Dying a violent, untimely and unexpected death yesterday, Benazir Bhutto joined the ranks of those political figures whose legacy in death is very different from the role they actually played in life.
In life, she was an inconsistent democrat at best, and a willing tool of US imperialism, repeatedly making conciliatory gestures to a discredited military regime when she could afford to take a stand against it.
But in death, she has become the martyr of democracy and social justice. Thousands of working-class supporters of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are rallying behind her name all over the country, and the military-dominated establishment is having a tough time controlling them.
Let me be honest: long have I wanted to write a political obituary for Benazir Bhutto, a leader whom I criticized in the harshest of terms and denounced as an untrustworthy opportunist. Who could have imagined, though, that soon a time would come when a complete obituary would be required? Who could have imagined that the successor of the great Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, daughter of the East and darling of the West, would be killed in this brutal manner?
I wanted to see her sidelined in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and hoped that her influence might be ended, so that there might be no compromise with the military regime. Instead, she was murdered in cold blood.
After Musharraf’s declaration of emergency, Benazir was unwillingly catapulted into becoming once again a faltering and yet important leader of the opposition.
I view this as an attack not just on her person, but on all progressive forces in the country. The most likely perpetrators are elements within the military establishment who are sympathetic to Islamic militants (possibly from within anti-Musharraf circles in the intelligence agencies). Either that, or else the attack was carried out by Baitullah Mahsud’s militant forces from north-western Pakistan. And incidentally, these two possibilities are not mutually exclusive, given the links of some elements in the military with militant political Islam in this region.
Whoever is responsible for it, their target was to terrorize progressive forces as a whole.
Even though Benazir Bhutto was a highly flawed leader, today I sympathize with her and her family. We must stand with the Pakistani working-class, which clung desperately to the legacy of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter. We must stand with the brutalized and terrorized Pakistani masses, who flocked around Benazir’s quasi-socialist, populist slogans of “Roti, kapra aur makaan” (Bread, clothes and housing).
This assassination is the single worst outcome which I can imagine for the Pakistani political situation at the moment.
And yet, it opens up some opportunities for progress. The most obvious development is the radicalization of the PPP (especially its rank-and-file). Benazir Bhutto’s death has thrown the PPP firmly into the opposition against the military regime.
This violent death might allow consistent democratic leaders like Aitzaz Ahsan to take control of the PPP, cleanse it of opportunism and weakness, and once again make it a spear-head of the Pakistani working-people in their struggle for social justice.
Benazir was an unwilling and reluctant martyr, but a martyr she is.
Circumstances placed her in a position where she could take up the mantle of her great father.
Circumstances brought her back to Pakistan.
Circumstances upset her deal with the military establishment and its masters in Washington.
Circumstances placed her, once again, at the head of the anti-military opposition.
Circumstances made her follow her illustrious father in dying and becoming a martyr to the cause of the Pakistani masses.
Circumstances, not her own will, made her legacy what it is right now. And yet I respect this legacy.
Last month, I wrote the following:
On my blog, I have criticized Benazir Bhutto in the harshest of terms. This has meant that some readers took offence and chided me for what they perceive as an immature divorce from the realities on the ground. I beg to differ with them.
The reality on the ground is this: Benazir Bhutto is the only political leader in Pakistan who controls a real mass party, i.e. the PPP. At this moment, she is the ONLY leader with the street power needed to truly confront the military regime, launch a mass movement for restoring democracy and lead Pakistan to a brighter future.
Instead, she dilly-dallies, talks of deals with the military and speaks the language of her new patrons in Washington.
In my humble opinion, if Benazir does not take the hard but logical choice of openly confronting the military regime and severing her cosy ties to the US establishment, she too will be consigned to the ash-heap of history.
In life, Benazir could not do this. But in death, she has achieved it. And this is why I pay homage to her legacy: a legacy of resistance.
So I say: may she rest in peace, and may the Motherland find a way out of this difficult time.
Filed under: International Politics, Pakistani politics, Pakistani society
Despite all the differences that we may have with Benazir, we could not have expected that her voice will shunned in such a brutal and inhumane manner – this can only be work of the Extremists in cooperation with their support in the Establishment.
I agree completely, Vidrohi.
Despite all her mistakes, our working masses loved her, and it was a despicable crime to even try to attack her.
And to kill her? It is a declaration of war against the Pakistani working-people.
Whatever our differences with Benazir may have been, the last thing we wanted was to see her dead.
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Excellent article
Thank you!
So sorry to hear of Benazir Butto’s death. My sincere feelings with your people.
nice piece of writing!
It’s a great piece of article, but you failed to understand one thing yourself, referring Mohatarma Beanzir Bhutto Shaheed, to have had been running towards U.S. tell,
Why does Israel and Palestine settle disputes under the shadow of U.S at Camp David?
Why does U.S. interefer in Taiwan-China issues?
Why does U.S intefere in Iran nuclear reactors?
Why did U.S. invaded Iraq on basis of threat from then regime of Saddam?
Why did U.S. invaded Afghanistan?
Why does U.S interfere in Syria-Lebanon problem?
Why did U.S interfere Kosove issues?
Why did U.S occupy then West Germany?
Why did U.S fight war on Korean Peninsuela?
Why did U.S intefere in Vietnam?
Why does U.S care about Darfur situation?
Why does U.S. worry about Cuba?
Why does U.S sanction against Burma-Monks issues?
To all these questions, the answer probably is, because U.S. has been playing international mediator policy, do you think U.S. democracy and ideas are dangerous for Asian countries, then why do you enjoy democracy in your own countries?
Mohatarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed was, is and will be most cherished, loved and missed by us Sindhis, we don’t care if you like her stand or not, since she was not going to rule you or you were not going to taste democracy under her regime. She was leader for us, she will rule us and by the way, they were not PPP workers all, who rallied on her martyrdom, rather people from every walk of life, who were though not workers of PPP yet felt lost and orphanded because of Mohatarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed’s martyrdom. People like you feel incomplete and matter of disgrace especially those of you who live in West, that your Margreth Thatcher, Hilarry Clinton, Condolezza or whatever had no successful public support like Mohatarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed has had over the longest period and will always have, by martyring her, enemies have made her mortal like her father Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Sahib…I’m a resident of Larkano city a very own city of Bhutto Clan, and I’m not though party worker yet support Bhutto to fulliest.
Jeeye Bhutto (Long Live Bhutto)
Jeeye PPP (Long Live PPP)
Jeeye Sindh (Long Live Sindh)
Dear Sarfraz,
You said:
First things first. In all the cases you mentioned, the US has played the role of a foreign aggressor and enemy of the local people. Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Palestine, all these are the victims of US imperialism.
And so are we, the Pakistanis.
And in the case of Burma, the US plays the role of a hypocritical foreign power which hopes to use the genuine democratic movement to open the Burmese market to its neo-liberal agenda.
Second, as a Pakistani, I can say confidently that the American definition of “democracy” is a joke. You can see it being applied with disastrous results in Iraq and in our own neighbouring Afghanistan.
How can you trust the American definition of democracy when Bush praises Musharraf’s “efforts” to introduce “democracy” in Pakistan?
We Pakistanis want democracy, but we reject the slavery which the West refers to as “democracy”.
You seem to mistake me for a Westerner. That’s not true at all. I am a Pakistani, born and raised in Karachi. In ethnicity, I consider myself a Punjabi because of my mother’s descent, although my father’s family belongs to Peshawar and the north-west. My own father is a PPP supporter ever since the days when he was a student and heard Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s speeches.
It’s not just you, my friend. I felt devastated too, when I heard of her death and what it entails for my country and my people.
If you stand for the programme of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then remember that it was the US which gave the green light for his execution by the Pakistani military.
It was sad and disgraceful that BB looked for support in Washington, which was involved in the death of her own father.
Do I have to remind you of the American support for the Zia-ul-Haq military regime?
We must respect BB in her fight for democracy, but we must learn from her mistakes. We must return to the legacy of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Jiye Bhutto,
jiye PPP,
jiye Sindh,
Jiye Pakistan!
Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto zindabad!
Amreeki samraj murdabad!
Great article. I really appreciate the way you found a balance between commemorating Benazir Bhutto and yet not romanticizing her. She was a necessary force in the establishment of a democratic system, which I feel is crucial for Pakistan at the moment.
I second sarfarz sahab, I am a free lance film maker and a student of mass communication. It is right that Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is a leader for us, Sindhis. Unfortunately in my last tour of Lahore and Punjab I saw my self how hate they have to our leaders. I don’t have complications with my punjabi friends but it’s time to get rid of the biggest mafia who not only ruled but exploit three small provinces.
I can put a lot of arguments over here, I met with the psuedo-leftists of LUMS, students from Punjab university and believe me i find very little sympathy.
The peoples who asked about the deal or called Benazir Shaheed as Washington Darling. Must remember in politics dilouges are used to disguise missions. Like Mohtarma did, as she is the only one who not only refused emergency but practically demonstrated on streets. Which party sacrifized most in lawyers movement? If you so called leftists think you can do better with help of JI, PML-N fascists and EX-service man society then you are living in fool paradise. If Benazir Shaheed is a darling of washington, she must alive today like our ex-service man members. pakistan army the biggest agent of USA in this region.
Jiye Bhutto n Jiye Sindh
Amreki samraj murdabad..
punjabi samraj murdabad
I hope Benazir death will do the same thing as Akbar Bugti death did to Balochistan. I hope one day PPP will become Sindh Peoples Party. I wish, hope and practise for that day.
Dear Mohammad Faraz,
Correction: Benazir was a leader for ALL of us.
The PPP is the second-largest party in Punjab. How can you say that Punjabi people hate Sindhis and their leaders?
I repeat: Benazir was a leader for all Pakistani working people.
If you’re referring to the Punjabi-dominated elite which represses the aspirations of the other nationalities, I agree.
We should do away with Punjabi domination and become a true Federation.
I say this is as a Punjabi myself.
But it is ridiculous to encourage civil conflict between the working people of Punjab and the other regions.
If you want sympathy for national-chauvinist views, then yes, you’re unlikely to find a lot of it.
Despite her greatness as a leader of the democratic movement, it was a mistake for her to court the approval of the US establishment.
If you do not recognize this, it will be an uncritical endorsement of the PPP, and that is not a good idea.
Benazir’s overtures towards US imperialism were not merely a clever trick or strategy.
Yes, you are right. Nobody is denying the leading role of the PPP in the struggle against the military dictatorship.
I agree that the JI, PML-N and ex-military-service-men and others are not really true to the democratic movement. They are right-wing elements who are trying to exploit the democratic movement.
All the politically-active communist activists stand with the PPP, when it comes to opposing these right-wing elements.
Washington will look for clients where ever it can find them. I insist that it was a mistake for Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to seek the support of the US.
Agreed.
I agree.
Encouraging national-chauvinism in Sindh will only harm the cause of the Pakistani working people.
We should call for full democratic rights for the Sindhi nation, within the context of a Pakistani federation.