‘If assassination is the price I pay ...’
‘If assassination is the price I must pay ...’
An eyewitness report of the bombing of Benazir Bhutto’s bus
We had been on the bus for about eight and a half hours when Bhutto came and sat on a chair for a while to rest her swollen feet. On her shoulder was perched a speckled dove with an injured foot. It had fallen on the bus when someone released a clutch of white doves into the air. She then went downstairs to the armoured compartment to meet with a woman MP who had just boarded. After that, she and her secretary worked on the speech she was due to give when we finally reached the Jinnah memorial, our destination.
We never did. At six minutes past midnight there was a low boom and a flash of orange flame lit up the sky. The bus rocked with the explosion, sending us all to the floor. Within perhaps a minute, a second much larger explosion followed. All around us, trees and vans were on fire and the whole sky seemed lit up. After a moment’s silence, the screams started, then the sirens. Surprised to still be alive and unhurt, I knew we had to get off the bus before its fuel tank caught fire. Some jumped over the side, others like me down a chute at the back, where we were caught. Bhutto herself had already been whisked out and away to her house, though she told me later she had been afraid to go back there, fearing her assassins would be waiting there to finish her off.
Back at her house, Bhutto and we other survivors of the bus sat around dazed, hugging each other and crying as on the television the death toll went up and up. Her plans for a triumphant road procession to her ancestral home in rural Sindh and then round the country were in tatters, and in retrospect seemed naive in the extreme in a nation where bombings are an almost daily occurrence.
The house was lit up by coloured lights for a joyful homecoming. Instead, there was the terrible realisation that far from bringing people together and avoiding bloodshed, her return had provoked it.
More articles from: Christina Lamb | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
Web Exclusive: Lloyd Evans on Thomas Friedman
Lloyd EvansThomas Friedman, the influential American commentator, addressed Intelligence Squared on his new book, ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded. Why the world needs a green revolution and how we can renew our global future.’
An evening with the Muslim Facebook crew
Sarfraz ManzoorSarfraz Manzoor celebrates an iftar meal with homeless people and his fellow Muslims, a web-generated ‘flashmob’ observing an Islamic tradition of generosity to the needy
Strictly Come Dancing is not the BBC’s core broadcasting
Rod LiddleRod Liddle — a former editor of the Today programme — says that the Corporation must stop pretending to be democratic if it is to keep the licence fee. Unashamed elitism is the only chance that the Beeb has in the new media world
Only Abba can save the world financial markets
Martin Vander WeyerMartin Vander Weyer says that the collapse in the markets reflects a loss of confidence that is out of proportion to all reason: a trip to Mamma Mia! is the answer to this hysteria
Amid the financial turmoil, Peter versus George is the key battle
Fraser NelsonStand by for a mighty clash between two politicians, says Fraser Nelson. The now infamous dinner between Mandelson and Osborne was a cordial parting for power-brokers of different generations who will fight each other savagely for electoral advantage
This charming man: an audience with the Gover
Fraser NelsonFraser Nelson meets the shadow schools secretary and finds him bracingly radical and disarmingly polite: a recipe for success in government
How Dave and George can avoid a terrible rift
Andrew TyrieAndrew Tyrie says that root-and-branch reform of the Treasury will be needed when Brown is gone, including weekly minuted meetings. Past friendship is not enough
Face it: Marx was partly right about capitalism
Rowan WilliamsRowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, says that the financial world needs fresh scrutiny and regulation. In our attitude to the market, we run the risk of idolatry
Pay attention at the back of the class, Mr Balls
Prue LeithPrue Leith talks to John Abbott, author of a new book which argues that teenagers should be challenged, coaxed into apprenticeship and lured out of the classroom
‘Whoever killed Benazir wants to kill me’
Christina LambChristina Lamb interviews the husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, who hopes to be named President of Pakistan this Saturday
Latest blog posts
sponsored links
Sky TV, Broadband & Talk from £16 a Month
Sky TV & free broadband packages available from £16 a month. Choose from a standard free sky box, sky plus or sky hd.
Sky TV, Broadband & Talk from £16 a Month
Sky TV & free broadband packages available from £16 a month. Choose from a standard free sky box, sky plus...
ROME CENTRE
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
City Breaks. ROME and PARIS
ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit www.romanreference.com and www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.
Jewellery. RUFFS (Estd. 1904).
Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs! You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved