...- Killed by suicide bomber - Leaders condemn act - Riots rock Pakistan
December 28, 2007
The Pakistani community in Jamaica has expressed shock and despair at yesterday's assassination of former Prime Minister and Pakistani Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto.
She was killed in an attack by a suicide bomber minutes after addressing a political rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding has joined world leaders in condemning the assassination of the 54-year-old politician.
Alvi Quasim, manager of PakJam Motors, told The Gleaner/ Power 106 News that the Pakistani community in Jamaica was distraught at the news of the killing of Ms. Bhutto.
Saddened
Mr. Quasim, who describes himself as a Jamaican Pakistani, said he has been in discussion with some of his countrymen, who are also saddened at the tragic development in their homeland. "This is the second suicide attack against her in recent months. She was one of the most popular leaders in Pakistan," he said.
"It is a great loss to the nation and people are going to react strongly against the Government and terrorists," he said in an interview with The Gleaner/Power 106 News.
Scores of Pakistanis have made Jamaica their home and have set up businesses in the automotive sector, while others are working in a number of sectors in Negril, Montego Bay, Kingston, and other parts of the Corporate Area.
In his comments, Prime Minister Golding expressed outrage at the assassination of Ms. Bhutto.
Mr. Golding, in a statement yesterday, recalled that the deteriorating situation in Pakistan was the cause of considerable concern and discussion at last month's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda.
According to Mr. Golding, the decision was ultimately taken to suspend Pakistan from the Commonwealth until meaningful steps had been taken to restore democracy through free and fair elections, the rule of law, and the reassertion of the independence of the judiciary.
The assassination of such a prominent political figure as Mrs. Bhutto, he said, has pushed the country into further conflict, violence and uncertainty.
A Reuters report yesterday said that Mrs. Bhutto's assassination had plunged the nuclear-armed country into one of the worst crises in its 60-year history.
Her death after an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi triggered a wave of violence, especially in her native Sindh province, and was likely to lead to the postponement of January 8 polls meant to return Pakistan to a civilian-led democracy.
Mrs. Bhutto had hoped the huge popular following she enjoyed among the Pakistani poor would propel her to power for the third time as prime minister in an election meant to stabilise a country wracked by Islamist violence.
She died in hospital in Rawalpindi, the home of the Pakistan army and the same city where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in 1979 after being deposed by a military coup....
Author: Edmond Campbell
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
