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Watch the latest news on the 2007 Pakistan Elections live on JumpTV! |
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Watch the latest news on the 2007 Pakistan Election live on JumpTV! |
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| 2007
Pakistan Election: Assassination Attempt On Bhutto Fails:
October 18, 2007 More Than 100 Dead in Pakistan Blasts KARACHI, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 19 — Two explosions ripped through this city late Thursday night, killing more than 100 people, after Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani opposition leader and twice prime minister, returned from exile to her home city. Her celebratory welcome, with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets and dancing atop vehicles, turned chaotic when the blasts went off near a truck carrying the former prime minister, who was returning after eight years in exile. The Pakistani police and members of her party said Ms. Bhutto was not injured by the blasts, news agencies reported. The reported death toll continued to rise early Friday morning, with news agencies saying at least 115 were killed. Officials at six Karachi hospitals told The Associated Press that up to 126 people were dead and more than 200 were wounded. An A.P. photographer at the scene of the explosions said he saw 50 to 60 dead or badly wounded people. He said some of the bodies were ripped apart. After an initial small explosion, a huge blast came just feet from the front of the truck carrying Ms. Bhutto during a procession through Karachi. The blast shattered windows in her vehicle, The A.P. said. Televised views of the scene showed bodies in the nighttime city streets, crowds running through traffic that is at a standstill and the noises of sirens and people screaming. Before the explosions, hundreds of thousands of supporters lined the streets, dancing on bus roofs, waving banners and surging forward for a glimpse of their leader as she inched her way through the city atop a bullet-proof truck. The huge and enthusiastic turnout earlier on Thursday made it an emotional homecoming for Ms. Bhutto, who was twice turned out of office and has lived in self-imposed exile. It was also a vindication for her politically that after leading two short-lived governments and being accused together with her husband of corruption and mismanagement, she could still command fervent support on the streets. Ms. Bhutto plans to continue her political comeback by running in parliamentary elections scheduled for January. “It’s really overwhelming, and we haven’t even reached the main crowd,” she said before the explosions on Thursday, standing at the front of the truck as crowds of some 200,000 people filled the avenue ahead. She was dressed in Pakistan’s national colors, a green shalwar kameez, the traditional Pakistani flowing shirt and pants, and white headscarf. “This is beyond our expectations,” she said. “None of us expected this to happen. I’m humbled by the experience. ” After flying from the United Arab Emirates, Ms. Bhutto arrived at Karachi airport on Thursday, stepping down onto the tarmac at around 2 p.m. local time and praying before an upheld Koran. “The most important step: to be back on Pakistani soil,” she said, before she began the long procession through the heavy throng of crowds to the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Ms. Bhutto and party members traveling with her said the crowds were larger than in 1986, when she made her first return from exile during a previous military regime and successfully campaigned in general elections to become the first Muslim woman in the world to become prime minister. This time she intends to lead her party again in the parliamentary elections. If she can win a change in the law, she will run for prime minister for a third term. Her return became possible after negotiations with Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has found himself slipping in the opinion polls and under siege with challenges against his rule in the Supreme Court, which is considering petitions against his eligibility to stand for another term as president. The negotiations so far have allowed for her return and led to the dropping of pending corruption charges against her. General Musharraf has agreed to resign his military post of Chief of the Army Staff if his Oct. 6 election is confirmed by the Supreme Court. On the Karachi streets during the day on Thursday, Ms. Bhutto waved to supporters as music pumped out from loudspeakers, and supporters danced in the road. The crowd was overwhelmingly working class, and included many young men who said they were unemployed and had traveled hundreds of kilometers, camping out overnight on the road to the airport to await her arrival. “Poverty has increased in Pakistan, and I think that’s a manifestation of it,” Ms. Bhutto said gesturing to the crowd. “I think this is the moderate middle of Pakistan that doesn’t want extremism, that wants peace, so there can be security and the government can address the issues of the people like education and employment.” Ms. Bhutto said she had not yet spoken to General Musharraf but was grateful for his cooperation on the security for her arrival. Police vehicles flanked her truck as it progressed through the city. “I am glad that there’s been no disruption of the welcome,” said Ms. Bhutto, who had faced threats from militants and pressure from the government to delay her return. “This is a good sign of reconciliation.” Yet Ms. Bhutto’s comments also made clear she was preparing for a political campaign. “The people are telling me the bread-and-butter issues are the most important,” she said. “They are saying that poverty has increased, the gulf between the rich and poor has increased. They say that people want change. They want a government that listens to them, will respect them, and will address the peoples’ issues.” Senior members of the party traveling with Ms. Bhutto on the open-top truck said the turnout made it clear the people wanted change after eight years of military rule. “It is unprecedented,” said Aftar Rana, a senior party member from Punjab province, looking down at the crowd. “I think we will sweep the elections. People have come from everywhere.” He said he had brought 2,000 people with him in a convoy of buses and cars from the Punjab. “From every part people have come, they have come on their own, because of their political conviction,” he said. “They say we just need a fair election and Benazir will be prime minister.” In the crowd below, Raja Munir Ahmed, 42, a real estate agent, said he had come from Mirpur in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir. “It was a journey of 1,500 kilometers,” or 930 miles, “and all along we saw buses and cars carrying Peoples’ Party flags,” Mr. Ahmed said. “People want change,” he said. “People want to get rid of inflation and unemployment,” he added, before shouting “Long live Bhutto” and disappearing into the crowd. Ghulam Abbas Rind, 45, a government worker, had come from Sehvan Sharif in Sindh, 350 kilometers from Karachi. Surrounded by dozens of party workers from his hometown, Mr. Rind said he reached Karachi at 2 a.m. Thursday morning. “Dictatorship is breathing its last and soon democracy under Benazir Bhutto will flourish,” he said. By CARLOTTA GALL and SALMAN MASOOD. Maria Newman contributed reporting from New York. Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company.
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