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Whodunnit?

CONFLICTING statements in the aftermath of the bomb blast that took Benazir Bhutto’s life, especially the exact cause of the fatal wound, are not helping calm matters in what are clearly very troubled times for Pakistan. The government has not done a good job of satisfying millions demanding straight talk and an honest inquiry into the December 27 suicide bombing in Rawalpindi.

Incredibly, first an assassin’s bullet to the neck, then a bomb shrapnel to the head and finally some sun-roof lever of her land cruiser have been held responsible for the former premier’s unfortunate death. That the doctors who treated her changed their line three times before finally agreeing with the interior ministry’s somewhat vague analysis has expectedly fuelled strong suspicion that someone very high up has something to hide. That is so especially since PPP insider Sherry Rehman, who administered the bathing of the former leader’s body, claimed having seen clear bullet wounds around Benazir Bhutto’s neck. The public has been treated to different stories about the timing of the death, too and it is still not clear if she passed away at the spot, on the way to the hospital, or in the emergency room — there being claims of all three.

Firstly, it is very strange that qualified doctors could not give a clear pronouncement even when the victim had passed away and taken for burial. Secondly, it is just as strange for the government to wait two days before declaring she died because her head slammed against some lever in the vehicle’s sun-roof hatch as she tried to duck. Surely, experts not without experience in dealing with such incidents should offer a much clearer theory while the evidence is still before them.

And it does suffice to raise eyebrows when a leap frogging official take finally rests the bulk of the responsibility with the victim herself. The result has been as obvious as expected. Rioting goes on across the length and breadth of Pakistan, even in the Punjab province where she did not command a credible majority.

On a very serious note, the Pakistani establishment needs to get its act together before heads roll. If, as seems increasingly likely, there is a hand that might have facilitated an extremist ‘take-out’, it would suit the government more to expose criminal elements and salvage some of the lost credibility rather than endeavour to brush the issue under the carpet.

In politics, political correctness might suffice to brush off opposition rhetoric. But in matters as serious as Pakistan’s current predicament, failure to ensure transparency and honesty will not just dent the centre more, it will knock it off completely.