Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Assassinated at Rally in Pakistan

Thursday, December 27, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a homicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally.

Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest as she was entering her vehicle, and then the bomber blew himself up, FOX News has confirmed.

The former prime minister died in Rawalpindi General Hospital, where she had been rushed to surgery. She was 54.

"At 6:16 p.m. she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at the hospital.

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. Top party leaders were outside the hospital, crying.

One man with a flag of Pakistan People's Party tied around his head was beating his chest.

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

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw body parts and flesh scattered at the back gate of the Liaqat Bagh park in Rawalpindi, where the rally was held.

He counted about 20 bodies, including police, and could see many other wounded.

The road outside was stained with blood and people screamed for ambulances. Others gave water to the wounded lying in the street. The clothing of some of the victims was shredded and people put party flags over their bodies.

The bomb went off just minutes after Bhutto spoke to thousands of supporters, and she appeared to be the target of the attack. Farahtullah Babar, the spokesman for her party, said her vehicle was about 50 yards away from blast, which went off as she was leaving the rally venue.

Bhutto served twice as Pakistan's prime minister between 1988 and 1996. She had returned to Pakistan from an eight-year exile on 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 story. Refresh for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318510,00.html

It's a sad and shocking news.

May Benazir Bhutto rest in peace.

I can't say that I didn't see this coming.

agree t'was only a matter of time lucky enough she didnt die at the first attack..

shocking though

great, just what Pakistan needed...man i hope they go now into those norther fu-king islamic radical regions of Pakistan, and people start planting bombs too, see how they react, i say give them a taste of their own medicine, fu-king barbarians

i admit i've only followed pakistan's political crisis sparingly but from new's i've read/seen, $hits chaotic and pakistan is really fu-ked.

Least surprising event ever.

Well, with so many attempts, one is bound to work.

musharraf is the only man who can change pakistan and even that is pushing it ...........

its very sad extremism is destroying pakistan .........

How Ironic, I'm sure people in Kashmir and Afghanistan rejoicing.

I hope things will get better in Pakistan. At the end of the day common people bear the burden of anarchy and instability.


Now this is a very ignorant comment.

if it's done by musharaff yes. great strategy for islamist anti-musharaff though if it is done by them.

man more problems.

Her government tastily supported the Taliban. She supported the radicalization of Kashmiri muslims in 1990. That resulted ongoing militancy that still is a problem today and the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits.

I think she was simply stupid. An assination attempt was already made on her a few months ago and she didnt take the neccesarily precautions & common sense to protect herself. Yet again for the second time she didnt take the time to protect herself. She poke her head out from her protected armour vehical and got killed. She had it comming to her. I have very little sympathy for her and her stupidity.

I agree with you on this, she had a big hand in spreading instability in the region. But the things are more complex that the way you see it. A Taliban commander is said to be behind her assasination. She was already an outlaw, she came to Pakistan few days ago after Musharraf relented to USA's pressure. And what difference does it make to Afghans and Kashmiris? Who is the bigger evil - Musharraf? Banezir? Nawaz Sharif? ISI? Taliban? Islamic radicals? They all are alike. Banezir was just a small player.

kekeke, seeing Imran Khan as the PM of Pakistan would put a smile on my face. If it weren't for the fact that ppl were dying, Pakistani politics would almost be comical. You the have the corrupt witch who pushes for change, fanatics who just want... well I don't think even they are sure what they want except to blow stuff up, and then you have Musharraf, a man that stands for nothing and everything.

I'd setup some organization to help Imran Khan, but he'll probably just get earmarked as a terrorist and I'll end up in some secret prison in Romania.

I agree to an certain extent with you. It is horrible that she was murdered. I just think there is a lot revisionism about her in the western news media. In the same as league Borris Yestlin.



The guy could've easily lived life of fame and fortune with his ex-wife.

I wouldnt be surprised if the Musharraf government had a hand in this. Could destabalise the whole region.

Have they claimed responsibility?

The killer shot her...2 times(chest and neck)...then blew up.......................why ?

He could have just used the bomb. Unless, he is forced to do the assassination.

sad, she would've gotten the Han if allowed...on the house
Her casket wasn't too fitting for her either
but I guess they don't really give a.... in places like that
people are pissed
Well, at least she didn't get the same kind of death the Taliban did to
that one Afghan prez way back in the day
Strung the motherf... on a lightpole, broke his fingers, shot him
then stuffed bills in his mouth
haha holy cow

.


dead conspiracy theory.

Benazir's asociation with USA claimed her life. Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for assasinating her. It is very much clear when Musharraf was pressured by USA to bring back Benazir to Pakistan and to revive democracy there. Benazir and Musharraf had a deal under America's pressure.

I see her as a real fighter for her country & the pupil rather than a prime minister......may her soul r.i.p

The U.S.A and war in the middle east has escalated even more now.

While East Asian(Oriental countries) and S.E.A territories are still riseing with their economy and infrastucture as well as military boosting.

?...

I think i like it.

Yeah she nearly ruined her country and supported the Talabanization of Afghanistan simply for Pakistan’s political interests. Mrs Bhutto is no Ahmed Shah Moussad.

so sad

god bless her

He missed both times. Bhutto ducked into the car but was killed when her head landed on the sunroof's handel bar and fractured her skull.

^It's important to note that the blast probably knocked her into that handle bar.

Bhutto is the Pakistan version of the U.S.A's the Kennedy family.

Past corruption, poor leadership, had many supporters but was also weak and not respected by people around her also.

I didn't believe this when I first heard it. How could a surgeon examine the body and conclude bulletholes if she hadn't been hit? Either the surgeon was a quack or the govt is lying. Which is more likely to be true?

Now a new bit of footage shows she had been shot and had collapsed INTO the car BEFORE the bomb went off. You can see that, as the assassin fires at Bhutto, her veil and hair move from the impact of the bullet. You can clearly see her fall into the car and only then do you hear the blast. This is further bolstered by the fact that the handle she allegedly hit her head on hard enough to kill her is pristine--not a speck of blood on it.

^I have about a couple of conspiracy theories. The comment you quoted was just me postulating based on the latest reason given for her death.

If I was her, I wouldn't want to go on a parade and wave at the people. Up until now, I still don't understand why she was so careless. But for what it's worth, a sad-sad time in Pakistan. My condolences. But must her 19 years old son take over?

Can't believe she had so many supporters. The only people that I know of who supported her were either liberals or villagers of sindh, who supported her because she was from the same clan or were just paid to support her. And now because of all these riots and whatnot the western media wants everyone to believe that she was the only hope left for Pakistan and was actually very popular with pakistanis, yeah right.


Agreed, not only did she risk her life but also the life of her supporters, her fellow pakistanis. Why put the lives of so many people at risk by holding these rallies? She knew she was a target, didn't she ? Yep, that's how much she cared about "her" people. It was all about making $$$ like in the past.

hey pun, whats the significance of 'Rashid' written in Burmese in your signature?

C.I.A. Sees Qaeda Link in the Death of Bhutto

By MARK MAZZETTI
Published: January 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that the assassins of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister, were directed by Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani militant leader in hiding, and that some of them had ties to Al Qaeda.

The C.I.A.'s judgment is the first formal assessment by the American government about who was responsible for Ms. Bhutto's Dec. 27 assassination, which took place during a political rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

"There are powerful reasons to believe that terror networks around Baitullah Mehsud were responsible," said one American intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The official said that "different pieces of information" had pointed toward Mr. Mehsud's responsibility, but he would not provide any details.

Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the C.I.A. director, discussed the agency's conclusion in an interview with The Washington Post published Friday.

Some friends and supporters of Ms. Bhutto questioned the C.I.A. conclusions, especially since the former leader was buried before a full forensic investigation had been conducted. The British government has since sent a team from Scotland Yard to participate in the investigation into the assassination.

"The C.I.A. appears too eager to bail out its liaison services in Pakistan, who are being blamed by most Pakistanis," said Husain Haqqani, a former adviser to Ms. Bhutto and a professor at Boston University.

"Given the division inside Pakistan on this issue, it might be better to have an international investigation under the aegis of the U.N.," Mr. Haqqani said.

Within days of Ms. Bhutto’s assassination, Pakistani authorities announced they had intercepted communications between Mr. Mehsud and militant supporters in which they said the leader had congratulated his followers for the assassination and appeared to take responsibility for it.

Mr. Mehsud, through a spokesman, has denied responsibility for the killing and suggested that the assassins were directed by Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president and a longtime rival of Ms. Bhutto's.

Members of Ms. Bhutto's political party, along with some of her family members, have also challenged Pakistani government accounts of the attack. They have blamed Mr. Musharraf for failing to provide Ms. Bhutto with adequate protection as she campaigned around the country, and some have hinted that elements of Pakistan's government may have been behind the assassination.

American and Pakistani officials have blamed Mr. Mehsud's followers for many recent suicide attacks against government, military and intelligence targets in Pakistan. Based in the South Waziristan tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Mr. Mehsud runs training camps and dispatches suicide bombers beyond the border areas in both countries, the officials say. He is also believed to have links to the Arab and Central Asian militants who have established a stronghold in the tribal areas.

Government officials in Pakistan and independent security analysts say they believe that the Qaeda network in Pakistan is increasingly made up of homegrown militants who have made destabilizing the government a top priority.

American intelligence officials say they believe that Al Qaeda has steadily built a safe haven in the mountainous tribal areas of western Pakistan, constructing a band of makeshift compounds where both Pakistani militants and foreign fighters conduct training and planning for terrorist attacks.

This has led to mounting frustration among intelligence and counterterrorism officials, many of whom believe that the United States should take more aggressive unilateral steps to dismantle terrorist networks in the tribal areas. The Bush administration is currently considering proposals to step up covert actions in Pakistan against the Qaeda network.

Source - http://www.nytimes.com

its sad....but it was no surprise doh.

leaders like her are 1 in million in that country

for a brave woman

she now and will for ever be remembered in history.