BlogHer - assassination - Comments

Thank you - and a word for others who died

snigdhasen — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:55:28 -0600

Ladies, thank you for stopping by.

Nita, it's lovely to see you here. I admire your blog and appreciate your perspective.
Indeed, Pakistan has its task cut out. It has to recognize how desperately it needs to push the armed forces out of civil life. But given the power the Army has enjoyed thus far, it is not likely to give it up in a hurry. Plus, the Army itself has to be convinced that its existence cannot be defined solely by India.
India cannot do much but wait and watch and hope. Global politics is odd.
Good luck to them!

Kalyn, your admiration for her is not misplaced. Bhutto did have an extraordinary life. I was reading about her in the New York Times this morning . She deserves the accolades she gets.
But, she did face her share of criticism. Yesterday, I was watching a PBS discussion, where a former Pakistani official "reminded" everyone that the Taleban grew in strength in Pakistan under her rule. Also, she was chairman of her party for life, not letting any other leader grow in prominence, which has left a void now. I have heard that before. My question is, what were the other leaders doing when all this was going on?

Despite everything, I agree with you that under the current circumstances, she was Pakistan's best shot at democracy. She deserves the praise she gets. She is an exemplary Muslim women who fought against all odds.

Kim, thanks so much for your comment. Yes, I felt the same way too. But then every country covers the story from an angle that suits them.
I still can't help smiling every time they raise the question of her sunroof, as if it were something out of the ordinary. Anyone who has followed a campaign in the sub-continent will know that it comes as no surprise, threats and all things considered :)

That's why we have BlogHer!

I would like to spare a few thoughts for the 20 other people who also lost their lives in the blast, the 30-odd people who died in the following violence, and the 130 who fell in the first major attempt on her life in October.

Snigdha

Good post

Nitajk — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 03:46:35 -0600

This is a nice overview Snigdha. I agree that the Army has still an important role to play. One can only hope that the public is so shocked by Benazir's assassination that they act...I don't know how though.

A Wide Angle View of India.
Nita

I admired her greatly

Kalyn Denny — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:55:37 -0600

I don't know why I always was so fascinated by Benazir Bhutto. Possibly it was nothing more than the fact that she felt to me like the first world leader in my generation who was a woman. It might not have even been true, but that was my perception of it, and I always had a fascinated admiration for her. I will always think of her as a remarkably principled and courageous person who died trying to make a difference for the country she loved. Thanks for your very interesting post.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Thank you for this perspective

Kim Pearson — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:11:02 -0600

One of my frustrations with a lot of the US news coverage so far is that it seemed to focus so heavily on the implications of this events for the US,without taking the time to fully explore what it means for the people in that region. I can understand how easily that happens -- this is a global tragedy with tremendous implication for regional and international security. But in the rush, I think we lose perspectives that are important to understand, such as yours. Thanks again.

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|