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Enraged Pakistanis Put Blame On Musharraf

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By LAURA KING, Los Angeles Times

Published: December 28, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the charismatic opposition leader who had promised to restore democracy in Pakistan, set off a nationwide wave of grief and fury and raised the specter of violent unrest that could threaten the government of U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf.

At least 20 other people died in Thursday's assault just outside the main gates of a Rawalpindi park where Pakistan's first prime minister was assassinated in 1951.

Bhutto's white SUV first was hit by close-range gunfire, then rocked by a powerful explosion set off by a suicide attacker. Several witnesses said they saw a gunman fire shots at Bhutto and then blow himself up.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination, but Islamic extremists repeatedly had threatened the progressive-minded former prime minister.

Musharraf called on his compatriots to remain calm; demonstrators, however, aimed their rage at the former general, whom Bhutto often called a dictator.

"Musharraf is a dog!" protesters shouted at the hospital where Bhutto died. "Killer, killer!" others chanted. Nine people were reported killed in rioting overnight.

The assassination, in the city that is the headquarters of the Pakistani military, raised fears that Musharraf once again would assume sweeping powers to keep order.

On Nov. 3, the government declared a state of emergency, akin to martial law, and used broad police powers to round up thousands of opponents. Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, ended the emergency rule Dec. 15.

Within hours of her death, Bhutto's body, placed in a plain wooden coffin, was put aboard a flight for her hometown, the southern city of Larkana. Officials said the funeral could be held as early as today, in keeping with Muslim tradition that calls for a swift burial.

She is to be buried in the same mausoleum as her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was hanged in 1979 by the military leader who had overthrown him. Days after her return to Pakistan in October, Bhutto had visited her father's grave to pay homage, scattering rose petals on the white-marble tomb.

In some ways, hers was a death foretold. The 54-year-old Bhutto had spoken often about the prospect of a violent end at the hands of Islamic extremists or other assailants. She did so again just before the attack that killed her.

"I risked my life and came here because I believe our country is in danger," Bhutto told a flag-waving crowd of supporters at Thursday's rally, days before general elections scheduled on Jan. 8.

Bhutto had said she thought that rogue elements in the government had conspired in a previous assassination attempt in October. She escaped injury in that massive bombing, in which a suicide attacker struck her convoy in Karachi, killing more than 140 people.

The assassination represents a blow to the Bush administration, which has been Musharraf's chief backer. U.S. officials had hoped Musharraf and the Western-educated Bhutto would reach a detente that would stabilize the nuclear-armed country and intensify the effort against Islamic fundamentalists hiding in the nation's border regions.

At his ranch near Crawford, Texas, President Bush was told of the assassination during his morning intelligence briefing. "The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," he said, reading a statement.

Thursday's carefully choreographed assault cut Bhutto down without mercy. Aides said they thought the bullet wounds Bhutto initially suffered likely would have been fatal even without the subsequent fiery blast.

"I saw the flash, heard the boom, and there were people with their limbs missing, all of them on the ground," said Ghulam Mustafa, who was a short distance away when the attack took place. The ground was littered with charred debris, scattered shoes and scraps of clothing, soaked in blood.

Screaming, weeping supporters converged on Rawalpindi General Hospital, where Bhutto was rushed after the attack.

Doctors performed emergency surgery, but Bhutto went into cardiac arrest and her heart could not be restarted, said Abbas Hayat, head of the hospital's pathology department.

In Rawalpindi and half a dozen other cities, furious supporters set tires ablaze and tore down posters of government-backed candidates, throwing them into the flames. Musharraf, who recently stepped down as military chief to become civilian president, ordered three days of mourning.

"This is the work of those terrorists with whom we are engaged in war," the Pakistani leader said in a nationally televised speech. "I have been saying that the nation faces the greatest threats from these terrorists. ... We will not rest until we eliminate these terrorists and root them out."

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