“They finally got her.” was how a friend informed us about Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. To echo Nawaz Sharif, we still cannot believe it. BB had been confronted with so much… bombs, assassination attempts, exile that we thought she’ll sail through this one too. She didn’t.
The Daughter of the East didn’t survive. For us, it is meaningless as to whether a suicide bomber got her, or she was shot dead or her heart failed. The important thing is how she lived. We’ve blogged about her alleged corruption. We’ve criticized her but in spite of all this; one has to say that she was an inspiration. Not just for the women but for all Pakistanis. The “young girl” as General ( retd) Naseeruallah Babar used to refer to her captured the political imagination of everyone and that is why even her opponents feel a sense of loss now.
After Benazir took oath for the first time as Prime Minister, her first words were ,“ Zinda hai Bhutto. Bhutto zinda hai ” (Bhutto is alive)
Who will lead the party is anyone’s guess but in terms of Pakistan’s political history it will always be ,“Zinda hai Bhutto.Dono Bhutto zinda hai.” (Bhutto is alive. Both Bhuttos are alive)