Statement issued by
SHRI L.K. ADVANI
Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha)

I am filled with a deep sense of disbelief, shock and grief at the news of the assassination of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and president of the Pakistan People’s Party, in Rawalpindi a short while ago.

Mrs. Bhutto has become a martyr to the cause of defense of democracy and the global war on jehadi terrorism. I strongly condemn this terrorist attack. On behalf of my party, my family and on my own behalf, I send my heartfelt condolences to her husband, Mr. Asif Zardari and their four children. She was a friend of our family and she sincerely desired friendly and peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.

I spoke to Mr. Zardari telephonically at Dubai airport before he emplaned for Pakistan.

The fact that she fell to the bullet of the assassins in the midst of national elections in Pakistan should leave no one in doubt that Pakistan is not only in the throes of instability but a far more dangerous process of Talibanistion. The enormously sinister implications of this development for India, in our own fight against jehadi terrorism, cannot be overstated.

I spoke to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who is in Goa, and expressed my apprehensions on this score. I suggested to him that he should immediately convene a meeting to brief leaders of opposition parties about the deeply worrisome developments in Pakistan and also Nepal. I thanked him for accepting the suggestion.

I had first met Benazir Bhutto seventeen years back when she had come to Delhi to participate in Rajiv Gandhi’s funeral. Since then, whenever she has come to India, she had invariably met me and discussed with me Indo-Pak relations and the problem of terrorism.

The last time I spoke to Mrs. Benazir Bhutto was on 19th October, the day of her arrival in Pakistan, after many years of exile abroad, to resume her battle for her country’s democratization. Religious extremists had made their intention known on that day itself, since her courageous return to Pakistan coincided with a terrorist attack in which more than 125 persons were killed. In my telephonic conversation, I said to her: “I am gratified that you have escaped this bid on your life. The people of India are with you in your struggle against both military rule and terrorism.” Thanking me for my words of solidarity, she had said: “Advani sahab, I was not in Pakistan when you came here in 2005. Now that I am back, I would like you to come again as our guest.”

Alas, she is now no more.