YNET NEWS – OPINION: Expert says Bhutto assassination to gravely undermine Pakistan democracy hopes
“Benazir Bhutto’s assassination is an earthquake in Pakistan,” says Dr. Isaac Kfir, an international relations lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and a Pakistan expert. Kfir believes that the terror attack that killed the opposition leader constitutes a grave blow to democratic aspirations in the Islamic state. “Her death will cause a huge shock in the country and lead to the opposition party’s collapse. This is an immense achievement for radical Islam,” he says.
Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister, was murdered Thursday in a shooting attack carried out by a suicide bomber. Dr. Kfir says that the opposition leader’s death will gravely undermine her party’s future. “Her death will neutralize the opposition party because there is no suitable candidate that could take her place,” he says. “This could lead to a party split and a leadership struggle.”
In addition, Kfir says that the murder significantly boosts the power of Islamists in Pakistan under the leadership of al-Qaeda activists. “The Bhutto assassination proves that radical Islam has shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan and is moving from rural areas into the large cities. The Taliban may grow stronger and so would al-Qaeda – one of its leaders, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called for Bhutto’s murder and viewed her as a US and Western puppet,” Kfir notes. Great triumph for radicals >>> By Roee Mandel
YNET NEWS OPINION:
World peace at stake: Bhutto assassination could have far-reaching implications for global security By Ronen Bergman
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