Then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto addresses lawmakers at a joint meeting of Congress in the House on June 7, 1989. Bhutto, who was elected as the first female prime minister of a Muslim state in December 1988 and served twice in that role before going into exile following charges of corruption, used the appearance to emphasize a mutual desire for “a stable, independent and neutral Afghanistan, an Afghanistan where the people can choose their own system, their own government in free and fair elections.” She later saw progress toward that goal, but her assassination on Dec. 27 after returning to Pakistan to campaign against current Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has threatened the stability of the country and could have implications for neighboring Afghanistan.