By IANS
Dhaka : Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination has lessons for Bangladesh and the rest of South Asia that must coordinate its fight against the rise of extremist forces, the media here observed Saturday.
“We strongly feel the proliferation of terrorism and the frequency and ruthlessness of terrorist attacks in Pakistan should once again be taken with due seriousness by the leaders of SAARC countries, for terrorism seems to have spread its tentacles in the region, including Bangladesh,” said The Daily Star in an editorial.
“We, therefore, believe this is time for taking collective action to contain the growing threat. Let Benazir’s assassination galvanise all the leaders of SAARC to stand united against these obscurantist elements,” said the newspaper referring to the eight-nation South Asian grouping.
Benazir was killed Thursday soon after addressing a rally in Rawalpindi. While initial reports said she died of gunshot wounds and a blast triggered by a suicide bomber, the Pakistan government Friday said she hit her head fatally on the sunroof lever of her vehicle.
Placing the Pakistani developments in the Bangladeshi context, the left-of-centre New Age newspaper said: “… the one thing that is clear from this sad episode is that nothing positive or constructive ever comes out of the military’s as well as the fundamentalists’ involvement and infiltration into politics.”
“Therein lies a lesson for us in Bangladesh to learn,” said the newspaper that frequently refers to Bangladesh’s present interim government of Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed as “army-backed”.
The Bangladeshi media came out a day late with editorial comments, but carried special writings on Pakistan’s developments by, among others, Tariq Ali, Ahmed Rashid and Hamid Mir.
The Bhutto family’s mention invokes mixed feelings in Bangladesh that separated from Pakistan in 1971. Bangladesh blames Benazir’s father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for political intransigence vis-à-vis the erstwhile east-wing of Pakistan that led the then military ruler, Gen. Yahya Khan, to order a military crackdown in 1971.
Adopting a pro-democracy and an anti-military stance with reflections on Bangladesh’s domestic scene, The Daily Star said that Benazir “was stopped when common people were beginning to rally behind her to demilitarise the country’s politics and pave the way for democracy.”
“….her assassination has not only left a massive political vacuum in the country but has also undoubtedly landed a major blow to the democratic aspirations of the Pakistani people. Whatever Benazir’s own democratic credentials might have been, democracy itself can never be advanced through violence and murder,” said New Age.
The New Nation called Benazir “charismatic, highly educated and self-restrained.” Not only Pakistan but also the democratic world lost “one of the most popular and influential politicians,” it said, adding that according to some observers, in popularity and influence “she was second only to US presidential hopeful Ms Hillary Clinton.”
Noting that despite the perils and threats to her life, Benazir remained “defiant till her death”, the newspaper said: “With a heavy heart one will ask the question: Whether or not Bhutto was able to rightly assess the political situation in Pakistan. It was a mistake to pursue the same kind of politics without understanding that the politics on the ground has changed drastically.”