The cowards killed Benazir Bhutto. They finally succeeded in getting rid of her. Those murderers hated her so much and wanted her dead from the get-go. She had enemies everywhere. A lot of people inside the Pakistani army and in the Pakistani Intelligence services didn’t like her. The Islamic radicals and Al Qaeda hated to death because she was the voice of moderation and tolerance. And it’s clear that General Musharraf and the military dictatorship were not great fans of hers because she was a virulent critic of their system. Everything was in place for her murder and they just got rid of her. She knew she was at risk. She knew her life was in danger. She talked a lot of about it. I still remember her interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN just before her return to Islamabad where she came to Washington, DC. She was ready to pay the ultimate price for her country. This is a very sad day for the world and one can only condemn such a barbaric and unjustified act.

I saw it coming as soon as she announced her return to Pakistan. I knew she was going to get assassinated, like her father, like her two brothers. This is a very sad and dark day, not only for Mrs. Bhutto’s family but for all the democrats in Pakistan and in the world. She was a symbol of hope for millions of people in Pakistan and in the rest of the world. I was still in high school when she first became prime minister in Pakistan. It was the first time a woman reached that level of power in the muslim world and she was the symbol of courage and hope for a lot of women in that part of the world where many radicals oppose the leadership of a woman. Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as a strong and courageous lady who sacrificed her live for her country, Pakistan, to embrace tolerance, democracy and freedom. I have the outmost admiration for her and my sincere condolences go out to her family and the Pakistanis who believe in her.

The assassination of Mrs. Bhutto is a serious loss to the moderates and the survival of democracy in Pakistan, a country filled of extremists who only want to kill. However, I pray that the death of Mrs. Bhutto will not be vain and that democracy and liberty will triumph one day in the country she has given her life for.

May God welcome her in his kingdom and may her soul rest in peace !