"The new Pakistani
general [Musharraf], he's just been elected -- not elected, this guy took over
office. It appears this guy is going to bring stability to the country, and I
think that's good news for the subcontinent." (George W. Bush, 1999)
"In Afghanistan, the freedom fighters are the key to peace. We support the
Mujahadeen..." (President Ronald Reagan, Seventh State of the Union Address,
January 1988).
The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto must be
understood in a historical context. Since the late 1970s, successive US
administrations have contributed to repealing the Rule of Law, destroying
Pakistani institutions of civilian and secular government and instating military
rule.
During the Cold War and its aftermath, the repeal of democracy and the
militarization of the Pakistani State have served US foreign policy objectives.
Pakistan is a geopolitical hub from which US sponsored military and covert
intelligence operations have been launched.
Pakistan is part of South Asia, at a strategic crossroads, bordering onto the
Middle East, Central Asia and the former Soviet republics and within proximity
of China's Western frontier.
Benazir's father, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan's
People's Party (PPP) was deposed in a military coup d'Etat on July 5, 1977,
which spearheaded Pakistan into a process of virtually uninterrupted military
rule. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was subsequently executed, in a judicial
assassination, on the orders of the US sponsored military junta.
Under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a secular postcolonial government had developed.
Economic nationalism was promoted. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government,
which had the support of a large majority of the electorate, was committed to a
broad program of economic, social an institutional reforms.
From his early days as foreign minister in the 1960s, Bhutto had called for an
independent and non-aligned foreign policy, free of US encroachment as well as
the closing down of US military bases. In the course of the 1970s, a
nationalization program of key industries under the PPP government was carried
out, which undermined the interests of multinational capital.
In the Aftermath of the 1977 Military Coup
Following the 1977 military coup, the structures of democratic government were
dismantled. The Constitution was abolished and martial law was established under
the rule of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who became President in 1978.
The postcolonial political process had been reversed. At the outset of the Zia-ul-Haq
regime, the populist PPP nationalization and agrarian reforms of the Bhutto era
were reversed and undone.
In turn, the new military rulers sought, with Washington's support, to undermine
the secular structures of the Pakistani State.
Islamism became embedded in the functioning of the State under military rule.
The tenets of "Islamic fundamentalism" sponsored by US intelligence were adopted
by the military dictatorship of General Zia, with a view to undermining the
structures of civilian government and the Rule of Law.
In 1980, the Parliament was replaced by a bogus consultative assembly, the
Majlis-e-Shoora composed of scholars and professionals, all of whom were
appointed by President Zia. A reign of terror marked by arbitrary arrests and
imprisonment was installed in the name of Islam.
State violence under military rule supported the concurrent implementation of
"free market" reforms under the helm of the IMF and the World Bank. IMF
sponsored macro-economic reforms contributed to destroying the fabric of
Pakistan's economy. The external debt spiraled. Poverty became rampant. The
commercial banking system was largely taken over by Western financial
institutions.
Since 1977, a military dictatorship has largely prevailed. The short-lived
democratically elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif did not,
in a meaningful way, break the continuity of authoritarian military rule. Both
Sharif and Bhutto served US interests and accepted the economic diktats of the
IMF and the World Bank.
Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, America's bogyman, was recruited by the CIA in 1979 at the very
outset of the US sponsored jihad. He was 22 years old and was trained in a CIA
sponsored guerilla training camp.
During the Reagan administration, Osama, who belonged to the wealthy Saudi Bin
Laden family was put in charge of raising money for the Islamic brigades.
Numerous charities and foundations were created. The operation was coordinated
by Saudi intelligence, headed by Prince Turki al-Faisal, in close liaison with
the CIA. The money derived from the various charities were used to finance the
recruitment of Mujahieen volunteers. Al Qaeda, the base in Arabic was a data
bank of volunteers who had enlisted to fight in the Afghan jihad. That data base
was initially held by Osama bin Laden.
The Assassination of General Zia Ul-Haq
In August 1988, President Zia was killed in an air crash together with US
Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel and several of Pakistan's top generals. The
circumstances of the air crash remain shrouded in mystery.
Following Zia's death, parliamentary elections were held and Benazir Bhutto was
sworn in as Prime Minister in December 1988. She was subsequently removed from
office by Zia's successor, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on the grounds of alleged
corruption. In 1993, she was re-elected and was again removed from office in
1996 on the orders of President Farooq Leghari.
Continuity has been maintained throughout. Under the short-lived post-Zia
elected governments of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, the central role of the
military-intelligence establishment and its links to Washington were never
challenged.
Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif served US foreign policy interests. While
in power, both democratically elected leaders, nonetheless supported the
continuity of military rule. As prime minister from 1993 to 1996, Benazir Bhutto
"advocated a conciliatory policy toward Islamists, especially the Taliban in
Afghanistan" which were being supported by Pakistan's ISI (See F. William
Engdahl, Global Research, January 2008)
Benazir Bhutto's successor as Prime Minister, Mia Muhammad Nawaz Sharif of the
Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was deposed in 1999 in a US supported coup d'Etat
led by General Pervez Musharraf.
The 1999 coup was instigated by General Pervez Musharaf, with the support of the
Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Ahmad, who was subsequently
appointed to the key position of head of military intelligence (ISI).
From the outset of the Bush administration in 2001, General Ahmad developed
close ties not only with his US counterpart CIA director George Tenet, but also
with key members of the US government including Secretary of State Colin Powell,
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, not to mention Porter Goss, who at
the time was Chairman of the House Committee on Intelligence. Ironically,
Mahmoud Ahmad is also known, according to a September 2001 FBI report, for his
suspected role in supporting and financing the alleged 9/11 terrorists as well
as his links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. (See Michel Chossudovsky, America's
"war on Terrorism, Global Research, Montreal, 2005)