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Was Bhutto Pakistan's Last Option?

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By FRIDA GHITIS

Published: December 28, 2007

When I saw Benazir Bhutto that day in 1989, she was simply impossible to miss. There she stood on the eve of a gathering of the world's most powerful countries: A woman making her way confidently in a sea of men. A woman from Pakistan - a Muslim country, no less - democratically elected as prime minister.

The same was true after Bhutto came home from exile last October, hoping that a return to democracy would bring her and her Pakistan's People's Party back to power: Images of Pakistan always showed men and only men, unless Bhutto was in the picture. It was impossible to miss.

With all her flaws, and she had many, Bhutto represented hope for democracy and progress and change in Pakistan. When I saw her that day in Paris, she had only been prime minister for a few months, having taken office at the age of 35. She held the job barely another year and was elected again in 1993. Later, she left the country fleeing corruption charges, and eventually Pakistan lost all pretense of democracy, becoming a military dictatorship.

Benazir, even in exile, was always the head of her PPP and an iconic figure in Pakistan. To her supporters, she represented the possibility of democracy, equal rights for women and progressive policies. For women in other Muslim countries, she was always somewhat intriguing, and often profoundly inspiring.

Now all that may have ended, in part because Bhutto held on to her position at the PPP so fiercely that a charismatic successor may prove hard to find.

Bhutto was fearlessly critical of the Muslim extremists who want to keep her country from moving forward. She was also sharply critical of President Pervez Musharraf for refusing to allow true democracy in Pakistan and for failing to take on the extremists who work hand in glove with al-Qaida, particularly in the areas of Pakistan that border Afghanistan.

Educated at Harvard and Oxford and raised in a powerful political family, she was brought up with full awareness of her potential to become a popular leader, and she took on the role with passion.

Bhutto, however, was a product of her place and her time. She embraced democracy, but she was, if one might call it that, an autocratic democrat. She enjoyed the unbridled adoration of millions of Pakistanis, who attended her political rallies - much as she did - with full knowledge that a Bhutto rally could well be the most dangerous place in the country.

Bhutto criticized the military and the Muslim extremists. Her death could have come at the hand of either. Still, the very fact that she was a powerful woman was like vinegar in an open wound for jihadists, while Musharraf, who only recently left his military post, was willing to negotiate a political deal with her.

The future of Pakistan has never looked more uncertain. Chaos in a country with a full nuclear arsenal, such as Pakistan, is of grave concern to the entire world. Its geographical position, bordering Afghanistan and Iran, and India, with which it has never quite enjoyed peaceful relations, make it a pivotal geopolitical player.

Pakistan is a great test for advocates of democracy. The voice of the people can be fickle and unpredictable. Many would like to see a strong hand take over to keep the peace and make sure nuclear weapons remain securely locked up.

Whatever her faults, Benazir Bhutto was clearly the best option for the West and, more importantly, for Pakistanis who do not want their country governed by Islamic fanatics.

If Pakistan, at the hands of the current leadership, can move successfully through the aftermath of the killing and through the anger that the Bhutto assassination will ignite, the challenge will lie in the hands of Bhutto's PPP supporters to prove that their democratic aspirations were founded on ideals and not on a personality. If they can do that, they should be able to find a successor to pick up the banner and resume the struggle. In the end, no matter how powerful the personality, the principles must stand at the core of a movement, otherwise the movement - and the hope it inspired - will die with its leader. That would be more tragic news for the people of Pakistan and for women around the world who found Benazir Bhutto simply impossible to miss.

Frida Ghitis is a freelance journalist who covers the Middle East.

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