By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Several US presidential hopefuls joined President George W. Bush and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in condemning the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto as a terrorist bid to derail the country’s democratic process.
Bush, whose administration had brokered an uneasy political deal between Bhutto and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, described the killing as a “cowardly act” and said the US stood with the country’s people in their fight against terrorism.
Asking the Pakistani people to honour her “memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life”, Bush said, “The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy.”
Bush, who was informed about reports of Bhutto’s assassination during a regular morning briefing at his Crawford ranch in central Texas where he is vacationing, may call up Musharraf, the White House said.
Speaking to reporters at a hangar next to his ranch, the president said, “Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.”
Expressing his deepest condolences to Bhutto’s family and to the families of others slain in the attack and to all the people of Pakistan, Bush said: “We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism. We urge them to honour Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.”
“Mrs. Bhutto served her nation twice as prime minister, and she knew that her return to Pakistan earlier this year put her life at risk. Yet she refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country,” Bush said.
In New York, condemning the assassination as a “heinous crime”, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it “represents an assault on stability in Pakistan and its democratic process”.
“While strongly urging calm and restraint to be maintained at this difficult time, I call on all Pakistanis to work together for peace and national unity,” Ban stated. The UN Security Council is set to hold emergency talks shortly on the killing.
Zalmay Khalilzad, US Permanent Representative, mourning the “loss of my friend, Benazir Bhutto”, said, “A tribute to her memory would be lasting democracy in Pakistan – a worthy goal for that country and for all the world.”
Strongly condemning “the cowardly and murderous actions of extremists opposed to Pakistan’s democratic processes,” he said, “the world has much at stake in the success of Pakistan’s democratic institutions.”
Calling on the voices of moderation to oppose extremism in all its forms, Khalilzad said, “The global community should honour the memory of this courageous woman and her commitment to promoting democracy, unity and stability.”
On the campaign trail, several US presidential hopefuls including former first lady Hillary Clinton, her Democratic rivals Barrack Obama and Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate foreign Relations committee, condemned the attack. So did Republican candidates, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain.
Biden said he had twice urged Musharraf to provide better security for Bhutto and other political leaders. “The failure to protect Ms. Bhutto raises a lot of hard questions for the government and security services that must be answered,” he said and urged Bhutto’s supporters to refrain from lashing out in anger.
Mitt Romney said the killing was “a stark reminder that America must not only stay on high alert, but remain actively engaged across the globe. Pakistan has long been a key part in the war against extremism and radical jihadists. For those who think Iraq is the sole front in the war on Terror, one must look no further than what has happened today.”
The first to comment was Republican candidate and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had made the war on terrorism his main election plank.
“Her death is a reminder that terrorism anywhere – whether in New York, London, Tel-Aviv or Rawalpindi – is an enemy of freedom. We must redouble our efforts to win the Terrorists’ War on Us,” he said in a statement issued by his office.
The leading candidate for the Democrat nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton said that she was “profoundly saddened and outraged”. “Her death is a tragedy for her country and a terrible reminder of the work that remains to bring peace, stability, and hope to regions of the globe too often paralysed by fear, hatred, and violence,” she said.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and a Democrat candidate, said that US should use its “diplomatic leverage and force the enemies of democracy to yield”. “President Bush should press Musharraf to step aside, and a broad-based coalition government, consisting of all the democratic parties, should be formed immediately. Until this happens, we should suspend military aid to the Pakistani government. Free and fair elections must also be held as soon as possible,” said Richardson, a former US envoy to United Nations.
The assassination of Bhutto is seen here as a major setback to US efforts to build a political coalition between a moderate democratic leader and a key military ally in Washington’s war on terror.