It is often claimed, particularly by analysts on television, that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won the 2008 general elections due to a massive sympathy wave following the assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. This theory has been repeated so frequently that it has taken root in public discourse. However, a closer and more honest look at the facts reveals that this theory is both flawed and unfair to PPP and to Mohtarma herself.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was a beloved and historic leader of Pakistan. Her return to the country in October 2007 generated enormous public energy, and her assassination in December 2007 plunged the nation into grief and trauma. But grief does not always translate into electoral success and, in this case, it did not result in the kind of sweeping, landslide victory that a so-called sympathy wave would suggest.

In fact, PPP’s performance in 2008 was far from dominant. It emerged as the single largest party, yes, but without a clear majority. It failed to make serious inroads in........

© The Friday Times