Benazir Bhutto - "Cause of Death a Bullet Wound in the Neck"

From The Insider Brief, a blog run by Shaan Akbar, a New York-based financial analyst, Benazir Bhutto is Dead, with updates as the day progressed:

Benazir Bhutto, Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and two-time Prime Minister, has been assassinated in a bombing in Ralwapindi.

Chaos and looting continue across the country.  Police struggle to maintain control. (Updated: 11:47am US EST/9:47pm PST)

Bhutto reportedly had a bullet in the head and one in the neck. The shot to the head is being ruled as the immediate cause of death. Grisly. (Updated: 10:05am US EST/8:05pm PST)

Nawaz Sharif has arrived at the scene, consoling PPP party workers. (Updated: 9:42am US EST/7:42pm PST)

Cause of death was the bullet wound to the neck, was on oxygen for 12 minutes. Bullets were fired through the front of the vehicle. Driver tried to speed away when the bomb blast occurred. Sherry Rehman has survived and is okay. Naheed Khan reportedly in critical condition. (Updated: 9:38am US EST/7:38pm PST)

Asif Zardari, Bhutto’s husband, refuses to speak to the media. Leaves for Karachi. (Updated: 9:24am US EST/7:24 pm PST)

Chaos and violence has broken out in Lahore. Tires are being lit on fire. All stores closed. Ambulances everywhere. (Updated: 9:19am US EST/7:19pm PST)

Individuals in the establishment that I’ve spoken with believe that the Chaudhries of Gujrat were behind the attack. Speculation will likely continue, but be mindful that many of my contacts believed the Chaudhries would make attempts on Bhutto’s life before she arrived in Karachi months ago. (Updated: 9:07am US EST/7:07pm PST)

Official time of death was 6:16pm Pakistan Standard Time, Rawalpindi General Hospital. Chaos is breaking outin Rawalpindi. Roads shut down. More chaos likely. Potential reimposition of emergency rule? (Updated: 9:00am US EST/7:00pm PST)

Details are coming in of the attack. Two shots were fired before the explosion, one of which struck Bhutto in the neck. This was a very precise attack. Likely culprits? Jihadists. (Updated: 8:35am US EST/6:35pm PST)

It has now been confirmed that Benazir Bhutto is dead. She succumbed to her wounds in the operating room. May God rest her soul. God save Pakistan. (Updated 8:26am US EST/6:26pm PST)

More from the Wall St Journal Online.  Above photo taken from BBC News, Bhutto's Last Rally. Al Qaeda reportedly claims responsibility:

"A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto."

“ 'We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,' Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan."

"It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October."

May her soul rest in peace.  May Pakistan somehow not spin apart in chaos and violence.

Comments

[Dr Farrukh Malik]

This is indeed a very sad incident for Pakistani. She is national hero who paid the cost of democracy with her blood. For updates on the issue, you can have a look at my blog.