P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/bhutto_killed/2007/12/27/60001.html
Pakistani Opposition Leader Bhutto Killed
Thursday, December 27, 2007
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was
assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also
killed at least 20 others, aides said.
Bhutto's supporters erupted in anger and grief after her death, attacking
police and burning tires and election campaign posters in several cities. At
the hospital where she died, some smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans
against President Pervez Musharraf.
The death of the charismatic 54-year-old former prime minister threw the
campaign for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections into chaos and created fears
of mass protests and violence across the nuclear-armed nation, an important
U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.
Musharraf blamed terrorists for Bhutto's death and said he would redouble
his efforts to fight them.
"I want to express my resolve and seek the cooperation from the entire
nation and we will not rest until we eliminate these terrorists and root
them out," he said in a nationally televised speech. He announced three days
of mourning for her across the country.
Musharraf also convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff, where
they were expected to discuss whether to postpone the elections, an official
at the Interior Ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of the talks.
The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed thousands of
supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles south of Islamabad.
She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself
up, said Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser.
Sardar Qamar Hayyat, a leader from Bhutto's party, said he was standing
about 10 yard away from Benazir Bhutto's vehicle at the time of the attack.
"She was inside the vehicle and was coming out from the gate after
addressing the rally when some of the youths started chanting slogans in her
favor. Then I saw a smiling Bhutto emerging from the vehicle's roof and
responding to their slogans," he said.
"Then I saw a thin, young man jumping toward her vehicle from the back and
opening fire. Moments later, I saw her speeding vehicle going away," he
added.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery. She died
about an hour after the attack.
"At 6:16 p.m., she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party
who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.
"The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred," Bhutto's lawyer Babar
Awan said.
Bhutto's supporters at the hospital exploded in anger, smashing the glass
door at the main entrance of the emergency unit. Others burst into tears.
One man with a flag of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party tied around his head
was beating his chest.
"I saw her with my own eyes sitting in a vehicle after addressing the rally.
Then, I heard an explosion," Tahir Mahmood, 55, said sobbing. "I am in
shock. I cannot believe that she is dead."
Many chanted slogans against Musharraf, accusing him of complicity in her
killing.
"We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and
appropriate equipment ... but they paid no heed to our requests," Malik
said.
As news of her death spread, angry supporters took to the streets in the
northwestern city of Peshawar as well other areas, chanting slogans against
Musharraf. In Rawalpindi, Bhutto's supporters burned election posters from
the ruling party and attacked police, who fled the scene.
In Karachi, shop owners quickly closed their businesses as supporters from
Bhutto's party burned tires on the roads.
Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the
hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto's body.
"Benazir Bhutto was also my sister, and I will be with you to take the
revenge for her death," he said. "Don't feel alone. I am with you. We will
take the revenge on the rulers."
Speaking to the BBC, Sharif also questioned whether to hold the elections.
"I think perhaps none of us is inclined to think of the elections," he said.
"We would have to sit down and take a very serious look at the current
situation together with the People's Party and see what we have to do in the
coming days."
Hours earlier, four people were killed at a rally for Sharif when his
supporters clashed with backers of Musharraf near Rawalpindi.
Bhutto's death will leave a void at the top of her party, the largest
political group in the country, as it heads into the elections. It also
fueled fears that the crucial vote could descend into violence.
Pakistan is considered a vital U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida and
other Islamic extremists including the Taliban. Osama bin Laden and his
inner circle are believed to be hiding in lawless northwest Pakistan along
the border with Afghanistan.
In Washington, the State Department condemned the attack.
"It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert
reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy," deputy spokesman Tom Casey
said.
The United States has for months been encouraging Musharraf to reach an
accommodation with the opposition, particularly Bhutto, who was seen as
having a wide base of support in Pakistan. Her party had been widely
expected to do well in next month's elections.
Pakistan was just emerging from another crisis after Musharraf declared a
state of emergency on Nov. 3, and used sweeping powers to round up thousands
of his opponents and fire Supreme Court justices. He ended emergency rule
Dec. 15 and subsequently relinquished his role as army chief, a key
opposition demand. Bhutto had been an outspoken critic of Musharraf's
imposition of emergency rule.
Educated at Harvard and Oxford universities, Bhutto served twice as
Pakistan's prime minister between 1988 and 1996. Her father, who also served
as prime minister, was executed in 1979 two years after his ouster in a
military coup.
Bhutto had returned to Pakistan from an eight-year exile on Oct. 18. On the
same day, she narrowly escaped injury when her homecoming parade in Karachi
was targeted in a suicide attack that killed more than 140 people.
Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban hated Bhutto for her
close ties to the Americans and support for the war on terrorism. A local
Taliban leader reportedly threatened to greet Bhutto's return to the country
with suicide bombings.
At the scene of Thursday's bombing, an Associated Press reporter saw body
parts and flesh scattered at the back gate of the Liaqat Bagh park, where
Bhutto had spoken. He counted about 20 bodies, including police, and could
see many other wounded people.
Police cordoned off the street with white and red tape, and rescuers rushed
to put victims in ambulances as people wailed nearby.
The clothing of some victims was shredded and people put party flags over
their bodies. Police caps and shoes littered the asphalt.
Hundreds of riot police had manned security checkpoints around the venue. It
was Bhutto's first public meeting in Rawalpindi since she came back to the
country.
In November, Bhutto had also planned a rally in the city, but Musharraf
forced her to cancel it, citing security fears.
In recent weeks, suicide bombers have repeatedly targeted security forces in
Rawalpindi, where Musharraf stays and the Pakistan army has its
headquarters.
Pakistani Opposition Leader Bhutto Killed
Thursday, December 27, 2007
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was
assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also
killed at least 20 others, aides said.
Bhutto's supporters erupted in anger and grief after her death, attacking
police and burning tires and election campaign posters in several cities. At
the hospital where she died, some smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans
against President Pervez Musharraf.
The death of the charismatic 54-year-old former prime minister threw the
campaign for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections into chaos and created fears
of mass protests and violence across the nuclear-armed nation, an important
U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.
Musharraf blamed terrorists for Bhutto's death and said he would redouble
his efforts to fight them.
"I want to express my resolve and seek the cooperation from the entire
nation and we will not rest until we eliminate these terrorists and root
them out," he said in a nationally televised speech. He announced three days
of mourning for her across the country.
Musharraf also convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff, where
they were expected to discuss whether to postpone the elections, an official
at the Interior Ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of the talks.
The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed thousands of
supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles south of Islamabad.
She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself
up, said Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser.
Sardar Qamar Hayyat, a leader from Bhutto's party, said he was standing
about 10 yard away from Benazir Bhutto's vehicle at the time of the attack.
"She was inside the vehicle and was coming out from the gate after
addressing the rally when some of the youths started chanting slogans in her
favor. Then I saw a smiling Bhutto emerging from the vehicle's roof and
responding to their slogans," he said.
"Then I saw a thin, young man jumping toward her vehicle from the back and
opening fire. Moments later, I saw her speeding vehicle going away," he
added.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery. She died
about an hour after the attack.
"At 6:16 p.m., she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party
who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.
"The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred," Bhutto's lawyer Babar
Awan said.
Bhutto's supporters at the hospital exploded in anger, smashing the glass
door at the main entrance of the emergency unit. Others burst into tears.
One man with a flag of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party tied around his head
was beating his chest.
"I saw her with my own eyes sitting in a vehicle after addressing the rally.
Then, I heard an explosion," Tahir Mahmood, 55, said sobbing. "I am in
shock. I cannot believe that she is dead."
Many chanted slogans against Musharraf, accusing him of complicity in her
killing.
"We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and
appropriate equipment ... but they paid no heed to our requests," Malik
said.
As news of her death spread, angry supporters took to the streets in the
northwestern city of Peshawar as well other areas, chanting slogans against
Musharraf. In Rawalpindi, Bhutto's supporters burned election posters from
the ruling party and attacked police, who fled the scene.
In Karachi, shop owners quickly closed their businesses as supporters from
Bhutto's party burned tires on the roads.
Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the
hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto's body.
"Benazir Bhutto was also my sister, and I will be with you to take the
revenge for her death," he said. "Don't feel alone. I am with you. We will
take the revenge on the rulers."
Speaking to the BBC, Sharif also questioned whether to hold the elections.
"I think perhaps none of us is inclined to think of the elections," he said.
"We would have to sit down and take a very serious look at the current
situation together with the People's Party and see what we have to do in the
coming days."
Hours earlier, four people were killed at a rally for Sharif when his
supporters clashed with backers of Musharraf near Rawalpindi.
Bhutto's death will leave a void at the top of her party, the largest
political group in the country, as it heads into the elections. It also
fueled fears that the crucial vote could descend into violence.
Pakistan is considered a vital U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida and
other Islamic extremists including the Taliban. Osama bin Laden and his
inner circle are believed to be hiding in lawless northwest Pakistan along
the border with Afghanistan.
In Washington, the State Department condemned the attack.
"It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert
reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy," deputy spokesman Tom Casey
said.
The United States has for months been encouraging Musharraf to reach an
accommodation with the opposition, particularly Bhutto, who was seen as
having a wide base of support in Pakistan. Her party had been widely
expected to do well in next month's elections.
Pakistan was just emerging from another crisis after Musharraf declared a
state of emergency on Nov. 3, and used sweeping powers to round up thousands
of his opponents and fire Supreme Court justices. He ended emergency rule
Dec. 15 and subsequently relinquished his role as army chief, a key
opposition demand. Bhutto had been an outspoken critic of Musharraf's
imposition of emergency rule.
Educated at Harvard and Oxford universities, Bhutto served twice as
Pakistan's prime minister between 1988 and 1996. Her father, who also served
as prime minister, was executed in 1979 two years after his ouster in a
military coup.
Bhutto had returned to Pakistan from an eight-year exile on Oct. 18. On the
same day, she narrowly escaped injury when her homecoming parade in Karachi
was targeted in a suicide attack that killed more than 140 people.
Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban hated Bhutto for her
close ties to the Americans and support for the war on terrorism. A local
Taliban leader reportedly threatened to greet Bhutto's return to the country
with suicide bombings.
At the scene of Thursday's bombing, an Associated Press reporter saw body
parts and flesh scattered at the back gate of the Liaqat Bagh park, where
Bhutto had spoken. He counted about 20 bodies, including police, and could
see many other wounded people.
Police cordoned off the street with white and red tape, and rescuers rushed
to put victims in ambulances as people wailed nearby.
The clothing of some victims was shredded and people put party flags over
their bodies. Police caps and shoes littered the asphalt.
Hundreds of riot police had manned security checkpoints around the venue. It
was Bhutto's first public meeting in Rawalpindi since she came back to the
country.
In November, Bhutto had also planned a rally in the city, but Musharraf
forced her to cancel it, citing security fears.
In recent weeks, suicide bombers have repeatedly targeted security forces in
Rawalpindi, where Musharraf stays and the Pakistan army has its
headquarters.
