SOROOR AHMED explores the vital question: who, as a result of elimination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, will be benefited.
What is important now is not how former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated – and this may perhaps never be known – but who will be benefited by her death and who will be the sufferer. The Pakistan People’s Party, no doubt, has lost its leader and may never recover again as it is a typical family-centric party, but even bigger loser may be the country of Pakistan as such. Though Islam is too supreme an ideology, such killings are certainly a futile attempt to tarnish its image as well.
People all over the world know (now late) Benazir, her close ties with the West, especially after her return from exile, her limitations, her good and bad qualities. Similarly most Pakistanis are still aware of the negative and positive contributions his father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, made to his country.
The issue certainly here is not just Benazir Bhutto or her family. The biggest question is whether the so-called Pakistani Taleban – who in fact came to power in Afghanistan on September 27, 1996 during Benazir’s second term as Prime Minister – will really be benefited by her killing, when her graph had gone down considerably after her clandestine deal with General Musharraf. Till her last day many objective Pakistani analysts were writing that she and Musharraf are indulging in only shadow-boxing and that actually they have been forced to enter into an understanding by the United States.
Instead an interesting story was circulated by the global media on the day she was buried: that Al-Qaida had taken the responsibility because of her proximity with the West. But interestingly hardly anyone in Pakistani media questioned as to who had taken the responsibility for the shoot-out in Nawaz Sharif’s meeting only minutes before attack on Benazir and in which too four people were killed. That attack too was quite a serious issue which got buried because of the murder of Benazir. What is strange is that the Pakistani-Taleban strongly denied their involvement by stating that they do not target women. They made the similar denial when they were accused of October 19 blast after Benazir arrived from self-exile.
If Pakistani-Taleban are not benefited and strongly refuted the charge then the other question is what will Musharraf gain by her elimination? Though he is under attack from all sides, he is not going to gain much either. And if his men are really behind the liquidation of Benazir then this would be the most foolish decision he had ever taken in his life. Then again the other question is as to who was behind the attack on Nawaz’s gathering the same day and on the meeting of Pakistan Muslim League (Q), the so-called ruling party, a day later. In this blast too so many people lost their lives.
If the Pakistani-Taleban, the so-called ally of Al-Qaida, and Musharraf are not behind all these above activities then who is manipulating the whole game? After all who are the people benefited by the turmoil in Pakistan? Certainly, the enemies of that country – obviously the United States of America and its stooge, Israel. And of course elements within Pakistani establishment not in control of Musharraf.
If Pakistan is thrown into disorder and chaos, the greatest beneficiaries, at least, today are the United States, Israel and their other allies. The happiest people on earth will be none else but George Bush-II and company. They then do not need to send any force to that country to wage the so-called ‘war on terror’.
Benazir’s killers wanted to hit several birds with one stone. Not only is there a plan to throw that country into civil war, the attackers also wanted to ensure that the people’s ire is directed against the Islamists of all hue and colour – even those who are peacefully taking part in the electoral process and are in power in two states of that country. The Muttehida Majlis Amal (MMA), an alliance of all the religious parties belonging to different sects, is quite influential in NWFP and Baluchistan. Yet the global media completely black-out their activities.
The tragedy with Pakistan, it seems, is that nobody is prepared to lend his/her ears to serious issues. As in many other countries of the world, the omnipresent tribe of media-persons, in a mad rush to outwit each other, comes out with ‘exclusive’ stories moments after every such earth-shaking incidents take place. Instead of going deep into these questions they end up sensationalising the whole issue. They even do not understand that at times they knowingly or unknowingly serve the very purpose of their western masters.
Three hours after the killing of Benazir Bhutto, former ISI chief, Lt Gen (Retired) Hameed Gul, arguably that country’s most seasoned security expert, while talking to IndiaTV refused to jump to any conclusion. He said that it would be pre-mature to say just now how and in which circumstances she was actually killed. But on the other hand many Pakistani scribes – half of his age and experience – had by then woven stories and theories on what ‘actually’ happened. However, he clearly said that Pakistani Taleban may not be involved as they came to power during Benazir’s reign and they had nothing to do with her. But Gen Gul questioned as to why the whole spot, where Benazir was killed, was washed off within a couple of hours after the incident. He made it very clear that it may be the act of the enemy of Pakistan.
Whatever may be his version the media-persons sometimes so quickly sum up the whole theories that sometimes even myself, with having two decades of experience in journalism, start pondering as to whether they have some sources sitting in God’s secretariat, who provide them such accurate information so quickly. True, the government machinery does manipulate things, but this does not mean that the whole issue should be spoilt in the name of filing quick stories. Who knows a handful of these stories are planted by some vested interests in the media. Who does not know that many such suicide bombings are simply time-bomb explosions carried by some international – or even local – agencies.