Editorial
... And now confusion over how she died?
Postpone election and set new date agreed by all
Tragedy is being reduced to the ludicrous. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is shocking enough with ramifications not only for Pakistan but also for the region as a whole. But now the Pakistan government comes up with the questionable theory that the former prime minister died not from any gunshot wounds or bomb explosion but from hitting her head on the levers of the sunroof on her vehicle. A successful assassination has taken place, with three shots being fired at her before her assailant blew himself up. For the Islamabad authorities now to inform people that a hit on her head as she ducked killed her is not only bizarre but looks like a clear attempt to evade responsibility over their failure to ensure security for the PPP leader. What about all the eye-witness accounts, report by attending doctors, etc.
Pakistan is at the crossroads today. One way in which it can try tiding over the crisis is for the general elections scheduled for 8 January to be deferred for such time (but not too long a time) as will allow Pakistan's people and politicians to prepare for it in cool and composed manner. To expect that the elections can go ahead on schedule would be tantamount to imposing a decision on a country that is in shock and deep grief at the murder of inarguably its most popular political leader. Besides, Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party is in a state of disarray following her death and the Nawaz Sharif-led Muslim League has already decided to boycott the polls. In the circumstances, it will be prudent on the part of the government to get in touch with the PPP, the PML (N) and all other big parties in order to arrive at a consensus on an acceptable date for the elections. Meanwhile, the Pakistan authorities must go expeditiously into the job of following up on the evidence they say they have about an al-Qaeda link in the Bhutto assassination.
Continuing violence in the aftermath of the Bhutto assassination can only make conditions more fragile and tenuous than they are. If the country is not to mutate into a dysfunctional state, all stakeholders in its politics must come together to get their collective act together. The opposition, by rising to the occasion and taking part in the elections, must demonstrate that it is only an elected government than can combat terrorism and religious extremism in Pakistan.
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