Assassination signifies lack of progression, rep. says

The assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto shows America’s support of the country’s President Pervez Musharraf isn’t working, U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said Thursday.

“From what I understand, Benazir Bhutto’s return was being fought tooth-and-nail by radical Islamists,” he said. “The truth is that her assassination has indicated to us that this guy Musharraf is not the enemy of radical Islam he is being portrayed as. Our support for Musharraf is based on wishful thinking rather than reality.”

He noted those words were based on his current understanding that radical Islamists, rather than Musharraf supporters or someone else, had killed Bhutto.

“There are a lot of people in Pakistan who want to have democratic government and a non-Islamic government,” he said.

Rohrabacher said he met Bhutto when she was Pakistan’s former prime minister. She came to Rohrabacher’s office when her husband faced prison, asking for help pressuring the government not to harm him, he said.

“She herself was a very committed person,” Rohrabacher said. “I really respected her thoughtfulness and the fact she was straightforward and not posturing when we spoke.”

— Michael Alexander