Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Bhutto was committed to restoring democracy in Pakistan.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while attending a campaign rally in her honor in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Thousands were in attendance to show their support for her campaign for the upcoming January 8 election. Reports confirmed that more than twenty people were killed in a suicide bomber’s attack and gunfire that resulted in Bhutto’s death.

Family History

Benazir Bhutto was born in Pakistan in 1953 into the revered Bhutto family. Her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto served as Pakistani Prime Minister twice during the 1970’s, and was founder of the Pakistani People’s Party (PPP). He was executed in 1979 under charges of corruption—a charge that would later be mirrored in his daughter’s political career.

Political Career

Benazir Bhutto went on to study cooperative government at Radcliffe College and Harvard University in the United States. After returning to Pakistan under house arrest, she was permitted to return to the United Kingdom as a leader in exile of the PPP, the party created by her father and led by her mother following her father’s execution.

In 1988, Bhutto returned to Pakistan to participate in an open election, and at the age of 35, was elected as the youngest Prime Minister and the first democratically elected woman to lead the Muslim-majority state. In less than two years, Bhutto was forced out of office under charges of corruption, a charge for which she never received a trial.

Bhutto was reelected in 1993, and three years later was ousted again under charges of money laundering. Benazir denied these charges, admonishing that the documents proving her guilt were falsified.

She later went into an eight-year self-imposed exile in Dubai and London, during which time current Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was elected. Today, Musharraf is largely unpopular in Pakistan because, among many reasons, he is viewed as being too closely aligned with the United States.

Bhutto’s Return

In early 2007, Bhutto began meeting with elected officials in several nations, including US President Bush, to express her interest in returning to Pakistan to run as Prime Minister in the 2008 election. Her intention was to rebuild Democracy, to save Pakistan from al Quaida and Taliban-led extremists, and to restore the opportunity for “free, fair, and stable elections.”

On October 18, 2007, Bhutto returned to Pakistan for the first time in more than eight years. She was the leading voice in opposition to Pakistani President Musharraf, her main opponent in the upcoming election. On the first day of her return to Pakistan, two suicide bombers killed more than 100 of her supporters.

A Portrait of Courage

During the past two months, death threats and attempts shadowed Bhutto’s every move. Her supporters feared that her security staff may have been compromised, and the very nature of her death suggests an infiltration in her lines of defense.

Bhutto understood the danger in returning to Pakistan, but said, “I am an optimist by nature—I put my faith the people of Pakistan; I put my faith in God.” When asked whether she was fearful for her own life and the lives of her young children, she responded, “Of course…I’m taking this risk because all the children of Pakistan are as dear to me.”

54 year-old Bhutto leaves behind her husband, Asif Zardari, three children, and a nation in turmoil.

Resources

The Story of Pakistan: A Comprehensive History

Academy of Achievement: Benazir Bhutto

Biographies of Famous Women