Desicritics Comments on Bomb Attack on Benazir Bhutto's Convoy, Over Hundred Dead

Comment by DoctorClaudFF

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:27:28 EDT

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Comment by left right

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:38:26 EDT

Do you think she will win the coming elections? Was that a baseball hat she was wearing when she stepped out of the plane? From what I read she seems to have exaggerated sense that she is the only hope for Pakistan.

Comment by temporal

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 12:00:58 EDT

the sad reality is the occupying army and its allies...the MIBF...do not wish to see real democracy come to the fore... and even sadder .....this cabal has support from the west

Comment by Sanjay

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:39:35 EDT

kela, by individual ability, that means there is individual responsibility and individual initiative. Pakistanis are just sitting around waiting for someone else to come save them. They're totally unable to bring forth political alternatives from the mass public. It's pathetic.

Comment by kela

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 01:00:59 EDT

Sanjay weren't you talking about Individual ability on another thread...?

Comment by Sanjay

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:02:56 EDT

Notice that in the US and most developed countries, there is no dearth of candidates to go around. Even in India, there are a zillion and one people who put their hat in the ring for election to the top job. But in Pakistan, they all wait with baited breath for the one Benazir, or the one Nawaz, etc, etc. It shows that the country is only ruled between the army and powerful wealthy families. There is nothing else. There is no other Pakistan. Nobody else there has any ability to organized politically to take a run for the leadership. The country is worthless.

Comment by anonymous

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 01:25:42 EDT

what sacrifice is benazir talking about?what happened to the so called feeling of patriotism and love for her people when she was away?these politicians flee the country to save their skin and enjoy a life of luxury abroad leaving their country and people in a mess..then they make a comeback when they see an opportunity ..and dont care the the bloodbath that follows!politicians are born dramatists ..they cud outdo the bollywood..!they manage to hypotise the masses for their political gains..! someone said its illiteracy and poverty which makes people elect a bad leader!but then is there much choice in the genre of leaders..all feathers of the same stock!

Comment by Zainub

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:22:26 EDT

What I meant by common, was some one who was or is not directly involved in this power-struggle and political games, but yes I agree, I don't have much in common with those who died apart from that. Most of them , I suspect were poor, scarcely educated and disillusioned people (they came out to support BB, after all her crimes against them!), but that's we really ought to have even more sympathy with them. Many of the mass gatherings we see for these politcal rallies (remember the big pro-Musharraf, PML-Q rally in Islo on May 12, and the same sized if not bigger pro-MQM rally in Karachi on the same day?) are only so mass because these people are poor, and cannot resist, for taking a principle stand, the offer to go attend one of these rallies in exchange of Rs.1500-2000+new clothes and fresh, tasty food the day+free traveling expenses. It offers many of them a unique and rare entertainment experience if anything. This reminds me of something I was told when I said I wouldn't buy a pirated CD because I considered my self a champion of copyright laws, and any support for privacy hence as crime. Some one answered me by telling, well lucky for you, you're rich, you can afford such principles, not everyone can. After initially finding that a bit offensive, I was able to see the sense behind it. Poverty and the resulting ignorance is the root of most of Pakistan's problem. If some of these people weren't as poor and better educated, they'd know better then to signal their support for leaders that have looted them with little semblance of regret or shame. But please don't ask my the root cause of poverty it self, because I don't know! I suspect it may something to do with improper distribution of wealth and how the economic progress isn't making a difference to the lives of these people, and instead just making the rich already richer and the poor more poorer.

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:35:23 EDT

dee: t, I can understand your friend's rage- she was...and is still...extremely upset...and she is not a political person...the senselessness of it all will take time to abate

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:30:55 EDT

ruvy: not yet kela: hunh? sirius: She is like Lady Nightingale in a wartorn battlefield. Hope she comes out successfully and brings peace to this ailing nation. we are not talkaing about the same person;) sanjay: read up on hamid gul...yes both are retired;)

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:26:19 EDT

zainub: And it pains me to see that once again it is us - the common folk - that have to pay the massive price .. i will agree with above minus the underlined you, me...in fact any one who has access to the internet, understands and write in this language most certainly does not fall under that category yes we do have a lot in common with them...but we are so far removed from them!.. the common man cannot come up for coffee at the second floor...just wanted to make this distinction

Comment by Sanjay

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:22:48 EDT

Nope, it was Naseerullah Babar, Benazir's Interior Minister. Others only came to control things later. People like Gul only work through cronyist backchannels. He no longer has any authority, he's just a retired guy.

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:19:34 EDT

updike: Pakistani politics and national life may pay a higher price than India . sadly, yes.

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:16:36 EDT

sanjay 6 and 12: Benazir doesn't care about anybody except herself. true! the rest of your comments were the usual hotch-potch from a self confessed atheist...e.g. it wasn't babar (try gul) ;)

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:12:20 EDT

Paulus: thanks for your comments ... yes the innocents suffer most! read the articles in the link you provided and it appears when you talk of "middle-east" your aim was "narrow" and focussed rather singularly wish you success in your endeavours in time, hope you will broaden your focus please do consider joining DC as aaman suggested

Comment by temporal

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:05:57 EDT

BJ: Over one hundred killed. For what? take a pick from the following (a) who cares (b) who cares (c) who cares

Comment by Sanjay

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:59:12 EDT

She's no nightingale -- she's a vulture. She thinks she was born to rule, because of her daddy. Whatever limited ability her daddy had, she doesn't even have that. In Pakistan, the vultures are powerful enough, and the people are weak-minded enough, that they all jointly ensure their country's downfall. When Musharraf took power in the coup, no Pakistanis cared to raise their voice against it, and instead actually defended Musharraf for defeating "the corruption of the elected politicians" Well, Mushy's honeymoon is long since over, and now the hapless Pakistani masses are once again clamouring for those "corrupt elected politicians" to come back. Like a fickle person who doesn't know what they want, and instead keeps bouncing from one choice to another, the Pakistanis are now finding they have run out of "saviors", and are now forced to live with the mess they've created for themselves.

Comment by Sirius

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:41:09 EDT

She is like Lady Nightingale in a wartorn battlefield. Hope she comes out successfully and brings peace to this ailing nation.

Comment by kela

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:10:17 EDT

#4"It is always the innocent that suffer and my heart goes out to them. They are caught in an ugly battle between angry seekers for power" these cronies of BB were only more innocent because they made that lesser money.

Comment by Ruvy in Jerusalem

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:43:59 EDT

Paulus, I read your well written article and it appears to cover the material well. But no article about the strains of Islam would be complete without mentioning the Sufi on the one side, and the hijacking of Islam by the Salafi/Wahhabi on the other. To everyone else, Have there been mentions made of "credit" claimed for this terrible act?

Comment by Zainub

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:26:40 EDT

I am not a supporter of Musharraf, I'm not a supporter of Benazir and certainly I'm not a supporter of Taliban, but I do relate with the common men and women of my country (even if I sometime shake my head on the choices they make). And it pains me to see that once again it is us - the common folk - that have to pay the massive price (sacrifice of life, of the sense of security of the city, of millions of rupees in economic losses and much more) for the political games of the powers to be. I had covered the event live for Karachi Metroblog and later reflected on it on my own blog as well, but it still hasn't sunk in. My mind keeps wondering, why? Why must we think so little of the sanctity of human life so as to so brutally and so audaciously destroy it without any sensitivity for some secondary political gain? I really don't know who's behind this, but what disturbs me the most is the psychology that could allow this to happen in the first place. I'm beginning to feel shame in my own capacity as a human being, that any other fellow human being, can all call him or her self a human being, and conceive something inhumane like this. Sigh.

Comment by updike98

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:34:29 EDT

India's fatal engagement with the LTTE is a cautionary tale.That took away a bright politician from our political scene.TamilNadu politics still has a hangover.Such was the penetration.Mind you the common man had sympathy for the srilankan tamils but not for the LTTE.Pakistani politics and national life may pay a higher price than India .Let there no self congratulatory thoughts in Indian minds a big"pralaya" possibly nuclear is in the offing for the whole subcontinent.

Comment by Sanjay

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:54:07 EDT

Benazir doesn't care about anybody except herself. After all, it was her govt which made the Taliban. When she was in power, it was her interior minister, General Naseerullah Babar who created the Taliban, which were partially comprised of Pakistani commandos. And now she portrays herself as a liberal who wants to help rid the world of their menace. Kind of like that version of the Pied Piper story, where he was the one to bring the rats to town in the first place.

Comment by Aaman

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:18:55 EDT

Valid points, Paulus. Pakistan is at probably the most critical inflection point thus far in its history. Paulus, become a Desicritic and write for us - mail me at desicritics at gmail dot com

Comment by Paulus

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:01:10 EDT

It is always the innocent that suffer and my heart goes out to them. They are caught in an ugly battle between angry seekers for power. I have been struggling to understand what is going on in the Middle East and it's starting to make sense to me. There is a civil war throughout the region and it was only a matter of time before Pakistan would be drawn in deeply. It is not surprising that the spark that finally lit the flame was the arrival of a high profile advocate of moderation in the person of Benazir Bhutto. The battle we are seeing is for the leadership of Muslim fundamentalism. I have written a series of articles which analyse how this situation has evolved to try to provide a simple explanation of what is at stake. If you are interested the link is: http://www.thinkhard.org/middleeast/index.html