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The assassination of Benazir Bhutto illustrates the danger of politicians flirting with Islamic militants in hopes of keeping the extremists at bay or using their tacit support to stay in power.
You can never make a politically expedient deal with militants.
During her two terms as Pakistan’s prime minister in the late 1980s and mid-’90s, Bhutto supported Islamic militants because it was a way to consolidate authority while she dodged frequent charges of corruption.
Bhutto’s government backed the Taliban with military and financial aid as the fanatical movement swept to power in neighboring Afghanistan.
Under Bhutto, Pakistan became one of only three governments in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.
When Bhutto was forced out of office, she turned against Islamic extremists as she tried to cultivate new alliances with the West and portray herself as Pakistan’s only truly secular, democratic opposition leader.
The militants never forgave her. To them, she symbolized the worst of secular and corrupt rule.
Undoubtedly, her assassination was the work of Al Qaeda or its Pakistani allies. She has been in the cross hairs of Al Qaeda for years.
With her killing, the militants seek to destabilize Pakistan by smashing its secular political parties and weakening the Pakistani Army.
