PAKISTAN: Former prime minister Bhutto assassinated
Updated
Pakistan has descended into mourning today with the assasination of the former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Overnight a suicide bomber struck as she was leaving an election rally, shooting her and then setting off a bomb that killed at least 16 other people.
Presenter: Stephanie Kennedy
Speakers: Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistan prime minister and opposition leader; Mohammed Zaman, UK branch member of Pakistan Peoples Party; Nawaz Sharif, former Pakistan prime minister; Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan president; Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan president
KENNEDY: Benazir Bhutto had just addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi. As her motorcade left, an assassin opened fire on Ms Bhutto and her entourage, hitting her at least once in the neck and once in the chest, before blowing himself up.
(sound of sirens and people yelling)
There were scenes of panic and chaos. First reports said Ms Bhutto was injured but she'd survived the attack. She was rushed to hospital and into emergency surgery.
Mohammed Zaman from the UK branch of Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party witnessed the attack.
ZAMAN: Maximum about 200 yard away when I heard the really big bang, and when I came down the road and seen that there was loads and loads of people laying on the road as well, and there was loads of injured, and I really thought so that our vehicle was safe and left the place safely. I was hoping she will be okay.
KENNEDY: But shortly after, a spokesman emerged from the hospital and told the waiting crowd that she'd been martyred.
(sound of spokesman speaking to crowd)
Her supporters erupted in anger and grief. Some smashed windows and threw stones at cars.
Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister and a great political rival, spoke outside the hospital after he'd seen her body.
NAWAZ SHARIF: It's very tragic, and it's something which was unthinkable for all the Pakistani people, and although she was my political rival, there's no doubt we had a very good rapport over the last few years. She called me a day before yesterday to wish my birthday, on the 25th of December, and she also sent me a bouquet, and I feel very, very disturbed mentally.
I've been just to the hospital, where her dead body was lying, and I can't tell you that what the feelings of the people of Pakistan are today. Not only that this is a tragedy for her party, it's a tragedy for our party and for the entire nation.
KENNEDY: This was the second suicide attack against the former prime minister in recent months. On the day she flew back to Pakistan in October, she led a convoy through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left 130 people dead.
Before she returned from exile, Benazir Bhutto spoke about the risks.
BHUTTO: I do not believe that any true Muslim will make an attack on me, because Islam forbids attacks on women, and Muslims know that if they attack a woman they will burn in hell. So I don't believe that any true Muslim will make an attack on me.
KENNEDY: Just before Benazir Bhutto was killed, she talked with Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai.
KARZAI: I met with her this morning. I found her to be a very, very brave woman, with a clear vision for her own country, for Afghanistan and for the region. She sacrificed her life for the sake of Pakistan.
KENNEDY: Pakistan's President Musharraf strongly condemned what he described as a terrorist attack, and he declared three days of mourning.
MUSHARRAF (translated): Paying tribute to respected Benazir Bhutto on this tragic incident, I declare a state of mourning for three days. The national flag will fly half-mast.
This atrocity has been committed by those terrorists who we have been fighting against. I always say that Pakistan and its people face the biggest threat from these terrorists. I, on this tragedy, take a pledge, and at the same time, urge the whole nation to eliminate and root out these terrorists. Until then, we will not rest in peace, because this is the only way for Pakistan to survive and live.
On this occasion, I appeal to the nation to remain peaceful and show restraint.
KENNEDY: No one has claimed responsibility for the killing, but suspicion has fallen on resurgent Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. They hated Ms Bhutto for her close ties to the Americans and support for the war on terrorism.
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto marks the end of one of the world's most famous political dynasties.
