Benazir Bhutto was the first female leader of a Muslim state and played a vital role in Pakistani politics until her assassination in 2007. Born in Karachi, she studied at Harvard and Oxford before taking over the leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party. She became Prime Minister twice but was sacked both times amidst allegations of corruption. Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 2007 to campaign for political reform but was assassinated by a single assailant in December of that year.
Benazir Bhutto was the former Prime Minister of Pakistan who was assassinated in late 2007. She has the distinction of being the first female leader of a Muslim state and played a vital role in Pakistani politics up until the time of her death.
Benazir Bhutto was born in 1953 to a wealthy Shia Muslim family in Karachi. After finishing her basic education in Pakistan, Bhutto traveled to the United States to attend Harvard University at the age of 16. He graduated at the age of 20 in Comparative Government. He then attended Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University, studying philosophy, politics and economics.
Bhutto’s father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as Pakistan’s president from 1971 to 1973 and then prime minister from 1973 to 1977, founding the incredibly influential Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). In 1977, Benazir Bhutto’s last year at Oxford, the prime minister was removed from office when the military took over the government in a coup. Free elections were promised, but martial law remained in effect and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was eventually hanged in mid-1979.
After her father’s execution, Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest by the government, where she remained for a few years. In 1984 she was allowed to return to the UK, where she immediately took over the leadership of the PPP, replacing her mother, and she began campaigning for democratic reform. Her brother was killed in France the following year and the details of her death are still unknown.
In 1988, following the death of ruling general Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, open elections were held in Pakistan. The PPP won the election and Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as the new Prime Minister. Two years later, Bhutto and his PPP government were sacked following disputed corruption charges. In 1993 the PPP returned to power with open elections and Bhutto was once again appointed Prime Minister. Three years later the president dissolved the government again, again amidst allegations of corruption.
Corruption charges that were repeatedly leveled against Benazir Bhutto eventually led to a conviction, with heavy fines and a suspended prison sentence. The corruption allegations mainly concern payments by large companies for exclusive contracts with the Bhutto government. Some groups, however, say the allegations were largely fabricated and the result of a political desire to remove Bhutto from office, alleging massive buying and forgery.
In 2002 the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, made a change to the constitution that allows prime ministers to serve only two terms. This was widely seen as a ploy specifically to prevent Benazir Bhutto from becoming Prime Minister again. Bhutto began preparing to return to Pakistan and in 2007 she finally returned, campaigning for massive political reform.
For a while it seemed that Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf would be able to reach some kind of agreement. Funds that had been frozen were released by the Pakistani government and overtures of reconciliation were attempted. It was suggested that a power-sharing deal would be reached between President Musharraf and Bhutto, allowing him to remain president if he stepped down as head of the military and for her to become prime minister again.
In October 2007, a suicide bomber targeted Benazir Bhutto, killing nearly 150 people, including her personal guard, who formed a wall in front of her to protect her. Further attacks occurred over the next few months, and in late December 2007, Bhutto was shot by a single assailant and died of her wounds less than an hour later.
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