Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto just returned and was attacked, apparently via grenade and suicide bomb. She survived but as of last count 120 at the rally were dead.
Body parts were strewn for hundreds of yards around, and men walked away from the scene covered head to toe in blood. Dozens of ambulances, sirens wailing, ferried the injured and the dead to hospitals. Survivors sat by the side of the road, weeping. The sweet smell of rose petals -- revelers had tossed them into the air to welcome Bhutto -- mingled with the heavy scent of death.
After the explosions, Bhutto’s supporters reported hearing gunshots, and there were three indentations in the glass screen of her truck that appeared to have been caused by bullets.
Raja Mubasher, a party activist, said the attack came as members of the crowd were shouting slogans of celebration. One minute, he said, "people were jubilant. They were happy. Our leader had come back after eight years." The next, he said, "their legs were broken. Their heads were broken. Their hands were broken." In an instant, he said, the ground was littered with more than 100 bodies...
Karachi’s police chief, Farooqi Ahmed, denied that his forces were anything less than vigilant and noted that among the dead were a large number of police officers. Ahmed also said Bhutto would have "definitely" been killed had it not been for extra security efforts provided by the government, including a bullet- and shock-resistant container that Bhutto was riding in, and jamming devices designed to keep blasts from detonating near her vehicle. Bhutto was evacuated quickly after the attack.
Thank God she survived, but this is worse than the already pessimistic Pakistan briefing I heard two weeks ago which didn’t even list a major Taliban/Al Qaeda attack as possible escalating scenario. I buy the idea that the government did their best to protect her. They were involved enough in her protection that if this were an inside job she’d probably either be dead or we’d have a government-loyalist fight.
There’s really not that I can see the U.S. can doing here aside from not make the situation worse. (There’s a lot we could do in Afghanistan to take some pressure off, but that’s a different post) I just hope the Pakistani government is able to unify the people enough to take on this challenge. I don’t think that’s going to be possible if they continue to exclude Nawaz Sharif. This isn’t to say I favor a unity government (although I obviously favor free and fair elections) but they should let him return and be part of a loyal opposition.
Recent Comments