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Why?

Good question.

I agree with others here, that lies are a way of life, and it is not limited to just Muslims in that part of the world. Hired expedition porters in the Karakoram and Nepal tell you what they think you want to hear. It begins as respect, to avoid hurting you with bad news, and quickly becomes very convenient when they have something to hide.

But that doesn’t explain the motivation for this particular lie, which I think is your question.

Here’s one possibility, have a seat, maybe a few deep breaths, because just circulating this story, true or not, will have significant impact:

Bhutto had “proof” state, spy agency rigging poll KARACHI, Jan 1 (Reuters): Benazir Bhutto was poised to reveal proof that Pakistan’s election commission and shadowy spy
agency were seeking to rig an upcoming general election the night she was assassinated, a top aide said Tuesday. Senator Latif Khosa, who authored a 160-page dossier with Bhutto
documenting rigging tactics, said they ranged from intimidation to fake ballots, and were in some cases unwittingly funded by U.S. aid. Bhutto had been due to give the report to two
visiting U.S. lawmakers over dinner on Dec. 27, the day she was killed in a suicide bombing. “The state agencies are manipulating the whole process There is rigging by the ISI
(Inter-Services Intelligence), the election commission and the previous government, which is still continuing to hold influence. They were on the rampage” Khosa, a top Bhutto aide and
head of her Pakistan People’s Party election monitoring unit, told Reuters. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)

http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/01/welcome.htm

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Here’s corroboration for the lie, if anyone needs it:

Doctors cite pressure to keep silent on Benazir: Washington Post Rawalpindi, Jan.1 (PPI): The authorities pressured the medical personnel who tried to save Benazir Bhutto’s
life to remain silent about what happened in her final hour and removed records of her treatment from the facility, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The report said doctors who
were at Bhutto’s side at Rawalpindi General Hospital said they were under extreme pressure not to share details about the nature of the injuries she suffered. “The government took all
medical records right after Ms. Bhutto’s time of death was read out,” said a visibly shaken doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Sweating and putting his head in his hands, he
said: “look, we have been told by the government to stop talking.” Babar Awan, a top PPP official who said he saw Bhutto’s body after the attack and identified two clearly defined bullet
wounds — entry and exit points. He said the principal professor of surgery at the hospital, Mussadiq Khan, was “extremely nervous, but eventually told me that Benazir had died of a bullet
wound. Why was this man so nervous?” Awan said. “He told me firsthand he was under pressure not to talk about how she died.” Reached at his home in Islamabad, Dr Khan declined to
comment. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)

(same link as above)

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No proof, we are left to speculate. Mine goes as follows:

1. The probable spectrum of possibility (not a waffle, but an accurate definition of the mathematical utility of the following information) run from a sad government effort to mitigate unrest, “it was an accidemt”, through, “Musharraf killed her and is covering it up.”

2. My gut says the army was, and remains completely unprepared for the widespread chaos following the assasination. They are playing catch-up ball, slowly.

3. Any politico would recognize the mayhem to follow assassination of a popular leader. Musharraf did not prepare the army for this. If Bhutto was a threat, at least a significant part of that threat was her large following. “Kill the threat and ingnore the following” doesn’t make sense, political or tactical.

4. Best guess then, lies somewhere between “Musharraf was clueless”, to “Musharraf knew of threats within his government, but was not in position (or inclined) to thwart them”.

There’s a caveat here. Regarding Pakistan, or even the Pak government, as a monolith is a dangerous mistake, just as it is when assessing Saudi Arabia. The ISI, though lessened from the Afghan Bureau glory days, still swings a big bat. Even the islamists are well represented officially.

As yet, I can’t say the lie comes from Musharraf’s faction, and I can’t say it doesn’t. Plausible deniability at its finest.

All I have for now on the Sunroof Lever Lie.

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In other news, Sharif and Zardari are insisting that elections be held on schedule. The US is backing them. Significant confrontation coming, if the Pak government doesn’t back down. Significant confrontation coming if they do.

So far, the “decision” has been postponed and waffled, the best sign of all that the dot-gov is leaving their options open.

Best guess, if Sharif and Zardari hang tough, Mush will cave. Rigged elections to fall back on?

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Most important news of all:

11 more dead SE of Parachinar. When Saddam invades and assimilated Kuwait, it was a global headline. Well, the Taliban and Al Qaeda have invaded and are assimilating another part of Pakistan, decidedly the most strategic ground to date.

There is currently a civil war in Pakistan, and the government is losing.

Al Qaeda is building a safe haven, and this is being ignored.

You can read a map...here:

http://users.in-motion.net/~jefft/tech/Mapping/afghanistan/index.html

Al Qaeda’s holdings now, or soon will, extend from south of Wana, to the foothills south of Jalalabad. The current fighting is for Parachinar, the strategic and logistical center of mass for the entire territory.