Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi, putting January 8 polls in doubt and sparking anger in her native Sindh province.
State media and her party confirmed Bhutto's death from a gun and bomb attack.
"She has been martyred," said party official Rehman Malik.
Bhutto, 54, died in hospital in Rawalpindi. Ary-One Television said she had been shot in the head.
News of her death brought a swift and angry reaction from supporters in Sindh and its capital, Karachi, where fires were set, shots fired and stones thrown.
"Police in Sindh have been put on red alert," said a senior police official. "We have increased deployment and are patrolling in all the towns and cities, as there is trouble almost everywhere."
President Pervez Musharraf condemned "in strongest possible terms the terrorist attack that resulted in the tragic death of Bhutto and many other innocent Pakistanis", the state news agency said.
"The president convened a high-level emergency meeting ... soon after the tragic development.
"He urged the people to stay calm to face this tragedy and grief with a renewed resolve to continue the fight against terror," the APP news agency said.
Huge Questions
The assassination, 13 days before an election which Bhutto had hoped to win, throws up huge questions for this nuclear-armed US ally already struggling to contain Islamist violence.
Musharraf, whose popularity has slumped this year, could decide to postpone the vote and reimpose a state of emergency that was only lifted on Dec 15 after six weeks.
"It does cast a shadow over the election and it raises some concerns over how the government might deal with any popular reaction to this," said Jennifer Harbison, head of Asia Desk at Control Risks, London.
Source : Hindustan Times
Link : BENAZIR BHUTTO ASSASSINATED- Hindustan Times
Benazir Bhutto Assassinated, Pakistan Burning
Linear Mode
