Benazir Bhutto - a requiem

I, like the majority of Pakistanis, never knew Benazir Bhutto personally, but unlike them I did have the pleasure of meeting her once in my office as a journalist sworn to show no courtesy to politicians whom I held personally responsible for all the ailments that beset my country.
And mind these were not minor ailments: we had a political system that could not be termed democratic by any stretch of the imagination and I am not only referring to the frequent forays by the army into our politics; but to the way the mainstream political parties elected their leaders for life, awarded tickets for forthcoming elections and, indeed, gave 'a get out of jail' free card to all those who had remained loyal during times of adversity ('adversity' defined as when the party was out of power).
It was the way the party leadership subordinated the judiciary and, indeed, abused the state organs, particularly the police, to further its legitimate and illegitimate aims when in power. I am not going to delve into the evergreen corruption charges that have surrounded all our political leaders of note. And last, but certainly not least, let us not forget the deals that have been made in the name of democracy with the military - a contradiction in terms.
Benazir's latest deal with Musharraf, brokered by the US, was, I am convinced, recognised as a vote loser by Benazir herself which is why she had set up a special cell that would focus on influencing domestic journalists of note. Musharraf's subsequent actions absolved her from the stigma of the deal and she re-emerged as the legendary phoenix in the arena of Pakistani politics.
But despite all my prejudice I was struck by her charisma and effortless charm as she walked into my office smiling - qualities common amongst many popularly elected leaders world-wide and so rare in dictators. I, like millions of my compatriots, became an admirer.
However like the French officials argued during the second US invasion, friends or, in my case, admirers, can agree to disagree. Benazir was no saint and she was, perhaps, not suited to be Pakistan's saviour but no one, not even her most ardent detractors - and she had a fair share of those both within and outside the government - can deny the obvious fact: she was a leader of note, and she would probably have won a majority though not an overall majority in the forthcoming elections.
She, therefore, remained a beacon of hope for democracy in this country, for Pakistan has suffered by not having a popularly elected leadership for the past eight years and, according to many analysts, extremism and fundamentalism have flourished as a consequence.
On the death of any leader the world normally looks at his or her legacy. If one was to assess Benazir Bhutto's legacy then one would have to enter the murky waters of Pakistani politics which may well separate the die-hard Bhutto supporters from her numerous detractors.
Had she learned her lesson during her eight years of self-imposed exile and not repeated the mistakes that she had made during her two terms of office, is the question that would most likely be asked in the weeks to come. That, unfortunately, is a question not easily answered and as someone who died violently while canvassing for votes, a democratic exercise, she must be given the benefit of the doubt.
Going back to her legacy it is critical to note that Pakistani politics has invariably centred on personalities; and not on policies associated with those personalities. The reason is evident: foreign and economic policies have not changed with a change in leadership for over three decades.
Thus Benazir, during her two stints in power, followed the economic policies of Ziaul Haq, her nemesis, rather than support her father's disastrous nationalisation policies. In terms of foreign policy her much publicised recent deal with Musharraf was again symptomatic of Pakistan's foreign policy focused on keeping US interests centred on the country. It is in this context that expressions of outrage and distress are being voiced by world leaders at her death.