Attempt to derail bid for democracy

A suicide bomber? A car bomb planted on the side of the road? Or a combination of both? Whatever the configuration, the twin bombs that exploded a few hundred feet away from Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday night were an attempt to assassinate the country's most popular leader and derail the democratic, liberal forces led by Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf.

A liberal force for good, the duo can and do pose a threat to the extremists who do not want their newly found writ challenged.

As Karachi buries it dead - unofficial sources say the toll could cross 200 as the number of injured is set at 600 - and the high octane celebrations turn sombre, Bhutto's return, marred as it was, also demonstrated she is still a force to be reckoned with.

The workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party of Benazir Bhutto who turned out in their tens of thousands put paid to speculation that they have doubts about the so called deal that Bhutto struck with Musharraf prior to her ending eight years of self-exile.

But as the party goes into a huddle to decide on future strategy following the failed assassination attempt, this horrific event must not be allowed to derail forthcoming elections.

It cannot be an excuse to impose martial law or to set up a caretaker government that goes beyond its constitutional mandate of three months.

What is needed is not vituperative attacks on obscurantist forces but a concerted strategy that offers the young and the disaffected hope and a future, making them stakeholders for peace.

Even as the courts continue to conduct hearings into the president's dual office and the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance, both Musharraf and Bhutto must set aside the uncertainty and fashion a joint, comprehensive strategy to turn back the Islamist tide threatening to engulf the region.