Pakistanis in Toronto stop to remember Bhutto

Last Updated: Friday, December 28, 2007 | 6:42 PM ET

The Canadian Press

Torontonians of Pakistani origin say they see a dark road ahead for the country after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, with some even voicing the fear that unrest could spiral into something close to civil war.

Those sorts of fears also bring concern for relatives remaining back in Pakistan.

Asaf Shujah, president of the Pakistan Muslim League in Canada, said Toronto's Pakistani community is afraid of the budding crisis back home.

"Right now … people are coming out on the streets for demonstrations against the government and the stores and markets have all been shut down," he said, retelling the scene that a colleague in Pakistan painted for him hours after the news of Bhutto's death.

"This has already started and, in my opinion, it will be very hard for the government to control if people come to the streets in thousands."

Two things could happen, said Shujah — President Pervez Musharraf could be toppled or it will give him another excuse to bring martial law back in the country.

Some see the situation escalating rapidly.

In the shops of east-end Toronto's Pakistani business district, many expressed concern for loved ones living in a country embroiled in constant strife.

"It is very unstable. All the time, every week, it's bomb blasting over there," said Anwar Ahmad, 50, who spoke with his father and sister in Pakistan following the assassination.

"They call me up, they're really sad, worried about their life," he said.

"[We pray] that things will get better. We pray for those people who died in that bomb blast."

Ghazala Khokhar, 20, has been waiting eight months for her Pakistani husband to join her in Canada and said the country's fragile politics are delaying the process.

"He might be here next month," said Khokhar.

"You can't get through and get communications. It's harder to communicate."

Munawar Bukhari, 50, dutifully stocked the shelves and manned the cash register of his small grocery, but added he'd rather be home mourning a "very sad day."

"It's very bad for all in Pakistan you now, very bad situation," he said.

"Maybe we'll see a lot of people die over there."

Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle after a political rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The gunman then blew himself up and at least 20 other people were killed in the attack.

Shujah estimates Canada's Pakistani community at more than 300,000, with more than 200,000 in the Toronto area. Montreal and Vancouver also have a concentrations of Canadians of Pakistani origins.

Hundreds attend memorial in Mississauga

A memorial was held at the Mississauga Muslim Community Centre on Friday.

Hundreds of mourners attended the Salatul-Janaza, or funeral prayer, for Bhutto, in the city just west of Toronto.

Ibrahim Daniyal of the Pakistan Peoples Party of Canada says the memorial will likely be followed with a protest march this weekend. Daniyal says they're waiting for instructions from the party in Pakistan.

Fellow Canadian party member Liaqat Malik says the protest would be directed at the government of Pervez Musharraf, which he says failed to properly ensure Bhutto's safety in the run-up to Jan. 8 elections.

A book of condolences has been opened at the Pakistani consulate.

Speaking from his office in Toronto, Shujah said fear of the assassination's aftermath doesn't overshadow the loss the community feels.

"All of us — doesn't matter if we are affiliated with the PPP (Pakistan People's party) or we are affiliated with the other political parties — people are saddened," he said. "I think this act was senseless … the assassination of a very courageous leader."

"People are in a state of shock right now and are trying to call each other and comfort each other."

Many saw Bhutto as a threat

Daniyal said there were those both inside Pakistan and beyond its borders who didn't want Bhutto to become prime minister.

He said that if she were to have become the country's leader it would have been a great threat to all those sponsoring terrorism.

"I am in shock," said Rafia Shujah, who has made Toronto her home for the past 25 years, but still feels Pakistani. She was very upset by the news of Bhutto's death.

"This is not right."

She said she, like many Pakistani women, had high hopes for a female leader again in an Islamic country.

"(Women) would be more confident if a woman were elected. Of course we would feel proud," she said, her voice rising.

"Now we have no rights," said Shujah, wife of Asaf Shujah, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League in Canada.

But not everyone was completely shocked by the tragedy.

"I'm not surprised at all, actually," said Zafir Ali Qureshi, president of the Ontario Association of Pakistani Canadians.

He said everyone in Pakistan — especially political leaders — knows of the very volatile political atmosphere.

While he would not comment on who was behind the assassination, he said ever since much of al-Qaeda fled to Pakistan from Afghanistan, there are many trained killers everywhere in the country.

But that didn't diminish the sadness he felt.

"It is very, very sad. Very unfortunate. It is sad for all Pakistan — all walks of life will be mourning her death, including ourselves."