Giselle: My impression only - some loved her, some hated her. Certainly there was very little apathy where she was concerned.

She certainly had enough supporters that many got violent enough and wrecked property, rioted, set fires - that Musharraf told security to do what they had to to curb the violence. That doesn't sound to me like 'all Pakistanis hated her'. In fact, her popularity was strong enough for her to BE an assassination target.

She had been a known figure on the world stage for some time, for reasons good and bad. As Oscar Wilde said, "There is one thing worse than being talked about - and that is NOT being talked about."

It is my understanding that she wanted to bring democracy to Pakistan, which would be 'their' version to begin with, and a process, not an event.

One writer referred to the family as the Kennedys of Pakistan - a rich and powerful family where so many of them have been killed deliberately or by a weird twist of fate.

Benazir's 19-year-old son is now co-chair of the PPP, along with his father. The father will take over the actual operations of the PPP chair while Bilawil (son) finishes his education in England. And yet another person will be candidate for Prime Minister if the PPP prevails.

JMO