulsions: BBC, December 26, 2007

Foreign officials in Afghanistan are in urgent discussions with the Afghan government over two diplomats who have been ordered to leave the country.
The men, based in Kabul, are accused of posing a threat to national security.


One is a high-ranking United Nations employee, the other was acting head of the EU mission in Afghanistan.

The expulsion order follows speculation that the men - one British, one Irish - had held talks with the Taleban in Helmand province in the south.

The Afghan government has given the pair 48 hours to leave.

But a spokesman for the UN in Afghanistan, Aleem Siddique, said the affair was a misunderstanding, which he hoped would be resolved.

Mr Siddique denied that the diplomats had been talking to Taleban militants.

He said they had been discussing the Afghan situation with all people on the ground to help the country's stability.

"We are currently trying to clarify the situation with the Afghan authorities, and we are hopeful that our staff member and the UN can continue with the essential work that is required to deliver peace, stability and progress to the people of Helmand province," Mr Siddique said.

Homayun Hamidzada, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said: "The foreign nationals have been declared persona non grata and their Afghan colleagues have been arrested and are being investigated."

He said they had been "involved in some activities that were not their jobs".

'Storm in a teacup'

Alastair Leithead, BBC correspondent in Kabul, says the two spoke to a lot of different groups across the country.

He says their role was to try to find out what was happening "on the ground" with tribal elders, government representatives and non-government representatives.

Officials have stressed these discussions should not be interpreted as support for the Taleban.

Our correspondent says people are describing the situation as a storm in a teacup which has been taken much further than expected.

A former Afghan Interior Minister, Ali Jalali, told the BBC that similar misunderstandings had happened before:

"Unco-ordinated moves by certain elements of the international community have caused problems in the past, which the Afghan government sees as undermining its sovereignty," he said.

"This issue is not going to be resolved unless the Afghan government and its international partners come up with a unified strategy and a shared vision," he added.

MI6 claims

Helmand province, where the two diplomats held talks with tribal leaders, is the heart of Afghanistan's drug-producing region, and the EU and UN have been playing a major role in the eradication programme.

Analysts say the poppy industry has been a primary reason for the Taleban's resurgence in the south of the country.

The row comes as a British newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, reports that members of Britain's secret intelligence service, MI6, held meetings during the summer with senior Taleban members in Afghanistan.

If true, this could prove embarrassing for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who just weeks ago told MPs that there would be no negotiations with members of the Taleban.

American Jews and Muslims Seek Paths to Peace

U.S. Jews, Muslims Seek Paths to Harmony
Council on American-Islamic Relations, 12/24/2007

Muslims and Jews, a tiny slice of the U.S. population, are looking for new ways to get along that could set a worldwide example for two ancient but often alienated faiths, religious leaders and experts say.

"I've encountered (among Muslims) a more centrist, a more moderate voice that is looking to the Jewish community to help project that voice ... to the greater world," said Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York, speaking of a national summit of imams and rabbis he helped organize earlier this year.

He also cited a recent incident in a New York subway "where four young Jews were being verbally and physically assaulted on a train for wishing the passengers a happy Hanukkah, and the only individual to come to their rescue was a young Muslim man," Hassan Askari, of Bangladeshi heritage, who was beaten.

"That is a very, very powerful example" of what can happen. The challenge is to try to strengthen Jewish-Muslim cooperation and have it serve as a paradigm for communities around the world," added Schneier, who founded the New York Synagogue in Manhattan and also the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

On another front, leaders of the Islamic Society of North America and the Union for Reform Judaism, representing respectively the largest U.S. Islamic organization and the largest organized Jewish segment in the country, have agreed on a tutorial for dialogue.

"We need to get the truth about each other from one another," said Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic group.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Reform group told his followers the two religions share "ancient monotheistic faiths, cultural similarities and, as minority religions in North America, experiences with assimilation and discrimination."