Benazir Bhutto: How Has Her Death Impacted Westerners in Pakistan?

There is a lot of good information on the Internet and T.V. news about Benazir Bhutto, her life, death, and the aftermath of her death.

But I wondered what the death of Bhutto means for the common person in Pakistan, particularly for foreigners living in Pakistan. Is it safe for a foreigner to be in Pakistan right now? What are expats thinking and feeling at the moment while all of this is going on?

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you want to look at it), I have a few American and Canadian friends living in Pakistan. I've been getting emails from them letting me know what is going on.

I am providing excerpts of emails, but for the safety of my friends, I am removing any identifying information such as the names of the cities where they reside.

Here are some email excerpts from friends living in Pakistan:

Dear friends,

I am sending you a short update regarding the situation in (name of city removed), Pakistan where I am.

We are doing well here. It is pretty quiet.

We had a group of friends, both westerners and Pakistanis over for a gathering last night. During the gathering we heard that Bhutto had been killed. We talked and then hastily ate. No one felt like eating. A few left but the others lived across town and we didn't think that it was safe for them to leave. We got out mattresses, sheets, etc and made up beds for everyone--on the floor. They don't mind that! So we had a slumber party here. Pakistanis like to sleep in big groups so I got my room up on the roof to myself.

(Name removed) went around the neighborhood and got some diapers and medication for one of the babies who had a bad cold so he felt a little better. All the stores had closed so he had to ask neighbors.