Are you discounting even the possibility that the Pakistani/Musharaff govt had something to do with this?
Musharaff is no angel, he’s a military dictator and Ms. Bhutto was his only serious contender in the upcoming elections. And believe me, it does make a difference who offed her. If Musharaff gets pinned for this or somehow the military gets blamed, then i seriously doubt the rioting/turmoil stops. Like him or hate him, Musharaff and his military is somewhat predictable in an unpredictable part of the world; add to that the Paki nuke aresenal - this is an applecart we don’t want to upset.
You asked — “Are you discounting even the possibility that the Pakistani/Musharaff govt had something to do with this?”
Well, I do believe that there are always elements within any government which operates in opposition to that same government. We see that here, in our own country. But, no, I don’t believe that Musharaff is someone who instructed his government (or someone within that government) to get rid of Bhutto.
In fact, Bhutto herself didn’t believe that about Musharaff. She asked him, personally to look into certain people in his government who were threatening to her. She handed him a list of names for him to look into it. So, it’s possible she may have identified someone in his government (several people) who were acting against what his government would have done (and that’s possible).
It’s also very possible that al Qaida has their operatives at all levels of society, infiltrating very many agencies and branches of the government. But, that wouldn’t be the government of Musharaff doing that, but rather al Qaida working, infiltrating and spying on what the government is doing and creating situations in which they will be the beneficiaries of problems that al Qaida creates (like this one — the assassination of Bhutto, that al Qaida carried out and is hoping to create chaos out if it, so they can benefit from it and take over...).
Bhutto said that she was going to let the U.S. come into Pakistan and get rid of al Qaida. And that would be good enough reason for al Qaida to get rid of Bhutto. I think Musharaff would like to get rid of al Qaida, too.
Regards,
Star Traveler