Pakistani expats in a shock

ABU DHABI & DUBAI — Too shocked to react to Pakistani political leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination yesterday, the Pakistani community in the UAE says that the present government in their country has failed to provide security to the citizens.

By M.a. Qudoos And Asma Ali Zain (Our staff reporters)

Published: Thu 27 Dec 2007, 11:27 PM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 2:23 AM

Akram Farooqi, Acting President of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) UAE, said he was too shocked to speak on the subject. 'I am not feeling well at all since I have heard the news and am in no position to comment,' he said.

Businessman and prominent community leader Tanvir Khawaja said, 'I strongly condemn the attack. President Pervez Musharraf should take responsibility of the attack and resign because his government has not been able to provide the required protection to the people. If the politicians of the country are not safe, then what will happen to the common man. This assassination has been planned so as to sabotage the elections.'

Another prominent businessman, Mian Saeed, said, 'It is indeed extremely bad news. We are stunned. Pakistan is not going to survive such incidents because we are fighting each other. The political system is the victim of deep conspiracy. I see no sensible leader who can take over the country. This is a sabotage so that elections are not held in the country. I have no words to condemn the incident.'

Rashid Chughtai, PPP President Dubai, said between sobs that Benazir was killed for no fault of hers. He blamed the security people and the government for her death. 'If extremist agencies like Taleban and Al Qaeda wanted to kill her they could have done it when she was in Peshawar.'

He said that the firing was done by security personnel at close range when she was getting into the car. 'Nobody could have come so close to the car,' he pointed out.

Mian Munir Hans, a PPP leader, said no news could be more sad for any Pakistani than the news of Benazir's death. He said that the incident was definitely a security lapse.

He said the PPP supporters in the UAE will organise Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza and condolence meetings after coordination with the PPP in Pakistan.

Chat with children

M.M., a close aide of Benazir Bhutto in Dubai, said the PPP leader had spoken over the phone to her children in the morning. 'There were meetings going on but she called and spoke to her children as she normally did whenever she was away from home. But she spoke at length to her youngest daughter Asifa,' he said. He also said that Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, had asked her not to go to Pakistan after the blast that happened during a rally earlier. 'She knew that something like this was going to happen and she had told her husband that she was not afraid,' he said.