Osamas safe. Mullah Omars safe.
Benazir wasnt.
On the one hand Mushaarf says that cant send army in tribal areas, then on the other hand they kill Bugti using the same army in another tribal area.

Well whats next?
Musharraf becomes stronger.
US looses leverage with pakistan
Saudia Arabia and UAE gain leverage.
They are the other 2 countries aside from pakistan who officialy recognized talibans government in afghanistan.

Who looses?
;-)

Refer Shabana's post below my message.I disagree partly with you. The implosion of Pakistan will not be due to its interference in Kashmir.It will be due to its congenital hatred against the non-Muslim community. Pakistan was born out of a hatred against Hindus.It sustained itself over the course of the last 60 years through switching its hatred Hindus, then communists,then Hindus and now against all non-Muslims across the globe.This hatred is the cause of Pakistan's downfall.I live in Canada and have lots of Pakistani friends.They are hardworking people.Pakistan was endowed with rich natural resources and geostrategic location which it can leverage to boost its income.But alas, it chose to use all its resources to Islamise the world and torment India.Shabana, you may be pained to know that Pakistan backed Jehadis caused a string of explosions during the Hindu festival of Diwali two years ago in the heart of Delhi.They deliberately chose the timing to inflict maximum casualties on the Hindu community.One bomb was planted near a toy shop, resulting in the death and dismemberment of toddlers and infants.These Jehadis then called up news agencies boasting about their exploits and warned that more was to come if Kashmir is not given to Pakistan.Can you imagine the level of barbarity Muslims from Pakistan have unleashed on India ?
Narendra Qafur, I found your post hurtful.You are seeing for yourself the result of hatred and ill-will.Why have you got such hatred against Pakistanis ? Would you really be happy if some jehadi drops a nuclear bomb over Pakistan in the name of Allah ?I do not think anyone on earth will be.Pakistan needs to defang the Islamic terror elements and extend a hand of love and friendship to all non-Muslims.This will ensure its own prosperity and success of its neighbours.

I sincerely look forward to civil (? - try viciously savage!) war among Muslims in Pakistan. May they kindly nuke themselves in the name of allah.

I sincerely look forward to civil (? - try savage!) war among Muslims in Pakistan. May they nuke themselves in the name of allah.

Worse to come?

Pakistan has lost a great leader and the West has lost a strong ally in this troubled nation. My heart goes out to her family and supporters for their loss.

Musharaff stands the most to gain from this although he will be blamed. There is no doubt that some fool from the taliban actually carried out the attack but the real killers are probably in the ISI and under Musharaff's control. I would not expect any independent investigation, as some have called for.

Taliban tactics are blunt and unreliable and failed once already. They are designed to create chaos and terror, not to reliably kill their target, hence the marksman. The real danger to the civilized people comes not from these poorly educated Islamic jihadis that trade their lives for false promises and money but from the calculated well to do that direct them and enable their efforts for their own gain. These are the monsters that were created to oust the USSR from Afghanistan and still haunt the world to this day.

Eventually, her vision of politics and democracy in Pakistan may become reality. For now, I would expect more of the same turbulence and strife followed by relative calm. Unless some outside influence disrupts things it will be politics as usual in Pakistan with democracy-lite.

But the rest of the world keeps changing. Beware the US President Obama.

Pakistan is an articifically created country.Mr.Jinnah wanted pakistan to be the President which could not be possible by living in undivided India.By religion he might be a Muslim but he used to eat pork, drink alchol,never prayed five times a day,was not a part of the commom man ( he belonged to a very rich familly ),married to a non muslim lady.The thinking of being supressed by the majority Hindus was not correct as to supress a minority of 40% ( in undivided India )is not possible.Long and short he divided India and got the mot eaten Pakistan for being the President.

And see the results, in Pakistan's history of 60 years, there is turmoil,military rule,terroism,sectarainism,nepotism,corruption,dependence on the West,ineagility in genders,supression of the minority,population growth,lower education,fanatism.

Whereas on the other side the scnerio in India is quite contrary.The GDP,IT sector,the educational growth,higher life expetency,democracycommercial and industrial growth have changed the scenrio.

I believe that those who use the barbaric slaughter of Benazir Bhutto to support their anti-American prejudices do a disgrace to her exemplary courage and convictions. In my opinion it would be incredible to believe that she did not understand completely the dangers of returning to Pakistan and the task before her. She returned to Pakistan regardless.

I believe that one of the fundamental problems in Muslim countries today is lack of courage and lack of conviction that accepts responsibility for the future. Without free specch and political debate and given the extremes of barbaric behavior in so many countries, yes it's difficult to take the high road in Muslim countries but those who always seek the external scapegoat for fundamental cultural problems just add to the problem, not the solution.

Benazir Bhutto was the ultimate exception. Perhaps only chaos will follow but what if for once Muslim moderates demanded an end to the sanctification of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their senseless violence in Pakistan and worked together to see that Bhutto's death was not in vain?

I think that the real tragedy is that Benazir Bhutto went back to Pakistan, risking her life at every stage, with the reassurance that the US would protect her. This, evidently, did not happen, and as Mr Sher rightly point out, the assassination is a clear signal that any American support will be hacked from the top.
What one finds disturbing is how Washington is distancing itself from this tragedy and speaking in very broad, general terms about this cowardly act, that THEY were supposed to prevent and defend.

If anyone who tasted fruits of democracy and understood democracy, Pakistan's democracy is a full length comedy.
Its creation is comedy scripted by Jinnah, for his own aspiration to become President as he was not competent enough to find a place in Indepenent India.
Then the Kashmiri dream injected on infected minds of pakistan pathan like tribal violent pakis.
The violence it unleashes on India is american funded comedy, the mullas hate america and loves american dollers, America pays dollers and gets a pain in the inreturn.
All this comic is never understood by the chicken hearted pakis and still day dream that pakistan is a great country and its so called democracy.
If any one beleives in god should never be pity on pakistan and IT REAPS WHAT IT SOWN.
This goes to america as well.

Subhasis Nag, you speak the truth when you say that the West, and US in particular, turned a blind eye when India was taking the brunt of the Pakistani-Islamic terrorsists nexus. Only Sep 11 brought it home for the US. The implosion of Pakistan will be consequence of disrupting peace in Kashmir.

This assassination exemplifies the dangers of mixing religion with politics.For long, Pakistan has been treading a dangerous path of Islamic politics which essentially preached hatred against all non-conformists within and outside the country.US had a big role in this process of Islamisation.It actively encouraged the Islamists during the Soviet occupation.After the Soviet withdrawal, these Islamists directed their fury against India.The Hindus in Kashmir were wiped out by these people, who also engineered bomb blasts across major Indian cities.The US considered these tragedies as India centric localised terror which will not expand in dimension.Then came Sep 11 and the US was forced to act. Sep 11 has spawned a succession of calamities including the death of Benazir.She was targetted because the Islamists thought she will wage a US backed war against them.The author Anwer Sher is right, the worst is yet to come for Pakistan.As a logical extension, it may be concluded that even worst is yet to befall the USA.The Bush administration is making no real effort to deal with Islamic terror originating from Pakistan.It is pumping billions in to a country which is using the money to buy weapons targetting India.Does Pakistan plan to use F-16 against Al-Qaida ? No sane mind can say yes.Yet, Bush is pouring billions in to a bottomless pit. The country has been a nuclear supermarket, yet no effort has been made by Bush to bring its nuclear salespeople to justice.If per chance, Al Qaida gets hold of nuclear weapons, which is a distinct possibility given the state of things in Pakistan, US is likely to be the first target.The Bush administration seems to be in an overdrive to bring this tragedy on to the people of America.

There are always two paths to take as so well put by Robert Frost in his poem "The Road not Taken" and we as human beings tend to take the easy way out, in the case of Benazir Bhutto- assasination.

It is sad to see how Pakistan is not ready to actually face truth and reality outside the realm of fundamentalism and religion.

There are always two paths to take as so well put by Robert Frost in his poem "The Road not Taken" and we as human beings tend to take the easy way out, in the case of Benazir Bhutto- assasination.

It is sad to see how Pakistan is not ready to actually face truth and reality outside the realm of fundamentalism and religion.

The assasination of Benazir Bhutto unfolds a crisis which Pakistan will find it difficult to handle in short run. The miltary mullah alliance has sent a grim message to mainstream politicans. They never wanted democratic institutions to take deeper roots and has snubbed once again popular aspiration of Pakistanis. But knowing resolve and resilience of avarage Pakistani and still vibrant civil society they wont take this lying down. There may be period of turmoil ahead but i am sure a stable and democratic pakistan will be a reality in medium run. Civil society ought to continue their battle against army and fundamentalist and should not lose hope in this tragic incident.

This is a moment of great sadness for Benazir's family, friends and supporters but every tragedy also offers new opportunities.
Unfortunately,for the past 60 years,Pakistan's politics has remained hereditary and mostly in control of wealthy and thin elite. The real benefits of democracy so far have failed to trickle down to the poor and under privileged sections of the society. The political leadership other than engage in rhetoric have failed to deliver.There has been no tradition of elections within the poltical parties and we observe the same void in 'peoples party'after her sudden death.
It is time to insist on democratic reforms first and democratic elections next or else elections only will remain an exercise in futility.For a stable democratic Pakistan, we need to encourage a political culture affording opprunities for the maistream educated middle class in the electoral process.

I FULLY AGREE. THIS IS A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME.
THE FACT THAT BHUTTO ASKED FOR ADDTIONAL PROTECTION SUCH AS ELECTRONIC JAMMERS AND BULLET PROOF CARS WERE NEVER GIVEN TO HER.
HOW COULD A TERRORIST WITH WEAPONS AND BOMBS SLIP THROUGH THAT MUCH SECURITY CORDON? ANSWER: THE TERRORIST GOT SUPPORT THROUGH THE MILITARY.

MUSHARRAF LOST A LOT OF HIS LEGITMACY WHEN HE GOT RID OF THE SUPREME COURT, JAILED THOUSANDS OF LAWYERS AND OPPOSITION FIGURES.
THIS WEAKENED HIM MILITARILY. THOSE MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO COULD HAVE FOUGHT MILITANTS WERE NOW ARRESTING LAWYERS AND POLITICAL LEADERS.
FINALLY, THE WAY I FIGURE IT, IS THAT IF PAKISTAN BECOMES MORE UNSTABLE TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT INDIA MIGHT SEE IT AS A THREAT.

It's a sad day for Pakistan. If a leader like Bhutto can be killed one can imagine the day-today life of common Pakistani. Also looks like not Al-Qaeda act, more seems like some ISI,Army and Musharff people involved. This nexus of ISI,Army and other powerful people is real culprit, they are responsibility for encouraging terrorism in Pakistan and outside Pakistan. Initially it was outside Pakistan(supporting insurgency in India, Afghanistan ), now they have started against their own people.

A failed state, born out of hatred, has not and will not do any good for anyone. The sooner it is de-nuclearised and split into smaller pseudo-nation-states, the better. The bigger threat is the source of all terror--Saudi Arabia. With its continued funding of Islamist ideology, perhaps something similar inside that country by those crazier than the ruling elite could bring a respite for a while.

Ali Khan, you are very funny, but right.

Victoria, you should stop trying to make jokes. You are comparing Isreal to Pakistan? A winner nation to a several time loser?

All these Muslim countries keep paying homage to democracy for one reason only and that is to keep those dollars keep flowing to whoever wields power for the time being.NOT TO pay homage to democracy will dry up the flow of dollars thus shrinking the retirement fund of the current Caliph.

When I Read the news of her death i felt a pain in my stomach. I didnt know her or live in Pakistan but seeing her on Tv I saw a person with warmth and a smile that just made everone happy. I feel she did want to make life better for the people of Pakistan. She is in Heaven now and we will all miss her no matter where we came from. The World lost someone Special.

شي ول بيٹ ديم

Al Qaeda? Nope. (How silly).

Fanatics? Yep. Religious Fundamentalists? Yep.

I usually advise to "follow the money" but not this time.

Follow the power.

It will soon be evident.

Fifty percent of Americans will be so surprised that they will deny the truth.

A huge loss for Pakistan and liberal democrats world-wide.

I pray that Justice be served on these dogs that eat their own vomit.

Pakistan’s history is full of murders and assassinations. It is just a beginning... Next target may be the Ex General now a President.

World cares because Pak has nukes, otherwise we would not give a damn what happens in Pakistan. May be some neutron bombs in frontier area will take care of the Allah’s warriors.

Pakistan’s history is full of murders and assassinations. It is just a beginning... Next target may be the Ex General now a President.

World cares because Pak has nukes, otherwise we would not give a damn what happens in Pakistan. May be some neutron bombs in frontier area will take care of the Allah’s warriors.

A note to express my deepest heartfelt condolences to the family and followers of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir Bhutto's death is a tragedy for humanity regardless of your political mindset. She clearly had the courage of her convictions and demonstrated that fact in a religious and cultural climate that is only too ready to admire those who blow themselves up along with innocent victims to make their point. How difficult it must have been to be an educated woman in a men-only culture facing a dictator, religious fanaticism, and a military and secret police always pulling the strings of power. Few men or women would face the challenge. She paid a heavy price.

Yes, this is a blow for democracy and the stability of Pakistan and possibly the region. Hopefully, however, her struggle will not have been in vain and will continue. If a woman of such courage came from Pakistan, surely there are other Pakistanis who see beyond turmoil, hate, and fear toward a democratic and peaceful future.

Good point Victoria!

WASHINGTONOBSERVER no more infantile than israel, werent they born i the same year?

I'd like to offer my personal condolences.

The world has lost a great leader.

Her murder was an act of supeme cowardice by creatures that don't deserve to be called human.

They should be hunted down and shot like the rabid dogs they are.

The intelligence services of all the countries in the world who deplore this horrible act of madness should work together to track down the creatures that provide them their financing and they should meet the same fate.

A clear message must be sent that vile terrorists who use political murder as their tool of evil, the people and countries that harbor them, and above all, the fat creatures who get their kicks and social status from financing these sick madmen, regardless of their social or royal status, will pay the ultimate price for their actions.

Pakistan will find it has allies in this quest even among countries that it has traditional considered to be its enemies, because the creatures that did this are the enemies of all mankind and all religions.

A clear message needs to be sent.

Everyone involved must face the ultimate punishment.

This can not be allowed to ever happen again.

Problem is Pakistan is not fit for democracy either. Let us not forget that it was democratic governments of Pakistan that created and nurtured Taliban movement and installed Taliban government in Afghanistan. It was democratic government of Pakistan that facilitated Osama bin Laden’s relocation from Sudan to Afghanistan. One of the first acts of Benazir Bhutto after coming to power in late 1988 was to approve sharing of Pakistan’s nuclear technology with Libya. Nawaz Sharif met Osama bin Laden atleast three times in Saudi Arabia. Nawaz Sharif pleaded with Osama to contribute to his election campaign in Pakistan. Sharif told Osama that Sharif was a ‘jehadi’ also but Osama told Sharif that Sharif was not a true hardline ‘jehadi’. Nonetheless Osama contributed 500 million Pakistani Rupees to Sharif’s election campaign. Osama congratulated Sharif publicly for exploding first Islamic nuclear bomb during Osama’s visit to Pakistan after Pakistan’s nuclear tests in 1998. Democratic governments used to provide Pakistani Army protection to Osama bin Laden whenever Osama visited Pakistan.

When it comes to Pakistan, democratic leaders are no better than authoritarian rulers. Pakistani Army owns the 'state' anyway.

The tribes in Waziristan have long used jihad as a means to remove enemies and rivals under the specious claim that their opponents were not true Muslims. This is the tactic now used by the Taliban and al-Qaeda, out of the same geographical area. I suspect that, given the huge danger these factions pose to Pakistan and the even greater danger to the rest of the world should they get their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons, the whole of western Pakistan will have to be subjugated once and for all and the Taliban and al-Qaeda physically wiped out. If Pakistan doesn't do this now, it will be much worse if it has to be done from the outside after (say) a nuclear incident takes place, such as London or Washington being attacked. Recall "pacification" in Afghanistan by Genghis Khan after a grandson was killed there.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, it was dead on arrival at independence. Rather than pick a fight with India over Kashmir, Pakistan should have lived like the true brothers they are of India. Instead, they look to China. If China cannot kill you with weapons, they will use lead and date rape toys.

You want a safe and decent country? Then, get rid of your dangerous Religion. It like all Religions only cause conflicts. Since that will never happen, have fun bombing each other.

Is there any doubt that an infantile society like Pakistan has no business having a nuclear arsenal? Now, it's up to the world's responsible powers to see to it that this arsenal is dismantled permanently.

That’s right Victoria, they can’t blame this one on the general Muslim population. We may find out, however, that the culprit is the Islamist fundamentalists (Al Qaeda and the Taliban) who are enabled by the foolish greed of the colonial USA and Israel.

Certainly Musharraf is one of those with the most to gain. He can now postpone elections indefinitely and hold onto his power, although he may have quite a revolt on his hands if he does so.

On the other hand, Bhutto was a strong ally of the US and an outspoken opponent of the Islamic fundamentalists. That is the kiss of death in this region of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/world/asia/28pakistan.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

“In October, Ms. Bhutto survived another deadly suicide attack in the southern city of Karachi on the day she returned from years of self-imposed exile abroad to contest the parliamentary elections. Ms. Bhutto blamed extremist Islamic groups who she said wanted to take over the country for that attack, which narrowly missed her but killed 134 people. But she also complained that the government had taken insufficient steps to safeguard her parade…

She was openly critical of Mr. Musharraf’s ineffectiveness at dealing with Islamic militants and welcomed American involvement…

The assassination comes just days after Mr. Musharraf lifted a state of emergency in the country, which he had used to suspend the Constitution and arrest thousands of political opponents, and which he said he had imposed in part because of terrorist threats by extremists in Pakistan…”

So this is how my crystal ball has it. We just took another step along the path to WW III. The Islamist fundamentalists (Al Qaeda and the Taliban) hold all the cards. Musharraf may or may not be making a serious effort to rein them in. He may be playing live and let live as they build their strength in NW Pakistan and continue to weaken Afghanistan.

The Zionist invader in Palestine keeps the entire Middle East inflamed at both them and the USA for supporting them. Of course our preemptive attack on Iraq and continued occupation of Afghanistan just adds fuel to the flames.

China, India and Pakistan’s thirst for Middle East oil makes them natural allies of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the other Arabian Gulf oil states. They will be eager to supply whatever these countries need in the way of precision guided land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) like the US Tomahawk. These are precision, Global Position System (GPS) satellite guided, low flying cruise missiles that hug the earth and can be programmed to attack Israel from multiple directions. Israel will never know what hit them. These will not be like the thousands of ballistic Katyusha rockets fired from Southern Lebanon, which mostly land in the olive orchards and sage brush fields. These missiles will each have a high rise building or other high value target and street number programmed in them like our Tomahawk attacks on Baghdad in 1991 and 2003.

Our thirst for oil and 10 Trillion dollar national debt, with much of it owed to China, puts us in a very weak strategic position. China could bankrupt us at will by flooding the market with our worthless paper IOUs. That’s why the US dollar has lost ~33% of its value relative to the Euro, which is on its way to becoming the world standard currency. The US dollar will soon be known as the US Peso.

Israel only produces ~1% of its required oil from its own oil wells, and must import 99%, 90% from Russia. Russia is anything but a reliable ally and is known to have used its natural gas supplied to Eastern Europe as a political tool in the past.

So standby for action the so called Zionist “State of Israel” and its number one ally the USA. We live in interesting times.

Re: Originally from Pakistan, Anwer Sher is based in Dubai and writes for Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Emirates Today. His varied career experience includes banking, consulting, and real estate development. He has a Masters degree in International Relations.

To this please add "pseudo prophet" and "astrologer"

One reason why Pakistan has so many problems is that there are too many cooks spoiling the broth.

And to add to the misery they have third rate writers who can "predict" the future will be worse. Thus adding fuel to the fire of violence.

the assassination of bhutto is tragic, but it highlights a lesson. we failed to support musharraf, one of our staunchest allies, when he needed and deserved our steadfast endorsement.
the weakness shown opened the door to the black and evil forces of terror. make no mistake, they are alive and well and will seize upon any sign of weakness to wreak havoc. instaed of going it alone cowboy style, we need to intensify our efforts to recruit other nations in a vigilant effort to eliminate terrorists. it just won't do anymore to blindly sacrifice american soldiers and pretend that a stupid foreign policy will get us through this critical moment in history. brains and allies must be our path.

First of all i would like to mention that Mr.Anwar Sher mentioned that attack on Benazir Bhutoo is possibly done by Al-Qadeeda,but i personally dont belive on it because it is still not clear that how Ms.Bhutto was assasnated she may died because of suicide attack or may the Sinper attacked her, the facts about the attack are not currently clear.After first attack on Bhutto on 18th October,when she came back home after ending her exile,Ms.Bhutto blamed many high profile people in Pakistani establishment and that was still a mystyry that how that blast took place,in which 148 people had been killed.
Bhutto death will affect Pakistan in many ways. It can create the ethnic tension,as it started in some parts of Sindh,from which Bhutto belonged and it also disrupt the forth coming general election.On the other hand it will be a challange for any of the liberal and moderate political leader to be vocal and mobilise the people against the religious militants and terrorists.If the situation not handeld rightly so it can erupt the civil war in Pakistan.
But the roots of this all goes to the Uncle Sams' Jihad policy against Soviet Union and etc..

You said : "Clearly Benazir Bhutto's killing shows the telltale signs of an al-Qaeda style attack"

Hey man how do you know that ? There are at least 5 groups that may have organised that, mimiking Al-Qaida methods, and try to take advantage of it.

Avoiding opinion manipulation is one of the best quality of a journalist and should be also of an international relation expert.

Best thing to happen to Pakistan, bar none.

I unequivocally and unconditionally condemn and revile these acts of terrorism and all acts of terrorsim done by deluded and vicious barbarians who claim they represent islam.

Council on American-Islamic Relations statement-

The “Not in the Name of Islam” petition states:

“We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.”

Do you know what our Prophet, peace be upon him, told us? He repeated thrice, "He does not believe! He does not believe! He does not believe!" Who was he referring to? "That person whose neighbour does not feel safe from his evil."

As it states in the Quran: ‘Oh you who believe, stand up firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even if it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor; for God can best protect both. Do not follow any passion, lest you not be just. And if you distort or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that you do.’” (Quran 4:135)

A sequence worthy of Machiavelli's medieval Italy and the Borgias:

(1) Zia hanged Benazir’s father.

(2) Benazir had her brother, Murtaza, murdered in Karachi.

(3) Zia used the Pakistan ISI to murder Benazir’s other brother, Shahnawaz, in Paris.

(4)Zia was killed by elements of the ISI (along with the American Ambassador, Arnie Raphel)

Elements of the gov't and/or the ISI most probably arranged for the murder of Benazir today.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

It think you have put this very well. I feel sadness for Pakistan and I think its time for President Musharraf to step down all together. His country is coming apart and he's now going to be symbol for much of this strife.