Daily Times : BB’s ‘brush with martyrdom’ to bolster her appeal: WSJ

BB’s ‘brush with martyrdom’ to bolster her appeal: WSJ

khalid hasan | October 23, 2007

WASHINGTON: Benazir Bhutto’s “brush with martyrdom” will bolster her appeal in Sindh and Punjab but her alliance with President General Pervez Musharraf is a “risky strategy,” according to an article in the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Author Colum Murphy wrote that while international support for Bhutto may help her bid to appear statesmanlike, she and her party must tread carefully if they do not want to sour this goodwill. Already, some people in Pakistan have accused her of recklessness. “On Thursday, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) left thousands of supporters stranded in the heat; many collapsed. After she arrived, Ms Bhutto’s caravan took 10 hours to cover a distance that normally would take less than one hour, despite warnings of an imminent attack. She also spurned the use of a bulletproof shield provided for her protection. Ms Bhutto may believe she has the political upper hand because it’s not in Mr Musharraf’s interest to encourage a dispute. A weakened Bhutto-Musharraf alliance could embolden exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who, unlike Ms Bhutto, was quickly shipped back to Saudi Arabia when he tried to return to Pakistan last month. He may now return next month, likely to his home province of Punjab,” he speculates.

Should Sharif return, the writer, who is deputy editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, argues, it’s anyone’s guess what might happen to the political process in the coming months. He could represent a greater political threat to Musharraf than Bhutto because he commands loyalty within the PML-Q, “according to Najam Sethi, the editor of Lahore’s Daily Times newspaper”. Even if a January election were held with all three major political parties represented, the outcome may not be wholly democratic. The PPP and the PML-N are both “notoriously corrupt and operated like personal fiefdoms”. Musharraf, faced with the prospect of a newly empowered Bhutto, may be tempted to interfere with the voting results, which would be a “huge setback” for a country that’s quickly modernising.

According to Murphy, Pakistan’s political scene remains largely stuck in the past. Musharraf extended an olive branch to Bhutto only because his “political gaffes” made his position untenable - not because he’s an inherent democrat. The military’s influence also remains strong, if mildly checked now by a stronger independent media and a newly empowered judiciary. Bhutto may be tempted to strike out on her own in the wake of Thursday’s attack. But if she does, she would risk more than just her own political prospects. She would be risking Pakistan’s best chance for democracy in a generation, he warns.