Pakistan's Bhutto Killed in Attack

Supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto offer her shawl, a gesture of respect, during her visit to Peshawar, Pakistan for the election campaign, Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007. Bhutto and other leaders are campaigning for the coming Pakistan's general elections in January 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zubair) (Mohammad Zubair - AP)

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally, aides said.

"The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred," Bhutto's lawyer Babar Awan said.

A party security adviser said Bhutto was shot in neck and chest as she got into her vehicle to leave the rally in Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad. A gunman then blew himself up.

"At 6:16 p.m. she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital where she was taken after the attack.

Her supporters at the hospital began chanting "Dog, Musharraf, dog," referring to Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf.

Some smashed 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.

At least 20 others were killed in the blast that took place as Bhutto left a political rally where she addressed thousands of supporters in her campaign for Jan. 8 parliamentary elections.



Bhutto served twice as Pakistan's prime minister between 1988 and 1996. She had returned to Pakistan from an eight-year exile Oct. 18.

Her homecoming parade in Karachi was also targeted by a suicide attacker, killing more than 140 people. On that occasion she narrowly escaped injury.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide bombing that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally, a party aide and a military official said.

"At 6:16 p.m. she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital where she was taken after the attack.

A senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, confirmed that Bhutto had died.

Her supporters at the hospital began chanting "Dog, Musharraf, dog," referring to Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf. Some of them smashed the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit, others burst into tears.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122700136.html?hpid=topnews

Who is behind this brutal assassination ?
1. The Taliban
2.Pervez Musharraf
3. Al-Qaeda
4. US

[img]http://scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/Bhutto/resources/portrait_hr.jpg[/img]

May her soul rest in peace. Amen.

Who is behind this brutal assassination ?
1. The Taliban
2.Pervez Musharraf
3. Al-Qaeda

Musharraf + USA

They both will benefit from her death. They have clear-cut motive.

Taliban + Alqeada have no interest in Bhuto, they rather kill Mushraf and as many US-people as possible.

All those saying it was musharraf need to keep quiet, the woman was killed by a suicide bomber and the last time i checked, Bhutto was a female in an islamic fundamentalist country running for presidency, which made her an enemy to a lot of people. Anyway may her soul REST IN PARADISE.

All those saying it was musharraf need to keep quiet, the woman was killed by a suicide bomber and the last time i checked, Bhutto was a female in an islamic fundamentalist country running for presidency, which made her an enemy to a lot of people.

there you go. she was already two-time president. The same islamic country is more open to WOMEN president than your US-DEMOCRAZY.

Musharraf invited her to come since he needs her to win election before he dream-up his coup-strategy

Western powers saw in her a popular leader with liberal leanings who could bring much needed legitimacy to Mr Musharraf's role in the "war against terror".

--

Benazir's other brother, Shahnawaz - also politically active but in less violent ways than Murtaza - was found dead in his French Riviera apartment in 1985.

--

Her brother, Murtaza, won elections from exile in 1993 and became a provincial legislator, returning home soon afterwards, only to be shot dead under mysterious circumstances in 1996.

babasin:

there you go. she was already two-time president. The same islamic country is more open to WOMEN president than your US-DEMOCRAZY.

Musharraf invited her to come since he needs her to win election before he dream-up his coup-strategy--

The way you reason is appalling.Bhutto was the subject of visceral hatred from fundamentalists.That she was a victim of a suicide bombing wouldn't in itself entail that she was killed by extremists but they wanted this outcome for her.

How does the USA benefit from Bhutto's death when most Pakistanis will tell you that she was effectively seen as a US minion.She was closer to the US than Musharaf ever was.I have seen her several times defending US foreign policy from Iraq to Afghanistan and every Pakistani will tell you that she was one of the most pro-US leaders Pakistan ever had in Govt.

When the facts don't fit your prejudice,you bend them to fit.

I-man:

The way you reason is appalling.Bhutto was the subject of visceral hatred from fundamentalists.That she was a victim of a suicide bombing wouldn't in itself entail that she was killed by extremists but they wanted this outcome for her.

How does the USA benefit from Bhutto's death when most Pakistanis will tell you that she was effectively seen as a US minion.She was closer to the US than Musharaf ever was.I have seen her several times defending US foreign policy from Iraq to Afghanistan and every Pakistani will tell you that she was one of the most pro-US leaders Pakistan ever had in Govt.

When the facts don't fit your prejudice,you bend them to fit.

LMAO!!!!!!

How does the USA benefit from Bhutto's death when most Pakistanis will tell you that she was effectively seen as a US minion.She was closer to the US than Musharaf ever was

yeah, yeah. spare us.

ABIOLA was US friend.

Same US-agents killed him in 1999.

US has no minion.

Musharaf is now FREE to do whatever. No more STRONG opposition. Thats benefit of US + Musharaf.

babasin:

there you go. she was already two-time president. The same islamic country is more open to WOMEN president than your US-DEMOCRAZY.

you dont do your credibility any good when you start with such blatant lies above.
She was never president but prime minister.

I do not know much about Bhutto and her strong objectives; I'm currently doing some research to get familiar to the circumstance, but at the same time BABASIN may be making a reasonable point.

Even though the relationship is very unstable, but United States still sees Pervez Musharraf as a friend. The last thing US needs is starting from the beginning to establish a new relationship with a very strong potential prime minister/ president with a totally different agenda (whom may not welcome US unfriendly foreign policies and make things a lot more difficult for them to accomplish their goals in that area).

You just never know, anything is possible.

Big B1:

I do not know much about Bhutto and her strong objectives; I'm currently doing some research to get familiar to the circumstance, but at the same time BABASIN may be making a reasonable point.

Even though the relationship is very unstable, but United States still sees Pervez Musharraf as a friend. The last thing US needs is starting from the beginning to establish a new relationship with a very strong potential prime minister with a totally different agenda (whom may not welcome US unfriendly policies and make things a lot more difficult for them to accomplish their goals in that area).
You just never know, anything is possible.

Its typical isn't.You admit you don't know much about Bhutto but you then proceed to analyse the possible implication of having her in power,you are discussing the implications of having someone in power who you know little about.

If you knew anything about Bhutto,you would know that the US pressured Musharraf on behalf of her.She was a strong US ally when she was in power . Bhutto even said she will allow US troops into Pakistan to hunt Bin Laden and also allow the US direct access to interogate Ayub Khan.It was due to US pressure that Musharaf allowed Bhutto to come back in the first place

Babasin wouldn't know a reasonable point if it dropped down on his head like a ton of bricks

This is truly sad. . .She should have beefed up her personal security - the very day she came back into the country there was a suicide attack on her. The fundamentalists want even Musharraf himself dead, so I don't think he has much to benefit from this, after all he is already president and still de facto head of the military.

The fundamentalists/Taliban aligned Tribal groups who want anarchy in Pakistan to allow them install an Islamic government are behind this.

@ babasin

Musharraf still has Nawaz Sharif to deal with, that is as strong an opposition as you can get - the man you kicked out of office. The race isn't over quite yet - If Nawaz can use the outrage of this event to swing even more votes his way, Musharraf may be in for a tough time as president with a hostile prime minister.

The military hawks in Pakistan are the ultimate beneficiaries - they will get more funding and support for arms to supress and quell these rebellions and get even more powerful.

@Debo

There is inevitably going to be suspicions surrounding Musharaf because he warned against Bhutto returning and claimed that there would be havoc if she returned.He was opposed to it but was arm twisted by US State Dept "geniuses" who thought it will be a bright idea to have her in power in place or alongside Musharaf who was fast losing credibility amongst Pakistanis and thus was beginning to be a liability to the US.

I still think Islamists killed her,there have been claims of responsibility be Al-Qaeda,but Musharaf or those around him(rogue members of the security services)would still be under a cloud of suspicion

Musharraf still has Nawaz Sharif to deal with, that is as strong an opposition as you can get - the man you kicked out of office. The race isn't over quite yet - If Nawaz can use the outrage of this event to swing even more votes his way, Musharraf may be in for a tough time as president with a hostile prime minister.

The military hawks in Pakistan are the ultimate beneficiaries - they will get more funding and support for arms to supress and quell these rebellions and get even more powerful.

agreed.

@ I-man

I agree with you, especially with the attack coming in relatively secure Rawalpindi - the home of the Pakistani military. But still, to assassinate her would be a very risky and dangerous move - the country risks complete meltdown over this incident.
Those US State people were trying to put someone in power who would be more amenable to their interests, but may have ended up further inflaming the smoldering embers of conflict in this country.

Will the elections hold? Will Sharif or the PPP boycott?

This isn't good news for Bush either - his strong 'ally' is at risk of falling apart right on the doorsteps of Afghanistan, making the job there even harder than before.

We can point the finger at Musharaf all we like but the sad truth is he may not have been responsible for this tragedy.
The islamists want power at all costs and they dont care who goes down in their pursuit of it.

Musharaf has long been a target of suicide bomb attacks.

The problem with Pakistan is that their security forces have long been infiltrated by jihadists and many harbor pro-fundamentalist sympathies.Musharaf would have nothing to gain in killing her but in such a chaotic situation,mud sticks to even "innocent people".

I thought it was a stupid idea for the State Dept to push for Musharaf to co-opt Bhutto into power.Her popularity is overstated,especially in the West were people are dazzled by her "beauty",eloquence and moderate image.She represents the kind of Muslim people want to see.Unfortunately in Pakistan,that counts for nothing.She was largely seen as a US puppet and her popularity,to the extent she had any, owed largely to her family background.

I believe Taliban/ISI/al-Qaeda sympathisers are behind this.Musharaf needs to set up an independent inquiry to deflect some of the flack and find those who were complicit in this. I don't think the elections would hold.Nobody benefits from this except Islamists who want to see the country descend into chaos.Even Sharif of the Muslim League who has been trying to milk her death is not a good position to benefit

This is perhaps the signal that Pakistan is another Afghanistan waiting in the wings. . . the only problem is now the islamists would have a nuclear detterent.

Don't know how reliable these sources are:

Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.

It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.

Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1710322437

More power to the elbows of adherents of the "religion of peace".

davidylan:

This is perhaps the signal that Pakistan is another Afghanistan waiting in the wings. . . the only problem is now the islamists would have a nuclear detterent.

I don't think Pakistan will go down that route.It has a large educated middle-class and secularist ideals run deeply in Pakistan,except the NW Province.However,same was said about Iran until the Mullahs took over so you never know.

I still think there are enough people who don't share or aren't susceptible to the Islamists worldview to prevent such a takeover

I-man:
First you need to cool down.

Its typical isn't.You admit you don't know much about Bhutto but you then proceed to analyse the possible implication of having her in power,you are discussing the implications of having someone in power who you know little about.

If you knew anything about Bhutto,you would know that the US pressured Musharraf on behalf of her.She was a strong US ally when she was in power . Bhutto even said she will allow US troops into Pakistan to hunt Bin Laden and also allow the US direct access to interogate Ayub Khan.It was due to US pressure that Musharaf allowed Bhutto to come back in the first place

Yes, I've stated that I do not know MUCH; this doesn't mean I do not know anything about this individual.

Just keep in mind that if United States wants you around, they will makesure you stay around.
United States continues to successfully protect Pervez Musharraft, Afghanistan president, the prime minister and president of Iraq.
If United States was such a strong ally of Bhutto, my question is: why didn't they provide her with a reliable and competent security personnel the same way they've done for other friends?

Do you really think United States didn't see this assassination coming?

My man, get real.
Let me finish with my research and I will let you know what I really think happened today.

Posted by I-man:

Bhutto even said she will allow US troops into Pakistan to hunt Bin Laden and also allow the US direct access to interogate Ayub Khan.It was due to US pressure that Musharaf allowed Bhutto to come back in the first place

If you really think this made Bhutto an ally of United States, then you do not know much about politics.

Where is McKren?

Big B1:

Just keep in mind that if United States wants you around, they will makesure you stay around.
United States continues to successfully protect Pervez Musharraft, Afghanistan president, the prime minister and president of Iraq.

The problem with this logic,overwhelming evidence to the contrary notwithstanding,is that the US is automatically blamed if someone dies.If the US "makes sure you stay around",those who don't stay around couldn't have been US allies.You have to be historically illiterate to believe this, innumerable US allies have died in the past.

Bhutto wasn't a head of state unlike the 3 you cited,thus she didn't have the privileges of using the full security resources of the state to protect her.She was essentially a private citizen.You are effectively suggesting that the US can protect whomsoever they like wheresoever.That is obscenely naive

Big B1:

United States continues to successfully protect Pervez Musharraft, Afghanistan president, the prime minister and president of Iraq.
If United States was such a strong ally of Bhutto, my question is: why didn't they provide her with a reliable and competent security personnel the same way they've done for other friends?

Do you really think United States didn't see this assassination coming?

Wake up . . . America is not to blame for the failure of others and the inability of those who shout the loudest about "peace" to practice what they preach.
America does not have security personnel protecting Musharaf and officials of the Afghan government. I suppose you forget so easily that up until very recently, Musharaf was head of the Pakistani army and that Kharzai had his own anti-taliban militia that fought alongside the US (the northern alliance).

It is not the responsibility of the US to protect Bhutto . . . people like you love to speak from 2 sides of ur mouth.

We all saw the assassination coming . . . it was all a matter of when and not if the adherents of the religion of "peace" would destroy a woman they see as not only a stooge of the west but an affront to islam.

I am not blaming United States for anything, This is nothing but a mere speculation.

Where is these guys from?

why didn't they 'make sure' 9/11 didn't happen?. . .wait they wanted that to happen right?

What about JFK, Senator Kennedy and the others? The US wanted them dead too?

What about Shimon Perez, Anwar Sadat and the others? Why didn't the US 'make sure you stay around'?

Bhutto's life was in danger, even Musharraf escaped a couple of suicide bombing attempts, she was simply killed by determined enough enemies. She did not have state protection as she was not a head of state, but even that would not have guaranteed her life.

Here comes the[b] Onitsha boys club[/b].

Hey guys, I will be back!

Big B1:

I am not blaming United States for anything, This is nothing but a mere speculation.

Where is these guys from?

At the very least,you are suggesting that if an eminent politician dies,he or she wasn't a strong US ally.Maybe JFK or Ahmed Shah Masood(founder of the Northen Alliance) weren't part of the "impenetrable" US protection scheme.For God's sake,even Reagan was shot.

Big B1:

Here comes the[b] Onitsha boys club[/b].

Hey guys, I will be back!

Onitsha kwenu!!

debosky:

What about JFK, Senator Kennedy and the others? The US wanted them dead too?

Actually in regards to the Kennedy family, Yes they did.