COMMUNITY IN MOURNING AS BHUTTO SLAUGHTERED

28-12-2007

The murder of Benazir Bhutto has left Birmingham’s Pakistani community in mourning. One city councillor said she was a “political icon” whose death could spark civil war in the country.

Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest before her entourage was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed more than 20 people following an election rally in Rawalpindi yesterday.

The 54-year old had only ended her self-imposed exile in October, and was immediately targeted by political rivals – 140 supporters were killed in a suicide attack at a homecoming rally in Karachi.

Sparkbrook councillor Salma Yaqoob says that the second, and ultimately successful attack, “has left a lot of people shaken.”

Yaqoob meet Bhutto earlier this year at Aston Villa Leisure Centre, at a fund-raiser for the former Prime Minister’s People’s Party.

She said: “Whatever you think of her politics, she was a political icon and a brave woman. It was clearly a risk going back, but she believed that if she had been Prime Minister, 9/11 would never have happened.

“I wouldn’t say she was a role model for me, but I had a lot of respect for her. She was charismatic, and when a woman answers back in the community, people say ‘who do you think you are, Benazir Bhutto?’”

Although Al Qa’eda has claimed responsibility for the killing, Yaqoob believes it may not be as clear as that. She notes that the US brokered deal which allowed her to return was starting to come under pressure.

The plan was that the Bhutto would be elected PM and work alongside the country’s military ruler General Musharaff in his role as President - but she became keen to distance herself from him as the reality on the ground became evident.

With unpopular bombing campaigns causing civilian casualties in Wazaristan in the name of the War on Terror, Yaqoob explained that being seen as an pro-American was a liability.

“Everybody wants to end the current situation, but it all depends on how it’s done,” she said.

“The military campaign is causing as many problems as it’s supposed to solve. It’s bit like the situation in Iraq in that people who weren’t against you previously suddenly start turning against you if they see whole villages bombed.

“There’s all this money being spent on weapons, but still only 1% of the budget goes on education.”

With riots now gripping parts of the country, she admitted that a civil war was a possibility.

What does the death of Benazir Bhutto mean for Pakistan?

And for the West Midlands?

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