To die for ones country:

Surely the ultimate price you can pay in the pursuit of democracy is your life. Now and again in the history of politics and the fight for freedom we have seen leaders die, some naturally, others definitely in unnatural circumstances.

Benazir Bhutto is the latest politicical figure whose life was cut short abruptly on the 27th December 2007. Ms Bhutto died in a gun and suicide bomb attack which took place just after she addressed crowds at a political rally in Rawalpindi.

Ms. Bhutto (54) was leader of the Pakistani Peoples Party (PPP) and was running against the President, Pervez Musharraf, with the Parliamentary elections to be held on the 8th January 2008.

Within hours of her death political leaders all over the world expressed their condemnation of the killing of Ms. Bhutto. The UN Security Council described Ms. Bhutto’s killing as a threat to international peace and security. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said her killing “represented an assault on stability in Pakistan and its democratic processes.”

In the U.S. President George Bush commented how Ms. Bhutto “gave her life” for the democratic process and despite the threat to her safety “refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country.” Here at home President Mary McAleese said she was “shocked and saddened” by the news. “On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Ireland, I send my deepest condolences to her family and to the people of Pakistan and especially to those members of the Pakistan community here in Ireland,” she said.

An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern commented on how “Ms. Bhutto and her party have been campaigning heavily in the run-up to the parliamentary elections due to be held in less than two weeks, an election which will provide all of the people of Pakistan with an opportunity to secure democracy for their country. It is my sincere hope that this appalling attack will not prevent the Pakistani people from achieving that objective.”

Ms. Bhutto’s sudden death has been meet with outrage and an outpouring of grief as many of her followers took to the streets all over Pakistan. Many held angry protests, attacked police stations, vandalised and set fire to vehicles and property.

Supporters of Ms. Bhutto have blamed former military chief and current civilian president Mr. Musharraf for failing to protect her. Mr. Musharraf who announced three days of mourning following her death insisted the killing was the work of terrorists.

Mr. Bush has encouraged the people of Pakistan to “honour Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process.” However the elections have since been pushed back till February 18th 2008.

It is also uncertain as to how exactly Ms. Bhutto died. Early reports, from a hospital spokesman, confimed she died from shrapnel wounds she received to the head. However the Interior Ministry of Pakistan claimed Ms. Bhutto died as a result of a fracture to the skull which she received when the force of the blast caused her to hit her head off a lever attached to the sunroof in her car.

Ms. Bhutto follows in her fathers footsteps as he – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto – was executed in 1979. The Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the most famous family political dynasties in the world just like the Nehru – Gandhi family in neighbouring India. Ms. Bhutto’s father was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s.

Benazir Bhutto was born into a prominent Shia Muslim family in Larkana on 21st June, 1953. Her early years were spent in Pakistan but she later went to study at some of the most prestigious Universities in the worid including Harvard University in America and Oxford University in Britain.

In Decmeber 1987 she married Asif Ali Zardari and had three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar and Aseefa. Bilawal and his father have now taken over from Ms. Bhutto with Bilawal predicted to run for the elections now in February.

In 1988 Ms. Bhutto was sworn in as Prime Minister of a coalition government, becoming at 35 the youngest person and first woman to head the government of a Muslim country. Ms. Bhutto’s position was short lived as she was removed from office by the then President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, following allegations of corruption.

Ms. Bhutto was re-elected in 1993 however her position was again short lived. After three years she was dismissed on similar charges of corruption by the President Farooq Leghari.

In 1998 Ms. Bhutto went into self imposed exile amid charges of corruption against her and her husband, not just in Pakistan, but also in France, Spain, Poland and Switzerland. After eight years in exile Ms. Bhutto returned to Pakistan on the 18th October 2007 to prepare for the 2008 elections, which many believed she could win. Launching her party’s manifesto Ms. Bhutto and the PPP were to focus on “the five E’s: employment, education, energy, environment and equality.”

On the same day she returned to Pakistan she was the target of two suicide bomb attacks. Although she was unharmed, the attacks killed 136 and injured at least 450 people. Ms. Bhutto always knew of the dangers that she was subject to but she did not let this stop her in her pursuit of democracy and peace for her native country.

After this attempt to assassinate her in October she said “we are prepared to risk our lives. We’re prepared to risk our liberty. But we are not prepared to surrender this great nation to militants. The attack was on what I represent. The attack was on democracy and the very unity and integrity of Pakistan. “Just before the attacks happened, I was very happy. The atmosphere was joyful, people were dancing in the street, it was magnificent. For me, that was the real Pakistan.”

And risk her life she did. In her attempts to bring a brighter future to the people of Pakistan, the martyred Benazir Bhutto will now never realise her dream of becoming the first woman President of a Muslim-majority country.