Benazir Bhutto - SZABIST

Bhutto's assassination could be a setback to populist-democratic forces. But it also has the potential to
mobilize strong backlash against the militarist and overly centralized paradigm of the Pakistani state.
Getting through elections that his King's Party would almost certainly lose if they were fair is not the
only challenge facing Musharraf right now. With the help and support of the military, he can weather
any immediate challenge to his authority. But Bhutto's murder adds to Musharraf's legitimacy
problems.
Her 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 who threaten the world. She had the courage
and vision to challenge both terrorism and the authoritarian culture that nurtured it. Her assassination
has already exacerbated Pakistan's instability and uncertainty, inciting riots and anger.
The tragedy of December 27 may have been the work of a terrorist, but for Bhutto's supporters the
government is not without blame. Musharraf refused to accept Bhutto's requests for an investigation in
the earlier attempt on her life on October 18, 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, as has often been the case with murders of Pakistan's high profile political personalities.
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. Instead of addressing those fears, 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
vent anger against the Musharraf regime for her tragic death.
The United States might not be willing at this stage to review its policy of trusting the militarydominated
regime led by Musharraf to secure and stabilize Pakistan. But as Musharraf becomes less
and less credible in the eyes of his own people, it might have to.
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 and the Pakistan Muslim
League leader Nawaz Sharif. Instead of calibrating terrorism, as Musharraf appears to have done,
Pakistan must work toward eliminating terrorism, as Bhutto demanded.
The postponement of parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for January 8, to February 18 as a
consequence of the assassination has accentuated the Pakistani opposition's doubts about Musharraf's
intentions to share or relinquish power.
Some international election monitoring teams, including the National Democratic Institute and more
recently the International Republican Institute are refusing to monitor the election unless serious
changes are made to the poll rigging structure already in place for the benefit of the King's Party,
PML-Q.