Human experience throughout the course of its history, across the world has shown that while assassination may be the most extreme form of containment, it does however not necessarily mean that it is the most effective. Indeed, political assassinations change history, but it seldom changes the hearts and minds of people who are affected by it. History has shown that political assassination are short sighted and rarely achieve the goals they hope for; and sometimes may actually produce effects that are detrimental to what they intended.
The assassination of Benazir is exactly that. It has brutally snubbed a critical voice of hope, even as Pakistan goes through waves of political crisis, taking it to the brink of utmost fragility. Benazir’s return in October had rekindled new hope and gave the people the opportunity to revive their aspirations for a democratic country. She was looked upon as the one person who had the heart and the capacity to transform Pakistan’s future at this juncture of its history. While her tragic death will definitely alter the course of Pakistan’s political history, it is unlikely to change and divert the hearts and minds of the people in its path towards democracy.
The assassins of Benazir have achieved nothing more than to silence a voice of hope; to deprive a family of a loved one; and to cheat a nation off its most charismatic and courageous leader who defied the extreme conditions of its time. Whether the assassination of Benazir will have the effect her killers intended depends on various factors that are entirely beyond their control. While they may have sought to revise future history and to shape it in specific directions, yet they may only find that their action has provoked outcomes that are entirely unpredictable.
In the case of Benazir, the assassins may have planned to reverse history when events have already moved on. They may therefore find that instead of destroying the movement she headed, they have only draped her into a unifying symbol of martyrdom; and thus ensuring that she remains above historical criticism for successive generations. In essence the assassins have strengthened the peoples’ resolve to urgently restore the rule of law and democracy in Pakistan. In her death, Benazir has given the democratic process a potent opportunity like none other: an unstoppable moral momentum. And she paid the ultimate price for it with her life.
Yes it is true ‘anyone can kill anyone’ and assassination seems terribly easy in a world that is fast becoming indifferent and immune to violence. The cycle of hatred is eating away our moral fiber and tragically the concept of ‘an eye for an eye’ has made us blind to our crumbling realities. It is in poignant and tragic moments such as in Benazir’s death, that we are reminded not just of our own human frailty, but how far humankind has moved away from the path to peace. Indeed the course of history has been changed by the death of Benazir, but killing someone is far easier than killing what they stood for. Let us ensure that the ideals for which she died, will only find renewed strength and vigor.
