Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at the end of a campaign rally, aides said. The death of the 54-year-old former prime minister took place in the city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles south of Islamabad. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said, Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser, according to the AP.
Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in Dubai in 1998, where she remained until she returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007.
On its part, the UAE condemned the assassination and called on the people of Pakistan to unify ranks in the face of a vicious terror. "The UAE is appalled by this great loss, which is not only a tragic loss for the people of Pakistan but also for the entire UAE people", said UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
"I can't find words to express our condemnation for this criminal and cowardly act. The late Benazir Bhutto was a great friend of the UAE and had had long relations with this country", said Sheikh Abdullah in a statement cited by WAM.
The UAE official called on the people of Pakistan to brush their differences aside and solidify their unity in the face of their enemies who, he said, are bent on destablizing the country. Sheikh Abdullah also called on the family of the late Ms Bhutto to remain strong as they faced this immeasurable loss.
Following the news, supporters of Bhutto in the United Arab Emirates expressed shock and grief. "I'm so sad. I feel that my own sister is dead," said Zubeir Bashir, Middle East spokesman for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party. "This is a big tragedy for Pakistan. This is a very big shock for us," he said as he headed to the Bhutto family home in Dubai.
According to Bashir, members of Bhutto's family who had remained in Dubai after her return to her homeland in October were already on their way to Pakistan. Mohammed Akran Farooqi, the PPP's leader in the UAE, choked with emotion as he tried to express his grief over the killing. "I can't say anything... I'm totally upset," he said, according to Reuters.
