This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/7162236.stm

The article has changed 25 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 20 Version 21
Bhutto buried amid mass mourning Bhutto buried amid mass mourning
(about 1 hour later)
Tens of thousands of people have attended the funeral of assassinated Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto.Tens of thousands of people have attended the funeral of assassinated Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto.
Mourners converged on the family mausoleum where she was buried next to her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto near their home village in Sindh Province. Mourners converged on the family mausoleum where she was buried next to her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto near their home village in Sindh province.
The coffin, draped in the flag of Ms Bhutto's party, was driven in a white ambulance through dense crowds. The coffin, draped in the flag of Ms Bhutto's party, was driven in a white ambulance through the dense crowds.
Pakistani security forces are on high alert, with at least 19 people killed in violence across the country. Pakistan's interior ministry has said it has evidence al-Qaeda and the Taleban were behind the assassination.
President Pervez Musharraf appealed for calm after the former Pakistani prime minister was shot at an election rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday by a gunman who then blew himself up. Officials were speaking after a reported claim of responsibility by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Ms Bhutto, a former Pakistani prime minister, was shot at an election rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday by a gunman who then blew himself up.
Pakistani security forces are on high alert, with at least 19 people killed in protests by Bhutto supporters across the country since the assassination.
Slogans and tearsSlogans and tears
Her plain wooden coffin was taken from the family home to the burial site 7km (four miles) away at the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. Ms Bhutto's plain wooden coffin was taken from the family home to the burial site 7km (four miles) away at the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
Search for stability continuesPress mourns Bhutto href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7162403.stm">Bhutto in her own words Search for stability continuesPress mourns Bhutto href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7163063.stm">Shock in home province
Amid weeping and beating of heads and chests, mourners jostled to see the coffin, which was accompanied by Ms Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari and her three children.Amid weeping and beating of heads and chests, mourners jostled to see the coffin, which was accompanied by Ms Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari and her three children.
Outside the triple-domed mausoleum, crowds chanted slogans blaming Gen Musharraf for Ms Bhutto's death. Her father, also a former national leader, was hanged in 1979 by an earlier Pakistani military government.
Outside the triple-domed mausoleum, crowds chanted slogans blaming President Pervez Musharraf for Ms Bhutto's death.
The BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones, who is in the district of Larkana, says the mood among local people is one of anger and confusion.The BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones, who is in the district of Larkana, says the mood among local people is one of anger and confusion.
Rioting and unrest has been reported across the country.Rioting and unrest has been reported across the country.
    • At least one passenger train was set ablaze in Sindh Province and a number of railway stations were reportedly burnt as security forces in the province were ordered to shoot rioters on sight
    • At least one passenger train was set ablaze in Sindh Province and a number of railway stations were reportedly burnt as security forces in the province were ordered to shoot rioters on sight
    • Several people died in Karachi as government offices, police stations and vehicles were torched by rioters and police opened fire on protesters in Hyderabad
    • Several people died in Karachi as government offices, police stations and vehicles were torched by rioters and police opened fire on protesters in Hyderabad
    • The office of a pro-government party was ransacked and set ablaze in Peshawar
    • The office of a pro-government party was ransacked and set ablaze in Peshawar
    • In the city of Multan in Punjab province, a mob ransacked seven banks and torched a petrol station
    • In the city of Multan in Punjab province, a mob ransacked seven banks and torched a petrol station
      • Other cities across Pakistan are at a virtual standstill.
      Schools, businesses and transport are all closed, and people are reluctant to step out during the three days of national mourning declared by Mr Musharraf.
      Musharraf under pressureMusharraf under pressure
      Plans for parliamentary elections on 8 January, for which Ms Bhutto had been campaigning when she was killed, remain unchanged, the government says. Plans for a general election on 8 January, for which Ms Bhutto had been campaigning when she was killed, remain unchanged, the government says.
      However, caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro has said the government will consult other political parties on the issue. Security forces have been out in strength in Sindh province
      Ms Bhutto's political rival Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister, has announced his party will boycott the vote in response to the assassination. The election is meant to pave the way for a return to democratic rule, suspended in October 1999 when the then Gen Musharraf seized power through a coup.
      "The holding of fair and free elections is not possible in the presence of Pervez Musharraf," he said. Mohammedmian Soomro, the caretaker prime minister, said the government would consult other political parties on the election issue.
      Correspondents say credible elections will be very difficult to hold with the leader of the largest opposition party dead and Mr Sharif refusing to take part. Ms Bhutto's political rival Nawaz Sharif, who was deposed as prime minister in the coup, has announced his party will now boycott the election, saying free elections were impossible under Mr Musharraf.
      Another opposition politician, the former cricketer Imran Khan, has joined Mr Sharif's call for Gen Musharraf's resignation, blaming the president for failing to provide adequate security for Ms Bhutto. Another opposition politician, the former cricketer Imran Khan, joined Mr Sharif's call for Mr Musharraf's resignation, blaming the president for failing to provide adequate security for Ms Bhutto.
      "Why was [she] not provided with security, a similar kind of security to [that provided for] Gen Musharraf?" he asked at a news conference   With all the opposition parties now against the election, it is hard to see how they will be a true test of the democratic process, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports.  
      Final speechFinal speech
      Ms Bhutto, 54, was leaving the election rally in Rawalpindi, standing in the open sunroof of a car, when the gunman shot her in the neck and chest.Ms Bhutto, 54, was leaving the election rally in Rawalpindi, standing in the open sunroof of a car, when the gunman shot her in the neck and chest.
      Pakistan lost its binding bond in the shape of Great Ms Bhutto... It is high time that all political parties unite together to save Pakistan and get rid of Musharraf Muhammad Arshad, Lahore, Pakistan Have your say
      Seconds later, the attacker blew himself up, killing at least 20 other people.
      Ms Bhutto was twice prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. She was sacked on both occasions after being charged with corruption.
      She returned from eight years of self-imposed exile in October, following an amnesty agreed with President Musharraf.
      BENAZIR BHUTTO Father led Pakistan before being executed in 1979Spent five years in prisonServed as PM from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996Sacked twice by president on corruption chargesFormed alliance with rival ex-PM Nawaz Sharif in 2006Ended self-imposed exile by returning to Pakistan in OctoberEducated at Harvard and Oxford Obituary: Benazir BhuttoLife in picturesBENAZIR BHUTTO Father led Pakistan before being executed in 1979Spent five years in prisonServed as PM from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996Sacked twice by president on corruption chargesFormed alliance with rival ex-PM Nawaz Sharif in 2006Ended self-imposed exile by returning to Pakistan in OctoberEducated at Harvard and Oxford Obituary: Benazir BhuttoLife in pictures
      Seconds later, the attacker blew himself up, killing at least 20 other people.
      Ms Bhutto returned from eight years of self-imposed exile in October, following an amnesty agreed with President Musharraf.
      Shortly after her return, she survived a double bomb attack on her convoy in Karachi which killed more than 130 people.Shortly after her return, she survived a double bomb attack on her convoy in Karachi which killed more than 130 people.
      She accused rogue elements of the intelligence services of involvement in the attack.She accused rogue elements of the intelligence services of involvement in the attack.
      The al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, has claimed responsibility for her assassination, according to the Asia Times newspaper. Pakistan is at the brink of civil war, courtesy of the dictatorship Dr Rubab Ahmed, London class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=1&forumID=3985&edition=2&ttl=20071227152602&#paginator">Have your say class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7162403.stm">Bhutto in her own words
      Gen Musharraf has blamed Islamists for the attack. The al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, claimed responsibility for her assassination, according to the Asia Times newspaper.
      Javed Cheema, spokesman for the Pakistani interior ministry, told AFP news agency Ms Bhutto had been on the militant Islamist network's "hit list".