Sadness and fury as Pakistanis confront Bhutto killing

Dec 27, 2007, 18:09 GMT

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto waves to supporters at a rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan 27 December 2007. This photo was taken right before her murder. Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto died 27 December 2007 following a suicide bombing near her vehicle at a election rally in the city of Rawalpindi. EPA/T.MUGHAL

Islamabad - Disbelief and then anger swept across Pakistan like wildfire with the news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, which interrupted all television and radio programmes.

Just a couple of hours before Bhutto died in hospital after the suicide attack and apparent shooting in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, she had been addressing cheering crowds there.

The mood among her Pakistani People's Party supporters had been jubilant. They waved red, green and black party flags and cheered in front of the many giant posters of the woman they were soon to mourn.

The rival of controversial President Pervez Musharraf had again been making a familiar demand for a full return to democracy - the only way for Pakistan to win the fight against the extremists.

After what was to prove the final speech of a tumultuous career, Bhutto was driven to the exit of area where the rally was held, waving from an open-topped vehicle.

She had been insisting on such crowd exposure despite the clear assassination risk that had already seen an earlier attempt on her return to her homeland on October 18.

About 50 metres from the stage, the assassin blew himself up amid the crowd of hundreds. Already, shots had been fired at Bhutto, according to witnesses.

The explosion was followed by chaos - people running in all directions, dead and wounded lying on the rally ground, the first ambulances and emergency service vehicles already arriving.

Some of the police and emergency crews became the instant targets of the wrath of PPP supporters, some of whom began attacking police cars using using planks of wood.

Shortly afterwards came the official word of Bhutto's death. 'I can't believe it,' said 30-year-old Mana Hassan, a local teacher whose tears summed up the anger and disbelief of so many of her fellow Bhutto supporters. 'I'm still hoping it's only a bad dream.'

While Mana Hassan saw Bhutto as a bearer of hope, Abrar Hussain was among the many who, though not a direct Bhutto supporter, were left disgusted, he said, by the murder of a mother and fellow human.

As disbelief turned to fury outside the hospital where Bhutto died, crowds began chanting anti-Musharraf slogans. For many, the unpopular president is the man ultimately responsible for the death.

As rioting began to sweep across the towns and cities of Pakistan, Musharraf issued an appeal for calm. Few were expecting that call to be listened to.