Rawalpindi: Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday, apparently after being shot and then attacked by a suicide bomber as she left a campaign rally, aides said. At least 20 others also died.
The death of the charismatic former prime minister threw the campaign for the January 8 election into chaos and created fears of mass protests and an eruption of violence across the volatile south Asian nation.
Killed by sniper
The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery.
''At 6:16 p.m. (6.46 pm IST) 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,'' Senator Babar Awan, Bhutto's lawyer, 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 Pakistan People's Party tied around his head was beating his chest.
Some at the hospital began chanting, ''Killer, Killer, Musharraf,'' referring to President Pervez Musharraf, Bhutto's main political opponent. A few began stoning cars outside.
''We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and appropriate equipment including jammers, but they paid no heed to our requests,'' Malik said.
Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto's body
The death of the charismatic former prime minister threw the campaign for the January 8 election into chaos and created fears of mass protests and an eruption of violence across the volatile south Asian nation.
Killed by sniper
The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery.
''At 6:16 p.m. (6.46 pm IST) 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,'' Senator Babar Awan, Bhutto's lawyer, 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 Pakistan People's Party tied around his head was beating his chest.
Some at the hospital began chanting, ''Killer, Killer, Musharraf,'' referring to President Pervez Musharraf, Bhutto's main political opponent. A few began stoning cars outside.
''We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and appropriate equipment including jammers, but they paid no heed to our requests,'' Malik said.
Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto's body
