The assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim country, is a serious blow to Pakistan's prospects for democracy and, indeed, its viability as a state. As chaos and confusion set in, we should not lose sight of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's partial responsibility for this turn of events. At the very least, he cannot be absolved from his government's failure to provide Bhutto with adequate security.
Instead, Bhutto had to pay with her life for courageously challenging extremists of all stripes -- from al-Qaeda and the Taliban to the country's religious political parties and military hardliners.
As heir to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the legendary democratic leader who was hanged by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's government in 1979, Benazir Bhutto emerged as a symbol of resistance at a young age -- but languished in jails and exile in the 1980's. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's legacy was empowerment of the impoverished and defense of ordinary people's rights amid feudalistic politics and military rule. Rather than bowing to the military junta, he embraced the gallows.
Hours before his hanging, Benazir Bhutto was allowed to see her father for the last time, writing in her autobiography: "I told him on my oath in his death cell, I would carry on his work."
Benazir Bhutto largely lived up to the promise.
Her first stint as prime minister (1988-1990) was brief and disorganized. Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, the former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, confirmed that he sponsored an alliance of right-wing political parties to stop her from getting a parliamentary majority. Information about Pakistan's nuclear program and ISI operations in Afghanistan were out of her domain.
Her second term in office (1993-1996) was longer and better, but her government again fell early, owing to charges of mismanagement and corruption. In reality, machinations by the intelligence agencies also played a part. The military had developed an entrenched distrust of her, given her position as a popularly supported pro-Western leader who wanted peace with India.
After almost a decade in self-imposed exile, Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan in October gave her a fresh political start. Pakistan had changed, as military dictatorship and religious extremism in the north played havoc with the fabric of society. A tentative arrangement with Musharraf, together with Western support -- particularly from the UK and the US -- eased her return, which hundreds of thousands of people welcomed, though terrorists greeted her with a string of suicide bombings.
Benazir Bhutto's contacts with Musharraf's military government drew criticism, but she remained adamant that a return to democracy was possible only through a transition in which Musharraf would give up his military post, become a civilian head of state and conduct free and fair elections.
To the dismay of some democratic forces, Benazir Bhutto stayed the course even after Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3 and removed the country's top judges to ensure his re-election. Indeed, she even persuaded other important political leaders to participate in the planned Jan. 8 election, which she viewed as an opportunity to challenge religious extremist forces in the public square. She seized that opportunity by bravely traveling throughout the country, despite serious threats to her life, arguing for a democratic and pluralistic Pakistan.
One can understand why religious extremists like al-Qaeda and Taliban would target her, and the government claims that it is impossible to defend against a suicide attack. But Benazir Bhutto was reportedly killed by a sharp shooter before the terrorist blew himself up. So, in the eyes of Pakistan's people, and especially of Benazir Bhutto's supporters, the intelligence services, either alone or in collaboration with extremists, finally decided to eliminate her.
Whether or not the government was involved, the fact remains that Pakistan has lost a desperately needed leader. With Pakistan's future in the balance, the West's help and support will be crucial, but that means recognizing that Musharraf is not the only leader who can resolve Pakistan's myriad problems and manage the war on terror. On the contrary, by nurturing the current environment of instability and uncertainty, Musharraf himself must be regarded as one of Pakistan's biggest problems.
Hassan Abbas, who served in the administrations of both Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf, is now a research fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Copyright: Project Syndicate
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference on Jan. 9, in response to China’s latest round of live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait: “India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our trade, economic, people-to-people and maritime interests. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, avoid unilateral actions and resolve issues peacefully without threat or use of force.” The statement set a firm tone at the beginning of the year for India-Taiwan relations, and reflects New Delhi’s recognition of shared interests and the strategic importance of regional stability. While India
A survey released on Wednesday by the Taiwan Inspiration Association (TIA) offered a stark look into public feeling on national security. Its results indicate concern over the nation’s defensive capability as well as skepticism about the government’s ability to safeguard it. Slightly more than 70 percent of respondents said they do not believe Taiwan has sufficient capacity to defend itself in the event of war, saying there is a lack of advanced military hardware. At the same time, 62.5 percent opposed the opposition’s efforts to block the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget. More than half of respondents — 56.4
RSS