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New Yorkers somber after Bhutto assassination

By David Freedlander, amNewYork Staff Writer | dfreedlander@am-ny.com

December 28, 2007

The perpetually buzzing hive of Jackson Heights, Queens took on a somber pall Thursday as residents in the heart of the city's Pakistani community reacted with grim resignation to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

At Mansour Bookshop on Broadway, owner Abbas Zaidi, pulled Bhutto's book, "Whither Pakistan: Dictatorship or Democracy?" from a window display.

"It's not surprising," he said. "The government can't provide security. She was everyone's leader. Her background was very international. She was very educated. There is no one else."

As he spoke, an Urdu newspaper was delivered with the headline, "Benazir Bhutto Killed in Suicide Attack" splashed across the front.

"I don't agree with the ideology of Benazir but this should not have happened," said Shulam Syed, 63, as he eyed the paper.

Many in Pakistan, he said, will likely blame America. "The people there are uneducated, if they hear a rumor they think it is the truth. If their goat doesn't give milk thy think it's due to the U.S."

In Jackson Heights, Indians, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis alike crowded around televisions in restaurants, grocery stores and barber shops to listen to the news.

At Punjab Barber Shop on 37th Road, only the snips of clippers competed with a live address by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf.

"This is the work of those terrorists with whom we are engaged in war," the president said. "We will not rest until we eliminate these terrorists and root them out."

"They are going to postpone the elections. [Musharraf and Bhutto] were going to work together. Now there is no one. He is not a good president. They are all corrupt. You have to choose the least corrupt one," Zaidi said.

Rahman Sipra, 42, could only shake his head. "She was a good leader, a good president. I was crying when I heard the news."

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city was stepping up security at the Pakistani consulate on East 65th Street and at other places where Pakistanis gather.

Police officers had been briefed on Bhutto's assassination, he said. "And they're going to do everything they can to keep Pakistani New Yorkers and all New Yorkers safe."