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Who Killed Bhutto?
Robert Fisk
Counterpunch
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Weird, isn't it, how swiftly the narrative is laid down
for us. Benazir Bhutto, the courageous leader of the Pakistan
People's Party, is assassinated in Rawalpindi--attached to
the very capital of Islamabad wherein ex-General Pervez Musharraf
lives--and we are told by George Bush that her murderers were
"extremists" and "terrorists". Well, you
can't dispute that.
But the implication of the Bush comment was that Islamists
were behind the assassination. It was the Taliban madmen again,
the al-Qa'ida spider who struck at this lone and brave woman
who had dared to call for democracy in her country.
Of course, given the childish coverage of this appalling
tragedy--and however corrupt Ms Bhutto may have been, let
us be under no illusions that this brave lady is indeed a
true martyr--it's not surprising that the "good-versus-evil"
donkey can be trotted out to explain the carnage in Rawalpindi.
(Article continues below)
Who would have imagined, watching the BBC or CNN on Thursday,
that her two brothers, Murtaza and Shahnawaz, hijacked a Pakistani
airliner in 1981 and flew it to Kabul where Murtaza demanded
the release of political prisoners in Pakistan. Here, a military
officer on the plane was murdered. There were Americans aboard
the flight--which is probably why the prisoners were indeed
released.
Only a few days ago--in one of the most remarkable (but typically
unrecognised) scoops of the year--Tariq Ali published a brilliant
dissection of Pakistan (and Bhutto) corruption in the London
Review of Books, focusing on Benazir and headlined: "Daughter
of the West". In fact, the article was on my desk to
photocopy as its subject was being murdered in Rawalpindi.
Towards the end of this report, Tariq Ali dwelt at length
on the subsequent murder of Murtaza Bhutto by police close
to his home at a time when Benazir was prime minister--and
at a time when Benazir was enraged at Murtaza for demanding
a return to PPP values and for condemning Benazir's appointment
of her own husband as minister for industry, a highly lucrative
post.
In a passage which may yet be applied to the aftermath of
Benazir's murder, the report continues: "The fatal bullet
had been fired at close range. The trap had been carefully
laid, but, as is the way in Pakistan, the crudeness of the
operation--false entries in police log-books, lost evidence,
witnesses arrested and intimidated--a policeman killed who
they feared might talk--made it obvious that the decision
to execute the prime minister's brother had been taken at
a very high level."
When Murtaza's 14-year-old daughter, Fatima, rang her aunt
Benazir to ask why witnesses were being arrested--rather than
her father's killers--she says Benazir told her: "Look,
you're very young. You don't understand things." Or so
Tariq Ali's exposé would have us believe. Over all
this, however, looms the shocking power of Pakistan's ISI,
the Inter Services Intelligence.
This vast institution--corrupt, venal and brutal--works for
Musharraf.
But it also worked--and still works--for the Taliban. It
also works for the Americans. In fact, it works for everybody.
But it is the key which Musharraf can use to open talks with
America's enemies when he feels threatened or wants to put
pressure on Afghanistan or wants to appease the " extremists"
and "terrorists" who so oppress George Bush. And
let us remember, by the way, that Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street
Journal reporter beheaded by his Islamist captors in Karachi,
actually made his fatal appointment with his future murderers
from an ISI commander's office. Ahmed Rashid's book Taliban
provides riveting proof of the ISI's web of corruption and
violence. Read it, and all of the above makes more sense.
But back to the official narrative. George Bush announced
on Thursday he was "looking forward" to talking
to his old friend Musharraf. Of course, they would talk about
Benazir. They certainly would not talk about the fact that
Musharraf continues to protect his old acquaintance--a certain
Mr Khan--who supplied all Pakistan's nuclear secrets to Libya
and Iran. No, let's not bring that bit of the "axis of
evil" into this.
So, of course, we were asked to concentrate once more on
all those " extremists" and "terrorists",
not on the logic of questioning which many Pakistanis were
feeling their way through in the aftermath of Benazir's assassination.
It doesn't, after all, take much to comprehend that the hated
elections looming over Musharraf would probably be postponed
indefinitely if his principal political opponent happened
to be liquidated before polling day.
So let's run through this logic in the way that Inspector
Ian Blair might have done in his policeman's notebook before
he became the top cop in London.
Question: Who forced Benazir Bhutto to stay in London and
tried to prevent her return to Pakistan? Answer: General Musharraf.
Question: Who ordered the arrest of thousands of Benazir's
supporters this month? Answer: General Musharraf.
Question: Who placed Benazir under temporary house arrest
this month? Answer: General Musharraf.
Question: Who declared martial law this month? Answer General
Musharraf.
Question: who killed Benazir Bhutto?
Er. Yes. Well quite.
You see the problem? Yesterday, our television warriors informed
us the PPP members shouting that Musharraf was a "murderer"
were complaining he had not provided sufficient security for
Benazir. Wrong. They were shouting this because they believe
he killed her.
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