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I will steer clear of what Benazir Bhutto's assassination means to the U.S. and the war on terror. The ramifications are just too obvious. Being an Indian and Pakistan's neighbor, however, I can't help feeling sorry for the common Pakistani. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, for 60 years, India has watched (and dealt) with some apprehension, some incredulousness and largely helplessness, as her neighbor and brother-separated-at-birth swung between shaky democracies and determined dictatorships, and now, a growing militancy.
I don't envy the position that Pakistan finds itself at today. While a section of the country is being run over by radicalism, another part of the society -- especially the youth and the moderates -- are itching for modernization and democracy like never before.
What now?
From a governance point of view, Bhutto has severe critics in Pakistan (and India), who don't see her as an able and incorruptible leader. But everyone, by and large, recognizes her legacy as a Bhutto, her stature thereof, and her passionate commitment to the cause of democracy. Much like the Gandhi family in India (former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated), the Bhutto family has lost members to tragic assassinations and murders. And much like the Indian Congress Party that has heavily depended on a Gandhi family member to keep it united, Benazir Bhutto's name and stature have become synonymous with her Pakistan People's Party.
Bhutto's death has left a gaping hole in Pakistan political scene and future. (Which also leaves President Pervez Musharraf as the only dynamic face in the political battlefield, but that's another matter).
With Bhutto gone, who will be the next PPP chief?
The country is observing a three-day mourning. But if Pakistan and PPP are determined to make good on Bhutto's promise to her people, they need to step on the gas immediately, select a leader and stand unitedly behind him/her. They have to push for free and fair elections more vociferously than ever. Chances are high that the elections will be postponed, but the people need to keep at it.
This is the right time to give democracy another chance: the country is in turmoil and needs strong leadership, the West is watching and willing to help, and Pakistanis are not only tiring of autocracy, but also their relative failure to establish democracy and a thriving economy, especially when compared to neighboring India.
These are troubled times and no Pakistani leader is going to have it easy. As policy experts have voiced before, Pakistan's most important challenge to democracy is to decouple the army from civil governance and make it subservient to decisions made by civil leadership, something that India has been able to achieve with great success.
However, given the reports of chaos in the country following the assassination, I seriously doubt the army is going to take the backseat anytime soon.
But persistence pays. Rome wasn't build in a day and neither is a democracy. Watching the Indian democracy shape up and grow roots, I can assure that it is going to be one tough task for Pakistan, but not impossible to achieve.
A few thoughts about the assassination:
For those of us following the news on Pakistan and the assassination, Bhutto's death comes as a shock but not a surprise. She feared for her life and publicly said so on several occasions. She survived a serious attempt on her life last October soon after her return, an attack that killed over a 100 of her supporters. Despite her own fears, she went ahead with her plans to return to Pakistan, campaign for and fight the elections.
Some people have raised the question whether she should have returned to Pakistan at all at this time, and, secondly, if she should have taken the risk of standing out of the sunroof of her car to wave and greet her supporters, an act, which many say, finally killed her.
Both these questions appear a little naive to me:
First, Bhutto, like her father, is a leader and an openly committed person to the cause of a democratic Pakistan. How can she not return to lead her country in its time of need? For a person who has claimed to be passionate about putting Pakistan back on the democratic path, did she have a choice? The sub-continent has a history of taking despotic rulers head-on. We had to fight the British, remember? That's the only way out.
Second, about her sunroof: If that seems odd to anyone, you haven't seen an election campaign in the
