Assassination of a dream

Pakistan: The death of Benazir Bhutto levels the aspirations of political reformers and religious minorities | Mindy Belz

Liaquat Garden is a fit resting place for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Its cemetery, filled with national sentiment as the burial ground now of three prime ministers, sits near the heart of old Rawalpindi with its souks and narrow streets. Lined off by ancient trade—and invasion—routes, the garden also fronts a historic Christian college dating from the British era.

All this was Bhutto, 54, universally known as the "daughter of Pakistan," whose public life encompassed tribal Muslim customs and modern secular aspirations. She attended a Catholic convent school and Harvard, but yielded to tradition in agreeing to an arranged marriage. Her street-level rhetoric struck chords with millions of Pakistan's poor, yet she owned homes in London, Dubai, and New York.