Benazir killed

Suicide bomber fired shots as she was leaving rally venue:

Pakistani Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday in a gun and bomb attack as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi.

State media and her party confirmed her death. “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.

Police said a suicide bomber fired shots at Bhutto as she was leaving the rally venue in a park before blowing himself up. “The man first fired at Bhutto’s vehicle. She ducked and then he blew himself up,” said police officer Mohammad Shahid.

Police said 16 people had been killed in the blast, which occurred during campaigning for a January 8 national election. It is unclear if the poll will now go ahead.

“It is the act of those who want to disintegrate Pakistan because she was a symbol of unity. They have finished the Bhutto family. They are enemies of Pakistan,” senior Bhutto party official Farzana Raja told Reuters.

Bhutto’s father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was Pakistan’s first popularly elected prime minister. He was executed in 1979 after being deposed in a military coup.

A Reuters witness at the scene of the attack said he had heard two shots moments before the blast. Another Reuters witness saw bodies and a mutilated human head strewn on a road outside the park where she held her rally.

A suicide bomber killed nearly 150 people in an attack on Bhutto on Oct. 19 as she paraded through the southern city of Karachi on her return from eight years in self-imposed exile.

Islamist militants were blamed for that attack but Bhutto had said she was prepared to face the danger to help the country. In her speech on Thursday, Bhutto spoke of the risks she faced.

“I put my life in danger and came here because I feel this country is in danger. People are worried. We will bring the country out of this crisis,” Bhutto told the rally.

People cried and hugged each other outside the hospital where she died. Some shouted anti-Musharraf slogans. Another former prime minister and opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, spoke to the crowd.

“My heart is bleeding and I’m as grieved as you are,” Sharif said.

Residents of Karachi, Bhutto’s home town, said they had heard gun shots after news of her death spread, apparently from her enraged supporters.

On international financial markets, gold and government bonds rose while U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday after news of Bhutto’s assassination.

Analysts say the shock of the Bhutto news triggered a classic capital flight to assets which are considered as safe havens in times of geopolitical stress.

Bhutto became the first female prime minister in the Muslim world when she was elected in 1988 at the age of 35. She was deposed in 1990, re-elected in 1993, and ousted again in 1996 amid charges of corruption and mismanagement.

She said the charges were politically motivated but in 1999 chose to stay in exile rather than face them.

Intelligence reports have said al Qaeda, the Taliban and Pakistani jihadi groups have sent suicide bombers after her.

US condemns attack

The United States, treading a delicate line in its dealings with Pakistan, on Thursday condemned the bombing attack that claimed the life of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

“We obviously condemn the attack that shows that there are people out there who are trying to disrupt the building of democracy in Pakistan,” said Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

...India

India on Thursday called the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto an “abominable act.” “We express our shock and horror at her death,” Foreign Minister Pranab Mukehrjee told reporters while junior foreign minister Anand Sharma said at a separate news conference “no words are enough to condemn this abominable act.”

...Russia

Russia on Thursday condemned the killing of Pakistan’s opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and called on the authorities to ensure stability, Russian news agencies reported.. Anatoly Safonov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said the assassination was “extremely worrying” and could destabilise Pakistan, Interfax news agency reported.

“It’s clear that a powerful factor has been added to an already not very calm situation in Pakistan, which could radically change the situation in the country,” Safonov said.

...Italy

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi condemned the “fanaticism” that caused the death of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto Thursday and called for “the difficult path to peace” to continue.

“I express my sadness and that of the whole government following the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto, a woman who wanted to fight her battle until the end with just one weapon — that of dialogue and political discussion,” Prodi said in a statement.

...Vatican

The Vatican said on Thursday the assassination of former Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was “terrible and tragic,” ANSA reported.

Musharraf appeals for peace

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf appealed to the nation to remain peaceful Thursday after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto “so that the evil designs of terrorists can be defeated,” state TV said.

The announcement came while the president was holding an emergency meeting of top officials after Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack following a campaign rally in the city of Rawalpindi.

...Iran

Iran on Thursday comdemned the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and urged the authorities to track down the “terrorists” responsible for killing the former Pakistani prime minister.

“The criminal action today in Rawalpindi is strongly condemned,” said foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini after the sucicide attack in Iran’s southeastern neighbour, according to the website of state television.

“The Pakistan government should use all efforts to identify the terrorist group which caused this incident and punish them to prevent terrorist groups from finding opportunities to undertake such actions again,” he added.

...Japan

Japan on Thursday strongly condemned the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, calling the attack “absolutely unacceptable.”

“Japan condemns the attack,” Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said after hearing the news on Bhutto’s death. “It is absolutely unacceptable to try to solve something by the means of violence.”

“I express my condolence from my heart,” he told public broadcaster NHK

...UAE

The United Arab Emirates condemned the assassination of the Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and called for the country to unite.

“The UAE has been tormented by this huge loss, which did not hit Pakistan only, but also affected the UAE,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said in a statement carried by the official WAM news agency.

“Words fail to express our condemnation of this criminal act and our pain for the loss of Benazir Bhutto,” he said, calling on the Pakistani people to “unite and put their differences aside.

Pakistan police tear gas protest after Bhutto killed

Pakistan police used tear gas and batons to break up an angry demonstration Thursday in the city of Peshawar after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

More than 100 angry Bhutto supporters blocked the main trunk road in the northwestern city, torching billboards and posters of the main party behind President Pervez Musharraf, a Bhutto rival, before police moved in.

- Reuters