Life After Death ; Bhutto's Ppp Smartly Settles the Succession Issue but Elections Are Postponed by the Government to Contain the Sympathy Wave. The Law and Order Situation Across the Country Though May Worsen.

Summary

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By Hasan Zaidi in Karachi

Small groups of boys playing cricket amid the charred hulks of burnt-out cars and shattered shop-front glass on the streets of Karachi were the first signs that life might be attempting to limp back to normalcy in Pakistan, three days after the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi and the orgy of nationwide violence that followed. By the fourth day, shopkeepers had tentatively raised their shutters and with army and paramilitary forces patrolling the streets, people had begun venturing out of their homes where they had been barricaded out of fear. Although emotional scars from the events of December 27 ran deep, ordinary Pakistanis heaved a sigh of relief when Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) announced its intention to push ahead with participation in the upcoming elections and disavowed the heat-of-the-moment calls at her funeral by some Sindhis to separate from Pakistan and seek revenge against Punjab.

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Life After Death ; Bhutto's Ppp Smartly Settles the Succession Issue but Elections Are Postponed by the Government to Contain the Sympathy Wave. The Law and Order Situation Across the Country Though May Worsen.

When former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who had announced a boycott of the elections immediately after Bhutto's death, bowed to appeals from Asif Zardari, Bhutto's husband and PPP's new co-chair, to reverse his decision, it seemed some good may inadvertently come out of the killing of one of Pakistan's most charismatic leaders. The sight of the erstwhile foes coming together in a moment of crisis and tragedy--deeply troubling for their now common rivals, former ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML)--did come as a form of heali...

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