Teenager Arrested for Bhutto Assassination

On December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto, a previous Prime Minster of Pakistan and the head of the Pakistan People’s Party was assassinated in Rawalpindi. However, up until Saturday, it was not known who had done it; although, the CIA and the Pakistani government both said that it was militants in the north with connections to the Taliban and al Qaeda. Fortunately, they were able to catch a fifteen year old boy who said that he was one of the people involved in the assassination of Bhutto. They also arrested another individual; however, the fifteen year old has confessed to doing it; however, until the Pakistani government gets information from the other arrested individual, they are not going to for sure say that this boy was the one who did it.

The teen boy said that a five-person squad was sent to Rawalpindi to assassinate Bhutto. The man, the boy said, that sent them was Baitullah Mehsud who is known for his strong ties to al Qaeda as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan. The CIA has come to their own conclusion that Mehsud was behind the assassination of Bhutto; however, without clarification from the other individual arrested, there is no ‘for sure.’ The young teen was arrested due to his involvement in a future attack on Shiites during the Ashura festival on Saturday. The Sunni and Shiite are constantly battling, the Sunni thinking that the Shiite are heretic compared to their own extremeness. However, whether Mehsud is behind these attacks, no one knows.

When Bhutto was assassinated, the biggest political opposition to the President of Pakistan was removed and there was an uproar in Pakistan. With the constant growth of terrorist attacks coming from the North and the potential ties of Afghanistan Taliban and the militants in North Pakistan, it could bring about the possibility of United States involvement in Northern Pakistan. For some time, the President as well as the Vice President has been urging the Pakistani government to allow American soldiers to go in because there are beliefs that Osama bin Laden is there. However, no permission has been given and they have gone as far to say that any American troops on Pakistani land would be a sign of war. But, with these attacks coming against Pakistani people, the President might be forced to attack the North. All I can say is that I am glad to see that those that are involved are being arrested.