Global fears for Pakistan after
Bhutto killing
Posted: 29 December 2007 0521 hrs
PARIS : The assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir
Bhutto sent shockwaves around the world on Friday with
Poland ordering extra troops to Afghanistan and
other countries vowing new help to battle Al-Qaeda.
Many countries, however, also urged President Pervez Musharraf to
keep Pakistan on the path to democracy, despite the killing of
Bhutto in a suicide bomb attack at an election rally on
Thursday.
Pope Benedict XVI is praying for
an end to violence in Pakistan after the "brutal terrorist attack"
that killed Bhutto, the Vatican said.
Poland will add 400 troops to its
force of 1,600 in Afghanistan as a direct response to the
assassination of Bhutto, Polish Defence Minister Bogdan Klich
said.
"The destabilisation of the situation in Pakistan and the danger
that this instability will expand in the region and to Afghanistan
has forced us to reinforce our military contingent," he told
Poland's TVN24 news channel. The extra troops would be deployed in
April or May.
Britain, France, Italy, Malaysia,
Singapore, Spain and other countries warned their nationals against
going to Pakistan. Japan told its citizens in the country not to
leave their hotels or lodgings.
With widespread doubts over whether Pakistan will go ahead with
scheduled elections on January 8, British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown called on Musharraf to "build democracy" in talks with the
Pakistani leader. He also offered extra help to combat
Al-Qaeda.
The British leader said in a statement he "encouraged President
Musharraf to stick to the course he has outlined to build democracy
and stability in Pakistan."
Brown said the killing was "a potent reminder of the threat we face
from terror."
"Pakistan is a major ally in the global effort to combat this
menace," Brown said. "I told President Musharraf that the UK
(United Kingdom) is prepared to sustain and build the already
significant counter-terrorism support we offer his country, not
least in the effort to destroy Al-Qaeda."
US President George W. Bush also called, on Thursday, for Musharraf
to stay on the path of democracy despite the killing which the
Pakistan government said was the work of Al-Qaeda.
The US president urged Pakistanis "to honor Benazir Bhutto's memory
by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely
gave her life."
The two-time former prime minister was shot at by an attacker
before he blew himself up at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi,
killing at least 20 people.
Bhutto hit her head on her car sunroof avoiding the bullets
and died, according to the Pakistan government. 
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Bhutto's assassination
"represents an assault on stability in Pakistan and its democratic
processes".
The UN Security Council agreed a non-binding statement that
condemned "in the strongest terms the terrorist suicide attack" in
Pakistan.
Pakistan's neighbours, fearing an extremist spill-over if
nuclear-armed Pakistan were to spiral out of control, were quick to
respond.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who met Bhutto only hours before her
death, called the assassination an act of "immense brutality"
against one of the Muslim world's leading women.
"I am deeply sorry, deeply pained that this brave sister... this
great daughter of the Muslim world is no longer with us," he
said.
In Europe, France voiced concerns on Friday over the possibility of
Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the hands of the extremists
and the threat to stability across South Asia caused by the
killing.
"That is why we regard Pakistan and the odious assassination of
Benazir Bhutto in part as an assassination of democracy... and we
must not allow that," said French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner.
Strong reaction also came from the Muslim world.
President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation,
called Bhutto's murder "a severe blow to Pakistan's democratic
process" and expressed his hope that "the law be upheld and
democracy be respected in Pakistan."
Turkey, a close ally of Pakistan, said the killing "undoubtedly
aims to draw Pakistan into chaos and instability."
The International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution think tank,
called for a UN inquiry into the killing, saying that the Pakistan
government "is not in a position to carry out a fair
investigation."
"The United Nations Security Council should meet urgently to
establish an international commission of enquiry to determine who
ordered and carried out the killings," it said.
"Given the longstanding connections between the Pakistani military
and jihadi groups, this would be the only way to carry out an
impartial and credible investigation."
- AFP /ls
