Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

Benazir Bhutto, 54, is dead after a gunman opened fire and detonated a suicide bomb at a rally in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.  14 supporters were also killed in the blast.

Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile earlier this year to participate in January’s parliamentary elections. She criticized current PM Musharraf’s seeming inability to deal with Islamic militants in Pakistan, and welcomed American involvement.

This was the second attempt on Bhutto’s life. In October, a Karachi attempt killed over a hundred supporters. Despite cautions from Musharraf’s government, Bhutto continued to hold public demonstrations.

“I decided not to be holed up in my home, a virtual prisoner,” she told CNN. “I went to my ancestral village of Larkana to pray at my father’s grave. Everywhere, the people rallied around me in a frenzy of joy. I feel humbled by their love and trust.”

Bhutto is survived by her husband of twenty years, two daughters and a son.

New York Times

CNN

BBC

Al Jazeera

The Emergency Times