Tragedy at assassin’s hand Rage at Bhutto’s death has led to rioting by many of her supporters.

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Friday, Dec. 28, 2007 | midnight

The horrific death Thursday of Benazir Bhutto at the hand of an assassin is a tragedy for Pakistan, and it is also felt here in the United States.

Bhutto's courageous October return to Pakistan, which she twice led as prime minister, to campaign for her party's candidates in the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections was rightly supported by the Bush administration. Her political rallies were a demonstration to Pakistanis of what freer elections could mean for them.

Pakistan, a country of 165 million people, has not been a nation that one associates with democracy -- military coups are the norm, not peaceful transitions of power following fair elections.

A freer people is not the only reason the United States has for wanting to see democracy take hold in Pakistan. It is also in our national interest to promote stability in that country, which possesses at least 60 nuclear weapons. A stable Pakistan also contributes to a more stable political environment in the whole region, which includes China, Iran, India and Afghanistan.

Rage at Bhutto's death has led to rioting by many of her supporters. We hope the surviving leaders of Bhutto's party, as well as the government of President Pervez Musharraf, are able to restore calm.

The stakes are critical. Sustained rioting is already threatening the Jan. 8 elections. Another opposition party is vowing a boycott and Musharraf is considering a postponement of the voting. Such actions could lead to even more instability.

It is our hope that the people of Pakistan show restraint, so as not to let chaos set back what had been a promising move toward more freedom. A vote in an honest election is stronger than the intentions of extremists and terrorists, and certainly stronger than any perverted plan by an assassin to bring about instability as a weapon against democracy.

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