Mohtarma Bhutto condemns murder of Punjab Provincial Minister

Islamabad February 20, 2007: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has condemned the killing of a lady provincial minister in the Punjab at the hands of a religious zealot.

In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that the tragic shooting dead of social welfare minister Zill-e-Huma, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Q, showed the failure of the regime in controlling extremism and controlling crime.

She said that until the PPP's democratic government in Pakistan was overthrown in 1996, Pakistan was a peaceful country. However, after the overthrow of the PPP Government and the derailment of democracy, religious bigotry, intolerance, extremism, the collapse of law and order, with wanton killing and suicide bombings has grown.

"When governance is substituted with political persecution by the regime's own ministers and mayors and officials who are accused of murdering, attempting to murder, terrorizing or otherwise exploiting the law for the own agendas, the result is chaos and anarchy", the Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party, said.

Mohtarma Bhutto said that Pakistan is today facing multiple challenges as a consequence of an inability to extend the writ of government within the country. She said that the state sponsored terrorism and repression against the people has resulted in a culture where many think they can take the law in their own hands which is deplorable.

The killing of provincial minister Zill-e-Huma comes against the background of a series of incidents against women. This month, Dr Azra Pecheho, sister in law of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, escaped miraculously when the bodyguards of a provincial minister attempted to assassinate her. Both the provincial minister and the bodyguards are still at large.


The failure of the regime in meting out even handed justice has sent the wrong message to society that the application of law is selective and those with political protection can get away by breaking the law and committing heinous crimes.

So too despite a Supreme Court verdict in a corruption case relating to the Steel Mills, the concerned Minister and the Prime Minister were not proceeded against. The Stock Market crash manipulators also are yet to be apprehended as are those in the land scam. Even Police officials who tore the clothes of a leading human rights lady advocate were not proceeded against.

Under the present Kings Party, violent acts have escalated as political protection has been given to the perpetuators of such acts. Resultantly, a culture of violence and lawlessness has grown. This has been aggravated by the helplessness of the regime to restore law and order to the tribal areas where terrorists are reportedly receiving training in suicide bombings and terrorist activities. The inability of the regime to confront militant groups has led to the militants growing more confident. Last week a Judge was killed in Quetta along with others.

Zill-e-Huma was gunned down brazenly in public in the town of Gujranwala by a lone gunman who has been arrested. During the meeting, a man got up and in full public view opened fire on her. The man told police it was his religious duty to kill the woman minister because he had been brainwashed into wrongly believing that women cannot occupy senior positions in government.

There has been a tremendous increase in the reach of the political madrassas which are teaching a marginal interpretation of Islam and wrongly brainwashing their students into believing that they have a religious duty to kill their daughters and sisters in certain circumstances, kill people belonging to faiths other than their own and kill women leaders. Despite calls by the Opposition, the regime has failed to crack down on those preaching violence and intolerance. Their numbers are growing as are those of the terrorists and militants. There is grave apprehension that internally the country is falling apart with the institutions of government collapsing through neglect and bad governance in the last decade since democracy was overthrown in Pakistan.

It appears that the assassin was a trained terrorist. He was able to kill Ms Huma with a bullet fired directly into her forehead.

The Pakistan Peoples Party called for the resignation of the present Government led by the PML Q claiming it had failed to save the lives of the people including their own minister. The PPP called for the formation of a government of national consensus to transfer power to the true representatives of the people so that the internal collapse and threat of anarchy, chaos and bloodshed could be avoided.