Thursday, December 27, 2007
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a suicide attack as she was leaving a political rally in the city of Rawalpindi. At least 21 people died in the attack, local reports say. The attack has been condemned internationally. Earlier in October, a suicide bomber in Karachi killed 136 and injured over 450 Benazir Bhutto supporters.
Several reports from witnesses say Bhutto was shot once in the neck and once in the chest before the bomber blew himself up as Bhutto was leaving a rally of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), for which she was party leader for life, held before elections scheduled for January 8th, after years of military rule.
According to Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Benazir Bhutto’s PPP, she died at 18:16 (13:16 UTC), after 35 minutes of attempted resuscitation. The doctors said she had shrapnel injuries.
Her supporters, once informed of the death started chanting, “Dog Musharraf, dog,” referring to President Pervez Musharraf. Many blamed Musharraf and the security services for the deaths. In their anger and confusion, PPP supporters destroyed the doors of Rawalpindi General Hospital. Others took to the streets in several cities, including Karachi, where tires were set on fire on the roads, a gas station was burned, and two police officers were wounded by gunmen. In Peshewar, about 100 PPP’s supporters blocked the main trunk road, torching billboards and posters of the Musharraf-supporting Pakistan Muslim League-Q, opening fire in the air and screaming. Some buildings, including the main court and banks, were set on fire in Jacobabad as well.
| The man first fired at Bhutto’s vehicle. She ducked and then he blew himself up. | ||
Bhutto was born on June 21, 1953 in Karachi, Pakistan. She served two times as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Bhutto had returned to Pakistan from exile to stand in the upcoming elections. In 2007, she was named the second most influential woman in the world in a list at the American Internet portal MSN.
Benazir Bhutto is survived by her husband Asif Ali Zardari and three children: Bilawal, Bakhtawar, and Aseefa.
According to many polls taken before the assassination, Bhutto and her party would have won the January election.
