Coffin of slain Bhutto reaches her hometown

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KARACHI BOMB BLAST VIDEO RALLY BENAZIR BHUTTO 18TH OCT 2007

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BREAKING NEWS: Former Pakistan PM Bhutto is dead

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Pakistan announces 3-day national mourning; Sharif announces polls boycott

The coffin of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was shot dead in Rawalpindi city near the country’s capital city, reached her ancestral town Garhi Khuda Bukhsh in the wee hours of Friday and she will be laid to rest there by midday, media reports said.

On the other hand, violence gripped the country immediately after the news of her killing spread in every nook and corner of Pakistan like jungle fire. Reports said that at least 10 persons were killed in different cities of Bhutto’s home province of Sindh while several banks, vehicles and other government installations were burnt in various towns of the country.

Bhutto, who was running campaign of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for January 8 election, was shot dead when she left Liaquat Bagh, a park named after the country’s first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan who was shot dead while addressing a rally there on October 16, 1951, after addressing the rally.

Besides Bhutto, at least 30 of her supporters were also killed in the suicide bombing.

“Bhutto was embarking on her bullet-proof vehicle when the assailant fired two gun shots at her and simultaneously triggered a suicide blast,” eyewitnesses and police said. “She received one bullet in her neck and the other in her temple which pierced her skull,” they added. “She had already died when brought at the Rawalpindi General Hospital,” said a cardiologist, who operated upon her at the hospital.

“She had a hole in the front side (almost) of her skull. The bullet left from the rear side with a big wound. Her brain was already torn apart,” said the doctor, who wished not to be identified. The cardiologist said she was operated upon, her chest was opened and heart was taken out so that it could be messaged in an effort to resume her heartbeat but to no avail.

“The assassination of Ms Bhutto is a target killing,” said Senator Dr Babar Awan, a close aide of slain Pakistani leader. “She was worried about her security and had expressed her fear even during the rally,” said Dr Awan, who had reached the venue of the rally along with Ms Bhutto.

“We were sitting together and she has been telling me as to what threats she faced. She also gave me some details but I cannot divulge those details for the time being. She also gave me something in writing. She was extremely worried,” he added, while talking to media persons. Dr Awan said that when they left the venue of the rally, they had two vehicles and he along with Rehman Malik and Farhatullah Babar boarded the first vehicle while Ms Bhutto embarked the vehicle that was behind the first one.

When she stood up to wave to her supporters, first she was target with sharp shooting and then a bomb went off. “However, police immediately whisked us away,” he said.

When the doctors pronounced Bhutto dead, the leaders and workers of her party refused to receive her body until arrival of her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari, from Dubai. However, Zardari reached Islamabad along with her three children -- Bilawal Zardari, Bakhtawar Zardari and Asifa Zardari -- through a special plane and received her coffin.

From the hospital, the coffin was shifted to nearby Islamabad Airport from where it was flown to Sukkur city in Sindh province onboard a C-130 aircraft that also carried Zardari, his children and some senior PPP leaders. When the aircraft landed at the Sukkur airport, a military helicopter was already present at the airport to take the dead body of Bhutto to her hometown Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

According to reports, a grave had already been dug adjacent to the grave of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. However, the coffin was shifted from helipad to her ancestral residence so that close family member could take the last glimpse of her face. Reports said that her funeral was to be offered between 10 and 11 a.m. (PST) and burial was to take place by 12 noon. Thousands of her admirers and party workers had reported started pouring in her hometown soon after learning about her death and millions of people were expected to gather for her last rites.

Violence grips Pakistan

As soon the news about assassination of Ms Bhutto, who was elected in 1988 as first female prime minister of any Islamic state, broke, the people took to streets in all major cities and towns of the country and violent riots went out of control of the law-enforcement agencies. Rioters set on ablaze numerous government offices, banks and vehicles in various cities and towns.

In Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the workers of the PPP got emotional and chanted slogans against the government while marching on the city roads. They also blocked various roads. The police tried to control the violent protesters but in vain. Ms Bhutto had addressed a rally in Rawalpindi after 11 years and a huge crowd of her party workers and supporters had gathered to listen to her.

The bus terminals, fuel stations and hotels were closed by their owners fearing backlash of Ms Bhutto’s assassination while those who were calm and cool confined themselves to their houses. The PPP supporters set on fire the venue of a public meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), which ruled the country for the last five years, in Sargodha city. Former Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi was reportedly scheduled to address a rally at the venue on Friday.

Besides, three election offices of PML were also burnt in this central Punjab city. Like other cities and towns of the Punjab province, shops, cinema houses and fuel stations were closed in Lahore, the capital of the province, and two police vehicles were burnt while another was hijacked along with policemen. However, the policemen were later released but after being subjected to torture. The office of a mobile telephone company, one fuel station and a house were also burnt in Lahore.

The violent protesters blocked roads and burnt tyres while some also resorted to aerial firing. In the industrial city of Gujranwala, the shops of traders who delayed closure of business were damaged. In dusty Multan city in southern Punjab, hundreds of people staged a protest demonstration and burnt tyres.

Reports said the workers of PPP in the Punjab were highly provoked and some of them even talked of taking revenge. In Karachi, where Bhutto’s palatial residence was known as Bilawal House, all the trade centres were closed. A sense shock and grief grip the whole city and traffic gone out of control. It seemed that people had lost their senses.

The aggrieved and provoked people were chanting slogans in favour of Ms Bhutto and pelting government offices and buildings with stones and setting vehicles on fire. In Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which is considered stronghold of Ms Bhutto-led PPP, women also took to streets. They were beating their chests and wailing. In Karachi, the commercial capital of Pakistan, it seemed that any natural disaster had struck.

At least two police stations were reportedly also attacked in the city. Similar situation was reported from other cities and towns of the Sindh province. Reports also said that at least 10 persons were killed in violence in different parts of the province. The violence was also reported from Peshawar and Quetta, capital cities of the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan province, respectively.

President Musharraf announces three-day mourning

Soon after the assassination of Ms Bhutto, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in a televised statement condemned the incident and renewed his pledge to root out the menace of terrorism from the country. He also announced three-day mourning in the country.

Sharif announces polls boycott

Several political leaders of Pakistan expressed serious anguish over the killing of Ms Bhutto and described it as a national tragedy. Some of them even demanded President Musharraf to resign from his office forthwith. “This is not just a mourning day. It is the darkest day of our history. I share the grief with the nation. This tragedy is even beyond imagination of anybody,” said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“It is the time to heal the wounds of Sindh,” he said while announcing to boycott the January 8 election. The leaders of all religious and political condemned the assassination of Ms Bhutto in the strongest terms and some of them even gave strike call for Friday and announced mourning.

World condemns assassination of Bhutto

Several world leaders as well as the United Nations also expressed their shock and grief over assassination of Ms Bhutto and strongly condemned the incident. Leaders of the countries including the United States, Britain, France, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, China, Iran, South Africa and Czech Republic were among those who expressed their grief. The United Nations, Arab League, European Commission and European Union also criticised the murder of Ms Bhutto. US President George W Bush urged Pakistan to stay on the democratic path.

"The US strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," Bush told reporters hours after Bhutto was killed. "Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice," he said near his ranch in Texas where he is spending the end-of-year holidays. "We stand with the people of Pakistan in that struggle against the forces of terror and extremism."

[Ed. Note: for complete NowPublic coverage see here]