Part 1

THE ASSASSINATION OF BENAZIR BHUTTO

Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, as well as the daughter of a prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated on December 27, 2007.  Bhutto was “a member of one of the most prominent families in Pakistan,” (NY Times) but unfortunately her family was subject to terror, which led to the deaths of her father and two brothers. Bhutto was the first female, Pakistani prime minister at the age of 35 and ruled for 6 years before moving to London. When she returned, the country was in a chaotic state and it was very hard for her to fulfill her aspirations of change for the local community.

There was a lot of speculation regarding the terrorists and their group affiliation. Initially, Bhutto was blamed by the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf for causing her own death. Musharraf claimed that Bhutto unnecessarily stood outside of her car and that she was ultimately responsible for her own death.

            A couple of weeks later, it was revealed that messengers of the government killed Bhutto. Musharraf then blames Islamic extremists for the crime and denies any government involvement in the killing. Following this revelation, it was reported that the CIA blamed Al Qaeda and allies of a Pakistani tribal leader. Bhutto’s death also questions “the stability of Musharraf’s government” (The New York Times).

            On January 20,2008, a young Pakistani terrorist admitted that he had participated in killing Bhutto under the authority of Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist groups. Additionally, he said that he was 1 of 5 terrorists involved in the assassination. The terrorists were given a wide array of explosives and were also responsible for numerous other local, recent, attacks.

            Bhutto’s death put Pakistan in an even more precarious position and has caused Pakistan to fall into a worse political situation. The effects of her death included chaos and riots in the streets, and the loss of local trust in the Pakistani government.