Pakistani Government Gives Conflicting Reports of Bhutto's Death

Posted on December 28, 2007

The tragic assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has plunged the country into chaos, with reports of mass rioting. The Pakistani government can't seem to get its story straight about the incident. Eyewitnesses say a man jumped on Mrs. Bhutto's car and shot her twice, then blew himself up. She died an hour later at the hospital. But now, the government has contradicted itself again with a ridiculous story that she died by hitting her head on the sunroof as she ducked gunfire. The report also claims that her car sped off to get help, which is absurd, since there were hundreds of people in front of the car at the time, none of whom were injured.

So, to sum up: the government now says that Mrs. Bhutto was shot at point blank range yet suffered no bullet wounds and that she was not injured from any shrapnel although a bomb blew up right next to her car. No autopsy was performed, but her doctor says she had a huge wound. An eyewitness in the car with the prime minister also said she was shot, as did a Getty photographer who had been with her all day.

Apparently, the government of Pakistan wants the world to believe that she just hit her head -- sort of by accident -- and that it really wasn't anyone's fault. Hillary Clinton, who knew Mrs. Bhutto for years, has called for an international inquiry into her death, as have other political leaders. The goal of her detractors is to keep her from being named a martyr, by saying she did not die a martyr's death. Pretending that Mrs. Bhutto wasn't murdered isn't going to quell the violence in Pakistan or diminish Mrs. Bhutto's accomplishments. All it does is make Musharraf's government look like it is masterminding a coverup.