Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, her party said.
She was shot dead when gunmen opened fire at her vehicle just before a suicide bomber blew himself up at a election rally addressed by her in Rawalpindi, killing more than 20 people and injuring several others. Bhutto, 54, died in general hospital in Rawalpindi. Ary-One Television said she had been shot in the head.
Reports said that five bullets were fired, one of which pierced her neck. Rahman Malik, the PPP chairperson’s security advisor, said some persons fired at Bhutto’s vehicle before the suicide attacker blew himself up.
"At 6:16 pm, she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a PPP member, who was at the hospital, said.
She is survived by her husband Asif Ali Zardari and two children.
A high alert has been sounded across the country and President Pervez Musharraf has convened a meeting of his top advisors to take stock of the situation.
There was tension in parts of Karachi, including Lyari which is a stronghold of Bhutto’s PPP, and Jecobabad. Shopkeepers in many commercial areas of Karachi, such as Clifton, closed their shops.
Pakistan’s Interior ministry also confirmed that Bhutto is dead. Bhutto’s close aides Sherry Rehman and Naheed Khan are among the injured.
Her supporters at the hospital began chanting "Dog, Musharraf, dog," referring to Pakistan’s President.
Some of them smashed 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. A suicide bomber killed nearly 150 people in an attack on Bhutto on October 18 as she paraded through the southern city of Karachi after returning home from eight years in self-imposed exile.
"The man first fired at Bhutto’s vehicle. She ducked and then he blew himself up," said police officer Mohammad Shahid.