Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto poses at her home in London in a August 2002 photo.
By Isambard Wilkinson, Richard Edwards and David Blair
Pakistan was facing the spectre of civil war last night after Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, was assassinated in a suicide attack.
The nuclear-armed state faced its worst political crisis in decades, which could threaten President Pervez Musharraf’s grip on power and his role in the US-led war on terrorism.
Miss Bhutto, 54, an iconic politician who had twice served as prime minister, was killed as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
Witnesses described how a man opened fire on Miss Bhutto as she stood through the sunroof of a car, hitting her in the throat and chest.
Seconds later, he detonated a bomb, leaving Miss Bhutto critically injured and dozens of her followers killed or wounded. Police said that 16 others died in the blast.
The former prime minister was taken to Rawalpindi General Hospital but had died within an hour. Her funeral is expected to attract thousands of mourners in her home town of Larkana today.
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at an impromptu rally in a Pakistani neighborhood in New York, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007.
Mr Musharraf called on the country to stay peaceful “so that the evil designs of terrorists can be defeated”.
Pakistan was put on “red alert” amid reports that the regime would declare emergency rule and postpone the elections.
Mr Musharraf chaired an emergency meeting with senior officials “to consider all aspects of the tragic national incident”.
President George W Bush denounced a “cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy”.
He added: “We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism. We urge them to honour Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.”
Gordon Brown called Miss Bhutto a “woman of immense personal courage and bravery”. The Prime Minister added: “She risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan and she has been assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy.”
The reaction of Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister of Pakistan and once Miss Bhutto’s deadly rival, heralded more political turmoil. He hounded Miss Bhutto out of the country after defeating her in the 1996 elections but called her “my sister” yesterday and said her death was the “saddest day in the history of Pakistan”.
He told supporters of her Pakistan People’s Party: “I will be with you to take the revenge for her death. Don’t feel alone. I am with you. We will take the revenge on the rulers.”
Many of Miss Bhutto’s supporters blamed Pakistan’s regime for her murder and Mr Sharif, who is now Mr Musharraf’s most prominent opponent, signalled that he intended to mobilise this anger behind a campaign to remove the president.
1 response so far ↓
Xzion // December 29, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Today after Benazir US is telling to its brother EU , see this fight against terrorism is not fake ,i have not forged it, it is real.
i am giving you a token of Pakistan if you wish to take then i will be great full and if you still deny i will find other tempting ways to combat your Euro.
This lost of Pakistan is very beneficial for US in different Prospects because now Mushaf is no more needed, Pakistan is saturated and is declared as victory of Terrorists ,Pakistan Chinas Relation and Satlite missiles program,OPEC Manipulating through Pakistani credibility in Muslim world ,and EU is not participating in this War against terrorism so this chance is tempting for EU to come on and hold some power.