My sister called me up this evening and said that Benazir Bhutto was dead, she was killed… I was shocked, and my immediate reaction was of disbelief. By the time I could ask how, when, who?? my sister had hung up. I rushed home and joined Dad and Mom who were glued to news channels. For once, Mom too had sacrificed her serials!!!
Allegations of corruptions apart, Benazir was a woman I admired as a truly charismatic leader. I still remember my school days when I would keenly pay attention to the smart, young, fearless lady addressing rallies and promising to lead Pakistan. She in fact that went on to become a woman Prime Minister of a hard core Islamic nation (that too one with a mind of her own, not a mere puppet!). Whenever she spoke, whether to the large masses in rallies or in interviews on Television, she was always confident and poised. A truly charismatic leader! She spoke with conviction and dignity.
Another fact that I admired about her was that she was well-educated (learnt today that she went to Harvard and Oxford) and often spoke of the need to improve the deplorable state of women in Islamic nations. A moderate Islamist, she was one of the best options that Pakistan had in a scenario where one was trying to establish democracy.
She didn’t lose heart, inspite of having had to face a troubled personal life, with her father Zulfikar Bhutto being executed and her brothers assassinated.
Her assassination was totally unexpected, especially at this point in time, when there were signs of democracy being restored in Pakistan. Just when India and rest of the world thought that the storm in Pakistan was finally beginning to settle, the nation is caught up in yet another turmoil. This incident will have strong repercussions not only on Pakistan’s efforts to bring in peace and order and on Indo-Pak relations, but also on the global war against terrorism...