The New Republic

The Muslim fanatics whom she abhors welcomed Benazir Bhutto home with the explosion of two bombs killing more than 100 of her supporters and wounding God-only-knows-how-many-others from among 150,000 Pakistanis who had surrounded the truck in which she arrived in Karachi. "Pinky," as she was called at Harvard (where I knew her quite well) and Oxford, has and always had left-wing politics. But she was never attracted to the Islamo-fascistic madness which drives and divides her country. Of course, charges of corruption have stuck to her and to her husband for many years.

Another student of mine, James S. Henry, has written responsibly, I believe, about the financial depravity that has surrounded her circle. But, then, this kind of rottenness seems to infect all of the political players in the country, including President Musharraf. The question for any aspiring political leader is will he or she be able to keep Pakistan afloat or will it sever into all of its gangs with guns.

share this article on facebook or twitter print this article