Pakistan: A Followup

With angry fingers pointed at President Musharraf in the wake of Bhutto's assassination, his regime is moving quickly to declare the case closed. "We have the evidence that al-Qaida and Taliban were behind the suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto," Interior Minister Nawaz said. I do think that those are the most likely culprits, but-- rioting mobs aside-- I am skeptical as to how upset the leadership is at what has transpired this week. All this talk of moving forward with the elections seems kind of silly right now, considering Musharraf's two key rivals won't even be participating (one dead, one boycotting). It has all the seriousness of Putin announcing in Russia that even though his presidential term will soon be over, he will remain on as Prime Minister... but without even that basic pretense of constitutional order.

(The official means of her assassination-- shooting-- now also seems in dispute.)

Finally, Juan Cole (a professor of modern Middle Eastern and South Asian history at the University of Michigan) has a good piece at Salon putting these events in context, both in terms of the history of Pakistan and what it means to us. In my opinion, the definitive article for you to read on this subject.