What on earth did she see in him? For the duration of her short-lived marriage of convenience to President Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto’s friends and political rivals wondered how she, a populist democrat, could live with him, a military dictator. The mystery deepened when Musharraf declared a state of emergency and began a massive crackdown on democratic institutions–and Bhutto responded with only mild criticism, refusing to rule out a power-sharing arrangement with him. Some said her motivation was pure self-interest: she was that desperate to return to power. Others bought Bhutto’s explanation that a deal with Musharraf would allow Pakistan a smooth transition to democracy. And conspiracy theorists concluded that she had agreed to join him only at the insistence of their matchmaker, the Bush Administration. Aryn Baker (’01) reports for TIME.

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Photograph by Sarah Caron / Polaris for TIME