Friday, December 28, 2007

Another political assassination and another mystery. The story seems to differ depending on who you listen to or read. According to the CNN fellow, he was standing in front of Benazir Bhutto's car taking photographs. She got into the car and stood up through the sunroof which is borne out by video footage taken at the time. The car started moving forward slowly and then suddenly surged forward at which this fellow had to take evasive action. At this time three shots rang out and Bhutto slumped inside the car and the the shooter blew himself up. Another version in today's paper says that she opened a car window to speak to her supporters and was then hit by shrapnel. I think the previous version is correct because video pictures taken just moments before show her head and the upper half of her torso above the roof of the car. The first government version said that she was hit by shrapnel but this morning the Paki spokesman was saying that she was hurled against a 'lever', which operated the sunroof, by the force of the bomb blast. Seems strange that the government does not want Bhutto's death to be due to gunshot wounds. The shooter certainly was a marksman. To be able to hit half a target in a moving car and with thousands of people milling round would seem to suggest professional assassin. However professionals do not blow themselves up which would suggest that he in turn was set up. Either his motorbike had been rigged or a jehadi had been instructed to blow him up at the right time. There will be many conspiracy theories but of one thing we can be sure, we will never get the right answer. Only time will tell if this is the end of Pakistan. God help the world if there is civil war in that country.

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