Pakistan lost a liberal leader: Mahmud Durrani

By Rana Fawad

WASHNGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durrani has condemned the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and termed it a great loss for her family, her party (Pakistan Peoples Party) and the country.

Responding to questions posed by different US media outlets, Ambassador Durrani said Pakistan lost a liberal leader. He added that the terrorists who do not want a liberal and democratic government in Pakistan were responsible for this act.

Ambassador Durrani disagreed with some of the US analysts that the place of assassination in Rawalpindi was part of the military headquarters. Durrani said that the commentators did not know much about the location of the Liaqat Bagh (where Benazir was assassinated after addressing an election rally). He explained that it was a huge civilian area without a single soldier’s presence there.

As for the safety of the country’s nuclear weapons, the Ambassador rejected those views and said that the so called security specialists should know that the Pakistan Army was an organized force and that the nuclear assets were in the safe hands.

To a question, he commented that Pakistan had seen many crises in the past and hoped the people would pull through this one too. He said President Musharraf was committed to bringing democracy to Pakistan and, therefore, the opposition and the government should work together to move forward.

He also rejected the notion that there would be a political vacuum after BB’s death and said that no doubt she was a very important leader but she was not the only political leader.

He emphasized that in this moment of crisis all Pakistanis need to join hands to fight the menace of terrorism. He said in his view it was probably the work of Al Qaeda and Taliban.