Friend of the U.S.
Friend of freedom.
Laid down her life for her friends.
No greater love...
Benazir Bhutto's last moments with her people.
Posted on 12/27/2007 4:10:18 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" was initially all that Dr. Amna Buttar could say this morning, stunned to find out that former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto had been killed in a suicide bomb attack at a political rally in Rawalpindi today.
Buttar, until recently an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, had been in Pakistan since October, joining Bhutto on the former prime minister's triumphant return to her native country after eight years in exile.
"Everyone is in shock," Buttar said. "It is very sad."
Bhutto was killed following a rally for the Pakistan Peoples Party, the party started by Benazir's father Zulkifar Ali Bhutto and others, including Buttar's father. Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979.
Buttar, in a phone interview today from Chicago, said the assassination will not deter the party from moving forward, but it will be a hard struggle now that their leader has been killed.
"We started down the path of hope, seeing light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "The leaders were back, there was electricity in the air, and now, we are back to square one of despair."
Buttar last talked to Bhutto by phone about three weeks ago.
"She was very hopeful about the elections, very excited about the campaign," Buttar said. "She was in a good mood."
The last time Buttar visited with Bhutto was when she was placed under house arrest by President Pervez Musharraf in November, when Bhutto was in Lahore, for the "long march" taking place in the Punjab provincial capital.
"Nobody could get into the house to see her but I was able to get in by telling security I was a doctor and had come from America to see her," Buttar said. "I showed them my Wisconsin driver's license as proof."
Buttar has been nominated for a seat in the provincial assembly in the Punjab province. Originally, she was going to be nominated for a seat in the national assembly, but Bhutto said it was better for her to start out in the provincial assembly since she just joined the Pakistan Peoples Party in August.
"She said she really wanted me in the provincial assembly now and in two years I would be up for a senate nomination," Buttar said. "She said 'you can show people who you are.'"
Buttar said losing Bhutto is like losing a family member.
"I was 16 when her father was hanged," she said. "It was like a person from my own family had died.
"We were so shook up then, so upset, and now I feel the same. This is the second time in my life I've faced a Bhutto death. It is stunning."
Buttar talked to a friend in Pakistan Wednesday about the pending national elections in January.
"Yesterday, we all said of course the elections will happen, but what about today," she said. "I feel so helpless.
"Many people had awakened, they were participating again, and today, that is being suffocated. The people of Pakistan are just not getting a chance."
Who will lead the party, now that Bhutto is gone?
"People asked, if something happens to Benazir, who will be the leader?," Buttar said. "The fight will go on. If not, you feel these lives have been lost for nothing."
Buttar had been scheduled to return to Pakistan Dec. 19, but stayed a little longer here to be with her family over the holidays. She now is set to return to Lahore on Saturday.
But what will she be returning to?
"I am still hopeful for the future of Pakistan," she said. "I hope the people don't become so despondent. With her death, it will make our conviction stronger."
Buttar said when she flew from Dubai to Karachi that pivotal day in October, joining Bhutto in her triumphant return to her homeland, the memory that stuck with her the most took place at the airport, when Bhutto's family was watching from the terminal window as the exiled former prime minister boarded the jetliner.
"I saw the helplessness in their faces," Buttar said, as she watched Bhutto's two daughters, son and husband say their good-byes from behind the glass. "I'm thinking about those girls and her son now.
"The nation is going to mourn her, but we also need to remember she's also a mom."
Buttar said she is fearful for her own life, as others are who belong to the Pakistan Peoples Party.
"You are always fearful for your life and for others' lives, but you can't stop," she said. "There is so much hope."
Anyone shocked by this is not too smart.
How can she be shocked? She was in Pakistan with her in Oct.
Thats when the first attempt took place.
No one is surprised. Sad of course.
Even Musharraf knows better to go out to public
rallies, popping his head out of moonroof vehicles
to wave.
Makes no sense as to why she kept courting death.
Agreed 100%! Given the history of that country and the fate of its leaders -- of which only two or so did not die "unexpectedly", shall we say? -- why should this woman be shocked? Dollars to donuts says that anyone who knows the history of Pakistan, India,et. al. sure wasn't. What would have been shocking is if Bhutto had died of old age in her sleep.
Yep. It was just a matter of time.
Well, as in most things people say in real life, I don’t think she means it she was shocked like that.
I mean, we are all “in shock” when our parents die when they get old and sick, that doesn’t mean we weren’t surprised they will die.
Yeah, everyone knows, not surprised, that Bhutto would be killed. That doesn’t mean we can’t say, quite accurately, we were “in shock” by it.
Well, as in most things people say in real life, I don’t think she means it she was shocked like that.
I mean, we are all “in shock” when our parents die when they get old and sick, that doesn’t mean we weren’t surprised they will die.
Yeah, everyone knows, not surprised, that Bhutto would be killed. That doesn’t mean we can’t say, quite accurately, we were “in shock” by it.
She was simply brave enough to do her duty and to hell with the consequences for herself. It never ceases to amaze me what cowards sheltered people think we all ought to be.Excellent point. There are still heroes in this world
Your attempt to equate bravery on a battlefield in the line of fire and a politician is dubious at best.
She should have evailed herself of simple security precautions such as hmmm, oh i don`t know,
BULLET PROOF GLASS maybe, LCD stadium screens for speeches, her own security forces(concentric rings of them ala the Secret Service), et,etc.
She had a death wish.
And you are a cruel little man.
And you are a cruel littlemanCanadian.
The facts are cruel. A person plays whack-a-mole and with they themselves playing the part of the mole and amazingly, gets whacked.
Standing in a sun roof with zero protection and killers
eyeballing her feet away !!!???
Stupid stupid stupid.
Bhutto asked for far more security from the army than she got - but she was not going to let the amount of it available or the threats from fundamentalist goons dictate her behavior. No one should. The terrorists deserve defiance, and nothing they can do can defeat *brave* righteous men. Their methods only have any effect at all, on *cowards*. The rest of us simply defy them the more, the worse their actions become.
You seem you view incidents thru emotions, we view them analytically.
” In analyzing today’s assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Israeli security officials here questioned the competence of her security detail and state-provided protection.
The security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they noticed a trend from news footage in which officers and guards protecting Bhutto and her convoy routinely would allow civilians to approach the opposition leader, including many times at unsecured events and rallies.
“Bhutto should have had maximum protection given the large volume of serious threats against her life,” said one security official. “It’s gross negligence, to say the least, the way her security was provided.”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59411
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