'Cowardly Terrorist Attack'

World Reacts with Horror to Bhutto Assassination

Leaders from around the world have reacted with shock to the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Many are worried about the country's stability.

The shock waves from the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday reverberated around the globe with world leaders expressing both shock and condemnation in addition to concern for the region's stability.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the shooting and suicide bombing -- which took the lives of around 20 other people in addition to Bhutto at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi -- a "cowardly terrorist attack," according to her spokesman Thomas Steg. She appealed to Pakistan's leadership to "maintain calm in the current situation and to fulfil their responsibility for security and democracy."

World leaders including US President George W. Bush, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined in the chorus of dismay. With Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seemingly losing his grip on power in the country, many had been hoping that a Bhutto victory in Jan. 8 general elections might bring an element of stability to the battered country. Her Thursday assassination now throws that scenario into doubt.

Ban called the assassination an "assault on stability," in a statement. He went on, "I strongly condemn this heinous crime and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice as soon as possible."

President Bush too called for those responsible to be punished. "The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," he told reporters outside of his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice."

Bhutto had only returned to Pakistan from exile in October. She had served as prime minister in Pakistan twice before, but was dismissed both times on accusations of corruption, though charges were never brought. She returned this autumn as part of a power sharing deal with President Musharraf, but a rally upon her return was marred by suicide attacks which took the lives of 140 people.

French President Sarkozy said that "terrorism and violence have no place in the democratic debate." He also lauded Bhutto for her service to her country and said she had paid "with her life for her commitment to the service of her fellow citizens and to Pakistan's political life."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Bhutto is irreplaceable. "I was deeply shocked and horrified to hear of the heinous assassination," he said. Her death, he said "is not only bad for Pakistan, but it is bad for the entire region."

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi lauded Bhutto as "a woman who chose to fight her battle until the end with a single weapon -- the one of dialogue and political debate." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a televised statement: "She risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan and she has been assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy." He went on, "Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists, but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan."

In Moscow, Anatoly Safonov, who is Russia's envoy on international cooperation against terrorism, was worried about the repercussions that might result from the attack. "The already unstable situation in Pakistan will be further exacerbated by this powerful factor," he said according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

cgh/reuters/ap