Benazir Bhutto’s killing is a deep-rooted political conspiracy. I refuse to accept that the Taliban could do it without active help from the pro-Taliban functionaries in the establishment. However, I must add that the present regime could not have had a hand in her death. After all, she was working in tandem with the military regime. The blame for her death lies at the doors of government functionaries who are sympathetic to the Taliban.

There is certainly something more than what meets the eye here. I have always held the belief that free and fair elections are not possible unless the elements sympathetic to the Taliban are removed. Her killing only reinforces my belief.

Apart from the fact that her death has taken away the most charismatic leader in Pakistan, I think it is India that will suffer the most. For, in her death, this country has lost a Pakistani leader who was eager to normalise relations between the two. Along with President Pervez Musharraf she could have played a vital role in bringing the two neighbours closer.

The killing leaves some uncomfortable questions that the regime headed by President Pervez Musharraf will be asked soon. Why was the killer with the gun allowed to come so close to Benazir so as to manage a shot at her? She had a three-tier security ring around her. Unless the security agencies were involved in the conspiracy, it would not have been possible for anyone to breach the security cover.

... contd.