Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan was a unique leader for more than one reason. She was the country’s first lady Prime Minister. She was highly educated and lived with an educated father, who, despite his mistakes, made a great impression on Pakistani life and a good name for himself abroad.
She was an attractive woman and a good public speaker although at times she would lose her temper publicly or at press conferences.
I followed her fortunes through two terms as PM, until her tragic death in Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad. Although she was travelling in a semi-armoured wagon in the middle of hundreds of thousands of well-wishers, the assailants succeeded in killing her.
She was pushed by the force of the explosion, hit her head against the metal in the car and died immediately. Until this day, the whole truth about her murder has not been revealed.
Investigations into her assassination have been fruitless and inconclusive so far. Shortly before her death she had named publicly those who would attempt to kill her for various reasons.
I had a first meeting with her in Jeddah before her first election victory. I was invited to a house where I had the opportunity to talk to her. The conversation was full of news and there were no questions that she would not answer. She was frank and fearless, besides being determined to contest the upcoming election and win.
The interview was published and flashed in Pakistan through news agencies and other media outlets. By the time she left for Lahore, the news of her impending arrival had spread in the country that drew hundreds of thousands of her supporters to the airport. She was assured of victory and she won.
I did not detect any fear in her face or voice, although I could have cautioned her against contesting the elections for the third time, as it was obvious to any observer that there were too many people and groups, who would want to prevent her from scoring another victory. She was so outspoken that she spelled out her agenda in interviews that envisaged striking at powerful groups.
I sincerely thought that she should not have done so because the situation in the country had immensely changed and the powers that stood against her were too formidable to beat.
And if they could kill President Ziaul Haq by blowing up his well-guarded plane minutes after takeoff from Islamabad while in the company of the American Ambassador in 1988, getting rid of her was much easier and it proved to be so.
She died I think because of her overweening confidence in her popularity and that of her party founded by her father.
I read as much as I could about the tragic killing, but could not find more than newspaper analyses and speculation. There were only guesses, although some of them were educated ones.
The writer is an eminent journalist based in Jeddah. This article has been reproduced from the Arab News
Email: luqman@srpc.com