Pakistan Assassination Attempt Kills Over 100 People

Bombs exploded alongside a road in Karachi, Pakistan as the convoy of former Prime Minister Bhutto passed by. Many people were killed and there were also a number of injuries. The assassination attempt was condemned by the White House, the United Nations Secretary General, and others. Bhutto had returned from exile earlier in the day, arriving at the international airport in Karachi.

According to a press release issued by the United Nations late Thursday, two bombs exploded in the city of Karachi, which is located in southern Pakistan, in an attack targeted against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Over one-hundred deaths were reported, along with a higher number of injuries. The U.N. Secretary General expressed condolences and condemned the attack.

The U.S. Department of State issued a press statement on the assassination attempt Thursday, condemning the attack, stating that the killings could not be justified, and accusing those responsible of only intending to "limit freedom" and create fear. It remarked that Pakistan's leader and government also condemned the bomb explosions.

As indicated by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao was asked about the bombings. He responded that the Chinese government "strongly" condemns the attack, expressing the hope that Pakistan would "maintain social stability." According to the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade web site, the Foreign Minister of Australia also condemned the assassination attempt and expressed sympathy to victims' families.

Wikipedia's entry on Benazir Bhutto indicates that she was elected as the Prime Minister twice during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She was accused of corruption by the country's President and forced to leave office, later going into exile in the United Arab Emirates, a small oil-rich Middle Eastern nation. She is associated with the Pakistan Peoples' Party which, according to Wikipedia, promotes a democratic political system and a socialist economy. She was born in 1953, completed college education in the U.S. and U.K., and became married in 1987.

According to the CIA World Factbook entry on Pakistan, the nation is almost twice as large as California and has nearly 165 million people. The vast majority of the population is Muslim, but multiple languages are spoken there. General Musharraf has been the President since mid-2001 and led the country since 1999. Pakistan is bordered by the nations of India, Afghanistan, Iran, and China. Its capitol is Islamabad, located far to the north of Karachi.

Sources:

1. United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24339
2. U.S. Department of State, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/oct/93706.htm
3. CIA World Factbook (public domain), https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html
4. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Peoples_Party
5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (PRC), http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xwfw/s2510/t373780.htm
6. Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia), http://www.dfat.gov.au/