History has changed with the tragic events that have taken place today, the 27th of December, 2007. No matter how clear the dangers were, no one ever thought it would really happen. Benazir Bhutto, the “daughter of the East”, the first-ever prime minister of a Muslim nation, one of the few hopes of Pakistan’s future was killed in a suicide bombing in Rawalpindi in one of her rallies. Not that she was the sin-free savior of our country who would have solved all our problems, but she could have played an important role in ousting Musharraf and bringing something closer to a democracy than what we had under the dictator.
What happened today is one of the worst developments we could have had at this crucial point of our country’s history. We were already going downhill in every possible way, and fast. But most of the people, however depressed by the declining state of the country, were still going on with their lives, doing their business, slaughtering their goats and enjoying their cricket matches. But now, in the wake of Bhutto’s death, hospitals, cars and trains are being burnt, shootings are plenty in every major city, roads are being blocked by burning cars and tires, business has come to a halt, and citizens are happy to just be in a safe place, whether it is their home, their hostels, or even a friend’s house. The state is at the verge of a civil war.
Fueling the already increasing tensions is the fact that she was killed in Punjab. This will cause further polarization and ethnic tensions will increase, because now it will be labeled as a Punjabi killing, and PPP is, in every way, a Sindhi party. Everything Punjabi, including both the PML parties and even the Army which has always been favorable to Punjabis, will now be the target of violence. Unfortunately, in the violence between these parties and the armed forces, we citizens have a lot to lose, namely the sense of security and the hopes of a better Pakistan.
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