I have refrained from commenting on the horrific suicide bombing in Karachi that greeted the return of former Premier Benazir Bhutto because I think that Pakistan is pretty much an unfixable mess at the moment and there's not a whole lot that I can add that hasn't already been said.But on further thought there is something, and that is what short memories we have.
Bhutto is being described as some sort of returning heroine when in fact she was just another corrupt ruler, albeit one who happens to wear a sari.Have we really forgotten that Bhutto had two opportunities to begin bringing Pakistan into the 20th century but blew both of them?
That during election campaigns she voiced concern for Pakistan's long suffering women but once in office did squat to help them?
Apparently so.
Yes, well, politics is the art of the possible. All leaders operate under constraints. These constraints are not necessarily visible from the outside. Yes, they do get into bad habits when they discover that a little bakshish makes things work better. But for the most part, I think we all know when a leader is salvageable and when not. Bad news is the norm, but you may be aware that in some places, some of the time, things get better, sometimes dramatically so. What is it that makes the difference? I don't have much hope for Pakistan at this point, but I really don't think we can afford to let it go under. My gut reaction is that Bhutto has a much better glide path than Musharraf. She also has a lot of courage and charisma. She deserves our support.
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