Benazir Bhutto had been addressing rallies in many parts of Pakistan
Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a military spokesman has announced on TV.
Earlier reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.
Ms Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally in the town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.
At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack and several more were injured. Ms Bhutto had twice been the country's prime minister.
She had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January.
The BBC's Barbara Plett says the killing is likely to provoke an agonised response from her followers, especially from her loyal following in Sindh Province.
The PPP has the largest support of any party in the country.
Scene of grief
The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking.
The blast caused carnage
Wasif Ali Khan, a member of the PPP who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital, said she died at 1816 (1316 GMT).
Supporters at the hospital began chanting "Dog, Musharraf, dog", referring to President Pervez Musharraf, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Some broke the glass door at the main entrance to the emergency unit as others wept.
A man with a PPP flag tied around his head could be seen beating his chest, the agency adds.
An interior ministry spokesman, Javed Cheema, was quoted as saying by AFP that she may have been killed by pellets packed into the suicide bomber's vest.
However, AP quoted a PPP security adviser as saying she was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle, before the gunman blew himself up.
Return from exile
The killing was condemned by the US and Russia, and a statement is expected shortly from the UK.
The killing undermined reconciliation in Pakistan, the US state department said.
Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges.
Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing.
Since her return relations with Mr Musharraf had broken down.
On the day of her return she led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead.
Earlier on Thursday at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi.
Bhutto and Nawaz---never ending corrupt political circle like in Nepal of Girija,Sher, Krisha Musharif- Prachhanda alike who's at least doing something to make changes even going againt the Taliban.
I just cant belive she is dead now. I feel really sad and down. Though I dont keep track with Pakistani Political happenings, she was one of the leaders by whom I was highly influenced, rather I would say by her personailty.
From school days I was very big fan of her, at first name itself was so beautiful BENAZIR...I loved it, the other factor her looks. She was really beautiful and good looking. I found charisma on her face and the way she speaks. Whenever I saw her on TV I did not miss a glance to look.
Moreover, she was highly educated, attended the most reputed universities Oxford and Harvard, heard that she was classmate of Tony Blair. Overall she was a great personality. Though she had had bad time in politics. I am really shocked to hear this news and I sincerely hope and pray her SOUL WILL REST IN PEACE.
As Amazing said , I could hardly beleive that she is dead now. I saw her ( not met) very closely during the Civic felicitation ceremoney while she visited Kathmandu probably in 1993. I was one of the officers responssible for the management of the event.
Whether she was corrupted or not, Allah jaane( God knows), she was one of the most educated and elected priministers or leaders from South Asia.
Nothing shocking in my mind cause i`ve already knew some of the extremist moeslem people will non stop generate trouble rubble on their long ago stubborn ,uncivilized ,arrogant, voids ,sound trouble minded.!!!!!!!......... should it have no idea of how those fanatic follower, sadly most of it was brutally puppet remoted from the totaly wrong sunni people. Being extremist behind their so called myriads silver screen rules, women are no longer berespect, degradded, man super power chauvenist ,destructed and dominates womans, .....fond nothings but slaved womans likes unhumanities.....major irritation is disrespect the grace terms of marriage upon blithely numbering wife`s.Extremist moeslem recaptured the oft quoted " moeslem next succesor" bigotory abandon and igrored all courtesy value, actual fact and the so -called "lights" for fear of the dark era when human inherent barbaric, insanity....that manipulate too off the true teaching from Great Messenger of Prophet Mohammed .Moeslem is to be believed as peace , source of lights, now have been wrongly terrorist by the ardent extremist moeslems.Sadly this decadence of minority had dragged young generation without comprehended set the tone to their bias anarchic marched. These people have odds the human universal civilization and religous conscience for world peace.Moeslem to be cast as one of the religous from the sky that been created by God is a beautiful peace way of life , encompass and reliable but have been made voids by these black sheep in the family. Now it seems the God is punishing, spell - curse of what have been navigate freaked by these unresponsible and radical stream people.As be seen nowadays the turbulence chapters and demorale undertaken as such this assasinated killing of Noble person - late Benazir Bhutto.World history at the eleventh hour of hope to wellcome 2008 is terribled marked as horrified with the Benazir death - shame on the extremist moeslem shoulder`s themselves, conspicuously on be the name of emancipation of women. Felt a great loss for the departed of those beloved women`s ,one after another as memory remains not long ago - Late Princess Diana the "England Rose" then followed by yesterday tragedy,... marked in history for long generation regretted and crying for, -- the death of "Pakistan Maiden"...Benazir Bhutto....at this very right point world is bow humble in the homagepay mercy on her blessly departed.
On behalf of Adam`s best friend of the nearest, woman - confiscated a phantom concensus that ultimately sorry to the extremist terrorist themselves particularly.
An elevated clause for the lament killer`s is mandatory unforgiven!!
1976: After spending her childhood in Pakistan and embarking on her higher eduction at Harvard, she is elected president of the Oxford Union while reading PPE at Lady Margaret Hall.
Apr 4, 1979: Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is executed for the murder of a political opponent, two years after he was ousted as prime minister in a military coup.
Apr 10, 1986: Miss Bhutto returns from exile in London to lead the Pakistan People’s Party that her father founded.
Dec 1, 1988: Aged 35, she becomes the first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation after winning parliamentary elections.
Aug 6, 1990: Her government is dismissed on grounds of corruption and a failure to control ethnic violence.
Oct 19, 1993: Miss Bhutto takes the oath for a second term as prime minister.
Nov 5, 1996: Second administration is dismissed amid accusations of nepotism and undermining the justice system.
April 14, 1999: A court finds Miss Bhutto guilty of corruption while she is out of the country. The conviction was later quashed, but Ms Bhutto remains in self-imposed exile, living in Britain and Dubai.
Oct 5, 2007: President Pervez Musharraf signs a corruption amnesty covering other cases against Miss Bhutto, opening the way for her return and a possible power-sharing agreement.
Oct 18: Miss Bhutto flies in to Karachi and her welcoming parade is hit by a suicide attack, killing 136. She later accused the government of a cover-up in the investigation.
Oct 22: She receives a death threat from a “friend of al-Qa’eda†in a letter which says she could be stabbed, attacked in her car or in her bedroom.
Oct 27: Miss Bhutto leaves Karachi for the first time since the attack and is greeted by 4,000 jubilant supporters chanting “Long live Bhutto†in her ancestral village of Garhi Khuda Baksh in Sindh province. She is pictured standing up through the sun roof of her bullet proof car.
Nov 3: President Musharraf announces emergency rule. Miss Bhutto said it was Pakistan’s “blackest day†and threatens to bring her supporters on to the streets in mass demonstrations.
Nov 9: Miss Bhutto is put under house arrest in Lahore to prevent her leading a pro-democracy rally and security forces round up thousands of her supporters.
Nov 13: Authorities put her under house arrest for a second time in a week. Miss Bhutto calls for the first time for President Musharraf to quit and bring an end to his “contaminated’’ rule of Pakistan. She says she would no longer pursue power-sharing talks with a “dictatorâ€. She also indicates a desire to build an alliance with other opposition leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister.
Nov 30: She launches her campaign manifesto, promising jobs, housing and healthcare. The move defies an all-opposition party election boycott. The politician and former cricketer Imran Khan accuses her of “betrayalâ€.
Dec 8: Three supporters of Miss Bhutto are killed when gunmen attack one of her party’s regional offices in Naseerabad.
Dec 10: Mr Sharif’s party announces it will participate in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections after failing to persuade Miss Bhutto to join a boycott.
Dec 15: President Musharraf lifts emergency rule.
Dec 25: Miss Bhutto accuses President Musharraf of failing to stop the spread of Islamic militants and promises to crack down on groups if she wins parliamentary elections.
I was looking forward to a quiet family holiday in New York this summer with my three children, our dog Maxmillian and my husband, who is being treated for a heart condition that developed while he was a political prisoner in Pakistan from 1996 to 2004. I thought we would go to the theatre and spend time walking in Central Park, as well meeting up with friends for nice, long chatty dinners. But in this surprisingly momentous summer of 2007, our quiet family vacation disappeared as we found ourselves caught up in the media attention on my country Pakistan, and its fast changing political situation.
It is clear to those following events in South Asia that Pakistan is truly at a turning point. Almost a decade of military dictatorship has devastated the basic infrastructure of democracy. Political parties have been assaulted, political leaders arrested, and the judicial system manipulated to force party leaders into exile. NGOs have been under constant attack, especially those that deal with human rights, democratic values and women's rights. The press has been intimidated, with some reporters -- even those that work for papers like the New York Times -- arrested, beaten or made to disappear. Student and labor unions have not been allowed to function. The electoral institutions of the nation have been manipulated by an Election Commission that could not stop rigging and fraud. And in the battle against terrorism, we look on with dismay as the government of Pakistan ceded sections of our nation that previously had been governed by the rule of law to Taliban sympathizers and to Al Qaeda, making Pakistan the Petri dish of the international terrorist movement.
But the most dangerous manifestation of this retreat from democracy has been a growing sense of hopelessness of the people of Pakistan, and a total disillusionment with the political system's ability to address their daily problems. The social sector has festered -- underfinanced and relegated to the back burner of national policy. All the indicators of quality of life have spiraled down, from employment to education to housing to health care. And as people's sense of disillusionment has grown, there has been a corresponding growth in the spread of religious and political extremism. The failure of the regime has made our citizens open to extra-governmental experimentation with fanaticism. This has clearly been manifest in the spread of politicized madrassas, schools in which the curriculum incorporates xenophobia, bigotry and often para-military terrorist training. But poor parents who cannot feed or clothe their children entrust them to these kinds of schools, so their children may be fed and housed.
The growth of the madrassas is but one important signal that extremism has been making inroads against moderation amongst the Pakistani polity. I have always believed that the battle between extremism and moderation is the underlying battle for the very soul of Pakistan. Yet moderation can prevail against the extremists only if democracy flourishes and the social sector improves the quality of life of the people. In 2007, I sensed that the decade of dictatorship was threatening to undermine the moderate majority of Pakistan, those people committed to pluralism, to education, to technology -- in other words, those committed to Pakistan taking its place among the community of civilized nations as a leader in the 21st century. Under democracy, the extremists had been marginalized in the past, never receiving more than 11% of the vote in an election. But under dictatorship, Pakistan was edging toward extremism, chaos, and sliding towards a failed state.
My party [the Pakistan Peoples Party] was engaged in a dialogue with the regime of General Musharraf, but discussions didn't move the regime concretely toward democratic reform. In the summer of 2007, after the reinstatement of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the birth of judicial activism, the dialogue with General Musharraf took a more substantive turn. It seemed now that the country had an opportunity to peacefully transition to democracy, which is critical for the other war -- the war of moderation against extremism -- to succeed. I had a choice. Engage in dialogue, or turn toward the streets. I knew that street protests against the Musharraf dictatorship could lead to the deaths of hundreds. I thought about the choice before me very carefully. I chose dialogue; I chose negotiation; I chose to find a common ground that would unite all the moderate elements of Pakistan for a peaceful transfer to a workable political system that was responsive to the needs of the 160 million people of Pakistan whose empowerment is critical to the success of both governing and the fight against terrorism.
I know that some in Pakistan, including those in political parties were so embittered with the military regime that they wanted the door of dialogue shut. But from the very beginning my goal was and remains to guarantee a free and open electoral process that would provide for a legitimate Parliament and provincial assemblies that would then select, in a constitutional process, a civilian President who understands that in a parliamentary democracy, the parliament is supreme. I wasn't negotiating for a guaranteed outcome, I was negotiating for a guaranteed process. That was the goal at the beginning. That is the goal now. Are we making progress towards that goal? I still am unable to say. There are many elements, in particular those sympathisers in the ruling Party and Government who enabled the extremists and militants to expand their influence in my country who are fearful of the return of the PPP and a rollback of the terrorist forces that have gained strength since my government was overthrown in 1996. They want to scuttle a process that could see the emergence of a moderate Pakistan. So it has been a roller coaster ride. Some times the dialogue moves forward with General Musharaf . But then he consults his colleagues in the ruling alliance and retracts from confidence building measures promised for a fair electoral process.
As the presidential and parliamentary elections approach, I am making plans with my supporters to return to Pakistan. I know that it is critical for Pakistan to return to a democratic way of life so that the people's problems can be addressed. When people are partners with government, they stand up to defend their communities against terrorists, criminals and negative forces.
My stay in New York wasn't exactly the family vacation I had planned, but it was a critical period of weeks that could very well determine the future of Pakistan. I long ago realized that my personal life was to be subjugated to my political responsibilities. When my democratically elected father, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested in 1977 and subsequently murdered, the mantle of leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party, our nation's largest, nationwide grassroots political structure, was suddenly thrust upon me. It was not the life I planned, but it is the life I have. My husband and children accept and understand that my political responsibilities to the people of Pakistan come first, as painful as that personally is to all of us. I would like to be planning my son's move to his first year at college later this month, but instead I am planning my return to Pakistan and my party's parliamentary election campaign.
It has to be Al-Qaeda or some other terrorist group that planned this assassination.
Pervez Musharraf in his right mind would never do such a thing unless ofcourse he has been deceiving America and the rest of the World all these years.
Watch this video as comments from Nepalese leaders In this video, I didn't understand what CP Gajurel want to say ( the relation between abolishment of monarchy and Bhutto's assassination )
What are your first memories of when Nepal Television Began?
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Posted September 1, 2007 | 08:42 PM (EST)
I was looking forward to a quiet family holiday in New York this summer with my three children, our dog Maxmillian and my husband, who is being treated for a heart condition that developed while he was a political prisoner in Pakistan from 1996 to 2004. I thought we would go to the theatre and spend time walking in Central Park, as well meeting up with friends for nice, long chatty dinners. But in this surprisingly momentous summer of 2007, our quiet family vacation disappeared as we found ourselves caught up in the media attention on my country Pakistan, and its fast changing political situation.