Word: benazir
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...auspicious start. Returning to Pakistan after two years of self-imposed exile in London, the daughter of the country's last elected Prime Minister arrived in ancient Lahore, the home of the Punjabis, who dominate the military and bureaucratic elite that rules Pakistan. The political risk paid handsome dividends. Benazir Bhutto, 32, was greeted by hundreds of thousands of frenzied supporters, who enveloped her motorcade and staged a daylong demonstration that was the largest display in memory of discontent with the military government of President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. "Zia is a dog," chanted the demonstrators again and again...
...dramatic return last week was made possible by Zia's decision last Dec. 30 to suspend martial law for the first time in 8 1/2 years. Zia took power in a 1977 coup d'etat that overthrew Benazir's father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Two years later, he allowed the elder Bhutto to be hanged in connection with an alleged murder plot against a political rival. Last year Zia engineered the ^ first steps toward a new Pakistani democracy by allowing long-promised parliamentary elections, though he banned political parties. After martial law was lifted, he turned over many government functions...
Nonetheless, if Benazir Bhutto and the P.P.P. are able to mount large and fervent demonstrations against Zia, the Pakistani establishment is going to feel the pressure. In the nearly five years Bhutto remained in the country following her father's execution, Zia responded to her challenges by simply throwing her in jail or placing her under house arrest. This time the President is clearly trying to avoid resorting to such authoritarian measures. "I will rule this country from my grave," predicted the charismatic Zulfikar Ali Bhutto before going to the gallows. Last week, at least, his daughter seemed determined...
Pakistani President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq and Benazir Bhutto gave all appearances of having made a deal. Bhutto, the leader of the outlawed Pakistan People's Party, the most popular political movement in the country, was allowed to return to Pakistan from Britain last month for the burial of her brother Shahnawaz, who died under mysterious circumstances in the south of France last July. Her part of the deal was not to engage in antigovernment political activities during her visit. Last week, however, the bargain was called off and the charismatic Bhutto was placed under house arrest at the family...
After Shahnawaz's burial last week, Benazir promised her supporters, "I will not abandon my political responsibilities." At the same time, however, she conceded, "I will not be able to stay very long in Pakistan." The question being asked by her followers was how long she would dare to stay...