According to the US Census Bureau, approximately 35,000 New Yorkers (out of a total population of slightly more than 8 million) claimed Pakistani ancestry in the 2000 Census. That amounts to about 0.4 percent of the entire population of the city. So why is New York City Mayor Bloomberg so fast to issue a statement on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto?
“Today all New Yorkers, including the more than 100,000 who can trace their heritage to Pakistan, are saddened to learn about the assassination of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Hers was a voice for democracy, and the silencing of it – by such brutal means – is a shock to us all. Ms. Bhutto’s death – and the deaths of the many other Pakistanis who were killed today simply for expressing their views – is a great loss for friends of democracy and for everyone who is united in the fight against terror. It’s also a grim reminder that many people consider the freedoms we cherish a threat. The perpetrators of this violent act must be brought to justice, and it is my hope that President Musharraf will follow through on free and fair elections in January as a testament to Ms. Bhutto’s legacy.”
Obviously there’s no overriding reason for the Mayor not to react, but this all sounds a little outside the purview of the mayor, vaguely presidential even.
