Pakistan Finishes Off the Bhuttos

The governement and "the terrorists", which might be the same thing, have now suceeded in exterminating the Bhutto family:

http://www.dawn.com/2007/12/28/top1.htm

"It removed from the scene the last remaining bearer from her family of the political legacy of her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was executed, also in Rawalpindi, on April 5, 1979 by the then-military ruler Gen Mohammad Ziaul Haq following a controversial conspiracy-to-murder conviction.Her youngest brother Shahnawaz Bhutto was found mysteriously dead on July 18, 1985 while living in exile in a French Riviera apartment while his only other brother, Murtaza Bhutto, was killed in a mysterious shooting outside his home in Karachi on Sept 20, 1996."

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By the way, they are, of course, blaming this on "Islamic extremists". You know, the ones that Pakistan's own intelligence agency, the ISI, and the CIA have been supporting since the end of the 1970s. After all, they were fighting the evil Russians (and India) and could be used domestically in just this sort of situation.

Also, yesterday, a rally for another candidate, Nawaz Sharif, was attacked by gunmen after an altercation with, you guessed it, adherents of Musharraf's party, the PML-Q:

http://www.dawn.com/2007/12/28/top6.htm

Attack on rally claims five lives
By Munawer Azeem and Mohammad Asghar
THE first election-related violence in Islamabad and Rawalpindi claimed five lives and left three people wounded on the busy Islamabad Highway here on Thursday afternoon.Assailants used sophisticated weapons to attack a rally of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) which was heading towards the Kuri Road from the Kural Chowk.The firing reportedly started when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was about to reach the intersection where hundreds of PML-N leaders, workers and supporters had gathered to welcome him. The PML leader was coming from Gujar Khan after addressing a public meeting. Mr Sharif was scheduled to reach the intersection at 2:30pm, police said.An altercation took place when PML-N supporters tried to put up election banners near the house of a PML-Q candidate for NA-49, Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, about a kilometre from the chowk.Dozens of people reportedly came out of Mr Khokar’s house and intercepted the PML-N workers and tore the banners. The activists clashed after a brief exchange of harsh words.At around 2:30pm, when vehicles in the PML-N rally tried to move towards the Kural Chowk, people inside Mr Khokar’s house allegedly started firing in the air and later targeted the vehicles.The firing continued for more than half an hour.Eight people injured in the firing were taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and the Federal Government Services Hospital and five of the dead were identified as Imran Azram, Omer Qayyam, Shahid Azram, Tariq Mehmood and Afzal Hanif. The condition of three others – Omer Nawaz, Abdul Sattar and Muzafar – is said to be critical.Police personnel posted at the place said people inside Mr Khokar’s house had started the firing, adding that they had heard the sound of only one gunshot or a firecracker from the direction of the PML-N’s rally.Police quoted PML-Q leaders as claiming that two of the dead belonged to their party.Statements of leaders and workers of the two parties were being recorded, and according to the police, both sides accused each other of initiating the violence.Separate cases are likely to be lodged against the PML-Q and the PML-N, police said.Hundreds of vehicles were stuck on both lanes of the Islamabad Highway for more than two hours after the incident.The flight of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was scheduled to return to his country at about the same time, was delayed because of the violence and the traffic jam on the Islamabad highway.Later, he was flown to the airport in a helicopter.

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Both attacks occurred in Rawalpindi, which is the city that Islamabad was built next to in the 1950s. It is known for its large military population. No connection there....

Meanwhile, the country appears to already be partially shut down by rioting and violence:

http://www.dawn.com/2007/12/28/top9.htm

Rail, air traffic suspended
By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Dec 27: Rail and air traffic between major cities was suspended on Thursday after violence broke out in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Peshawar.All PIA flights from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar were rescheduled till 6am on Friday.“Most crew members and other staff could not reach airports, necessitating the rescheduling of flights,” a PIA spokesperson said while advising passengers to check the flight schedule before coming to the airport.Officials at the railway headquarters in Lahore said that the uprooting of a rail track by a violent mob near Rawalpindi had made it impossible to run trains to and from Rawalpindi and Peshawar.Similarly, some trains had been set on fire in some areas of Sindh, forcing the PR Karachi Division authorities to suspend the rail service. “The situation in Lahore and Quetta is also not favourable to run trains from there,” a railway officer said. He urged travellers to check the departure time of their respective trains from railways’ inquiry number 117.Meanwhile, security arrangements at railway stations and in trains have been beefed up in the wake of the Liaquat Bagh tragedy in Rawalpindi.