Bodies lie on a road in front of a vehic

When Benazir Bhutto returned home in October 2007, the attempt on her life the first day back was not wholly unexpected. Violence as a political instrument has been legitimized for many groups, and in the murky miasma of Pakistani politics the attack could have been the work of any number of them.

Bodies lie on a road in front of a vehicle carrying of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto at the bomb explosion site in Karachi, 18 October 2007. At least 20 people were killed and several wounded when a car bomb ripped through Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming procession in Pakistan, but the former prime minister was unhurt. AFP PHOTO/Aamir QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)