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Pakistani Canadians See Dark Road Ahead for Country After Bhutto's Killing

Posted on: Thursday, 27 December 2007, 18:00 CST

By Lorrayne Anthony, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Canadians of Pakistani origin say they see a dark road ahead for the country after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, with some even voicing the fear that unrest could spiral into something close to civil war.

Those sorts of fears also bring concern for relatives remaining back in Pakistan. Asaf Shujah, president of the Pakistan Muslim League in Canada, said Toronto's Pakistani community is afraid of the budding crisis back home.

"Right now ... people are coming out on the streets for demonstrations against the government and the stores and markets have all been shut down," he said, retelling the scene that a colleague in Pakistan painted for him hours after the news of Bhutto's death.

"This has already started and, in my opinion, it will be very hard for the government to control if people come to the streets in thousands."

Two things could happen, said Shujah - President Pervez Musharraf could be toppled or it will give him another excuse to bring martial law back in the country.

Some see the situation escalating rapidly.

Mubashar Rasool, head of the Pakistan People's Party of Quebec, believes the country may be on the verge of civil war.

"You already have people killing army people, the people killing police forces, the people killing law-enforcement agencies, and law-enforcement agencies killing people."

"What's that? It's not a civil war? We're very close to that." he said.

In the shops of east-end Toronto's Pakistani business district, many expressed concern for loved ones living in a country embroiled in constant strife.

"It is very unstable. All the time, every week, it's bomb blasting over there," said Anwar Ahmad, 50, who spoke with his father and sister in Pakistan following the assassination.

"They call me up, they're really sad, worried about their life," he said.

"(We pray) that things will get better. We pray for those people who died in that bomb blast."

Twenty-year old Ghazala Khokhar has been waiting eight-months for her Pakistani husband to join her in Canada and said the country's fragile politics are delaying the process.

"He might be here next month," said Khokhar.

"You can't get through and get communications. It's harder to communicate."

Munawar Bukhari, 50, dutifully stock the shelves and manned the cash register of his small grocery, but added he'd rather be home mourning a "very sad day."

"It's very bad for all in Pakistan you now, very bad situation," he said.

"Maybe we'll see a lot of people die over there."

Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle after a political rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The gunman then blew himself up and at least 20 other people were killed in the attack.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned the assassination, calling it a threat to democracy and an attack on stability in the region.

Tanveer Ahmed, President of the National Federation of Pakistani Canadians, heard the news while driving to work in Ottawa.

"A lot of people will try to take revenge, a lot of demonstrations in the streets, it's very hard to say, but it will be very, very difficult and we'll be all very worried about what's going to happen now unless it's controlled immediately," he said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press.

Farrukh Alam, president, Pakistan-Canada Association, which represents Canadians of Pakistani origin in the Lower Mainland of B.C. received the news in the wee hours while he was asleep.

"I got a phone call from one of my friends and he told me what happened and I stood up in a big shock out of my bed."

He then spoke with his mom an aunt, both of whom are in Pakistan.

"They were in a shock and they were really worried what's going to happen today, what's going to happen tomorrow, what's going to happen day after ..."

"Already the demonstrations have started everywhere and people were taking the law in their own hands and I guess the government is not doing anything right now because it is very hard to control an emotional crowd," he said.

Shortly after Bhutto's death, Musharraf convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff to decide what steps to take in the wake of the attack.

Shujah, of the Pakistan Muslim League in Canada, guesstimates Canada's Pakistani community at more than 300,000, with more than 200,000 in the Toronto area. Montreal and Vancouver also have a concentrations of Canadians of Pakistani origins.

Speaking from his office in Toronto, Shujah said fear of the assassination's aftermath doesn't overshadow the loss the community feels.

"All if us - doesn't matter if we are affiliated with the PPP (Pakistan People's party) or we are affiliated with the other political parties - people are saddened," he said. "I think this act was senseless ... the assassination of a very courageous leader."

"People are in a state of shock right now and are trying to call each other and comfort each other."

Ahmed echoed the thought.

"It's a very tragic thing that happened," he said. "I think everybody is shocked. I was shocked myself when I heard the news. I think the same sentiment will go around."

Ibrahim Daniyal, secretary of the Canadian chapter of the Pakistan Peoples party, said there were those both inside Pakistan and beyond its borders who didn't want Bhutto to become prime minister.

He said that if she were to have become the country's leader it would have been a great threat to all those sponsoring terrorism.

But Liaqat Bajwa, past-president of the Pakistan-Canada Association in B.C., said pointing a finger is not the answer.

"Blaming each other is a very easy thing to do but that's not a solution, so we have to find, dig out a solution."

In addition spelling out a troubled future for the country, the ripples of Bhutto's assassination will be felt by many who had hopes tied to her political life.

"I don't see how anybody can pull the party through after the Bhutto family," said Bajwa.

"I am in shock," said Rafia Shujah, who has made Toronto her home for the past 25 years, but still feels Pakistani. She was very upset by the news of Bhutto's death.

"This is not right."

She said she, like many Pakistani women, had high hopes for a female leader again in an Islamic country.

"(Women) would be more confident if a woman were elected. Of course we would feel proud," she said, her voice rising.

"Now we have no rights," said Shujah, wife of Asaf Shujah, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League in Canada.

But not everyone was completely shocked by the tragedy.

"I'm not surprised at all, actually," said Zafir Ali Qureshi, president of the Ontario Association of Pakistani Canadians.

He said everyone in Pakistan - especially political leaders - knows of the very volatile political atmosphere.

While he would not comment on who was behind the assassination, he said ever since much of al-Qaida fled to Pakistan from Afghanistan, there are many trained killers everywhere in the country.

But that didn't diminish the sadness he felt.

"It is very, very sad. Very unfortunate. It is sad for all Pakistan - all walks of life will be mourning her death, including ourselves."

Source: Canadian Press

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