A suicide bomber fired gunshots at Bhutto, who was 54, just moments before blowing himself up and killing many bystanders with him, police and witnesses said.
The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles (13 kilometers) south of Islamabad. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, Rehman Malik, Bhutto’s security adviser, told reporters.
The attack came just two months after Bhutto told BosNewsLife in an interview that she wanted to reach out to all minorities of Pakistan, including Christians suffering of Islamic extremism, after eight years in exile. "I come back to my homeland with a pledge to create a house open for everyone. In which all people can have bread and clothing," she told BosNewsLife in October, shortly after landing at Karachi International Airport.
MANY PRAYERS
"These have been the prayers of my party workers and Pakistanis across the country. I am so happy to be back home to carry out an agenda of loving Pakistan," she said on October 18, just hours before surviving another suicide attack that killed at least 130 people.
"I’m so saddened by the death of this hero. She is an example to all of us of what a leader should be. To those who killed her: She is a woman and a leader and is much more respectable and honorable than you are. In the end, you couldn’t drown her in the backyard pool as you do your own daughters under your terrible religion. You had to assassinate her, because she is a leader. You are not her equal. She is far above you. You could kill her, but you can’t change that fact."
Jessica, a BosNewsLife Reader, Thursday, December 27, 2007
Her death prompted President Pervez Musharraf Thursday, December 27, to convene an emergency meeting with his senior staff where they were expected to discuss whether to postpone the election, an official at the Interior Ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
No one claimed responsibility for the killing. But observers said suspicion was likely to fall on resurgent Islamic militants linked to al Qaida and the Taliban who hated Bhutto for her close ties to the United States and support for the war on terrorism. It was also expected to add to concerns among devoted Christians about a resurgence of Islamic attacks. Like Bhutto Christians too have been singled out by Islamic militants for allegedly observing a “Western religion” and supporting the US.
TALIBAN THREAT
A local Taliban leader reportedly threatened to greet Bhutto’s return to the country from exile in October with suicide bombings, The Associated Press (AP) said. It came as a setback for attempts to form a government of reconciliation in this mainly Islamic nation of 165 million people.
For months, Bhutto had been in talks with Pakistani President Musharraf for a possible power-sharing deal, strongly favored by the US. But talks had stalled, and Bhutto was campaigning to run in general elections set for January 8.
Bhutto also sought to join forces with another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, whose opposition party is also running in the upcoming elections, analysts said.
WORLD REACTS
In first reactions, worldleaders condemned the attack. United States President George W. Bush called Benazir Bhutto’s assassination "a cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy." He urged the Pakistanis to keep the country on a democratic path.
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, who held talks with Bhutto just hours before she was killed, said he was shocked by the development. "I met with her this morning. I found her to be a very, very brave woman with a clear vision for her country, for Afghanistan and for the region – a vision of democracy and prosperity and peace," he said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the subcontinent has lost an outstanding leader who worked for democracy and reconciliation in her country. Readers of BosNewsLife News Agency reacted with shock on its Web site. Jessica condemned suspected Islamic militants who carried out the attack. "I’m so saddened by the death of this hero. She is an example to all of us of what a leader should be," she wrote.
"To those who killed her: She is a woman and a leader and is much more respectable and honorable than you are. In the end, you couldn’t drown her in the backyard pool as you do your own daughters under your terrible religion," Jessica said. "You had to assassinate her, because she is a leader. You are not her equal. She is far above you. You could kill her, but you can’t change that fact." (Stay with BosNewsLife for coverage on the crisis in Pakistan. BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos contributed to the story).
