Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto passed away (Inna Lilla he Wa Inna Elehay Rajioon). I am terribly hurt and shocked by this news.
The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar initially said that Ms Bhutto was safe. But later he told the BBC that Ms Bhutto had died.
Another member of the PPP, Wasif Ali Khan, told the Associated Press news agency from the Rawalpindi General Hospital: “At 6:16 pm (1316 GMT) she expired.”
MSNBC: “Bhutto’s supporters at the hospital began chanting “Dog, Musharraf, dog…” Some of them smashed the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit, others burst into tears.”
Reuters: “Police said a suicide bomber fired shots at Bhutto as she was leaving the rally venue in a park before blowing himself up. ‘The man first fired at Bhutto’s vehicle. She ducked and then he blew himself up,’ said police officer Mohammad Shahid.”
CNN: Media reports quote her husband saying she suffered a bullet wound to the neck in the attack.
Sky News: The country’s upcoming January elections would “most likely be postponed or cancelled” because of the attack.
Bloomberg: Earlier, at least four supporters of Pakistan’s former premier Nawaz Sharif were killed and another 12 wounded in the capital, Islamabad, when gunshots were fired on an election rally (Bloomberg)