KARACHI BLASTS- Ballot or the Bullet?

KARACHI BLASTS- Ballot or the Bullet? By Majed Iqbal

“There are some powerful figures behind the assassination attempt on me”. These were the words of Benazir Bhutto in response to her "brush with martyrdom" during her explosions-ridden homecoming rally in Karachi last week which left over 140 dead and 500 seriously injured.

Her widely anticipated arrival on Pakistani soil, welcomed by over thousands of supporters was turned into scenes of carnage, death and destruction. After striking the ‘deal’ with the ‘uniformed’ President Musharraf, her comeback was set to mark a new era in Pakistani Politics with promises of restoring civilian rule in the country of 160 million with general elections looming in the horizon in January. However, her welcoming was a bitter deja-vu of the reality of the country’s Politics which has been plagued with violence from state level to street level, both under Dictatorships and ‘Democracies’.

Yasmin, whose husband was a victim in the blast said “We will never forgive Benazir for this. Why did she not take the helicopter provided to her? She put so many people’s lives in danger just to show off her popularity.” Her comments echoed concerning facts on Benazir’s continual popularising of potential attacks on her arrival and despite being warned by PPP activists on the day on the arrest of a man with a suicide belt about an hour before the attack. It begs the question- why did the PPP not pull Bhutto out of the procession?

The incident has sparked off a furor of tit for tat statements by politicians who were more interested in scoring political capital from the event to suit their narrow agendas rather than showing serious concern over the emotional stress and loss of lives that those families affected were experiencing.

Benazir pounced on the chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, accusing him of ‘protecting the killers’.

‘We will also say all this was a conspiracy. Ms Bhutto’s husband hatched a conspiracy and they implemented it” said Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain “The proof: Ms Bhutto went into her armoured vehicle minutes before the bombs exploded.”

Resuming her replay of her internationally paraded dialogues used in London , Washington and Dubai , Bhutto blamed Islamic extremism as a major cause for the turmoil in Pakistan- throwing the spotlight on the intelligence agencies, alleging that Afghan mujahideen had “infiltrated the ISI and the country’s administration. They have a tacit support of senior officials.” She said.

Despite an investigation underway by the Pakistani government Bhutto once again has aligned herself with her supporting states, the UK and US to launch an ‘independent’ investigation into the incidents shedding further light on her strategic alliances fostered in this new ‘deal’ to revive her tattered political career. "I am justified in demanding a probe into the blasts by countries like the United States and United Kingdom as my own government is not capable of doing these investigations fairly"

One thing is for sure from the tragic events that occurred on 18th October- both the Ballot and the bullet have historically been served to facilitate the aspirations of the power hungry elite- the cost of which the ordinary man on the street has paid with their lives. The only benefactors today are a uniform-less Musharraf, a reinvigorated Benazir Bhutto and a happy western hemisphere.