Today Marks The 1st Anniversary of Bhutto's Assassination

Today marks the first anniversary of the assassination of then-Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto.

On December 27, then-Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Bhutto had returned to Pakistan from her imposed eight-year exile in Dubai, UAE. She had returned in October of 2007. However, her welcome was short lived as she was met with suicide attacks. Unfortunately, Bhutto’s luck ran out on December 27. So far, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban has been blamed for Bhutto’s assassination. However, much blame was placed on then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. During the parliamentary elections in early 2008, Musharraf’s political party had lost out big time. Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari is the President of Pakistan. Bhutto’s assassination was seen as a blow to the war against terror. Today, people in the thousands paid respects and homage to Bhutto. The situation in Pakistan is chaotic. So far, it was blamed for the brutal Mumbai Massacre in India. It is having a difficult time fighting against the Taliban on the northwestern border to Afghanistan. It is believed that Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is hiding in the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistani police officers in the northwestern part have resigned out of fear of getting murdered by the Taliban and other insurgents. United States and coalition troops are having their fair share of difficulty fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. To make things harder, Pakistan has already made the move to shift troops from the border towards Afghanistan to the border towards India. “We don’t want to fight, we don’t want to have war, we don’t want to have aggression with our neighbors,” said Pakistani PM Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. “I appeal to Pakistan and Pakistani leaders, do not unnecessarily try to create tension,” said Indian Foreign PM Pranab Mukherjee. Today, hundreds of thousands travelled to the family mausoleum to pay homage and respect to the fallen leader. In regards to Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan, this will prove to be one of the largest international problems that US President-Elect Barack Obama will face once he takes office of US President on January 20, 2009. Other Mideast problems include: the current situation in Gaza and the Iraq War.