8:00 PMPakistan's charismatic leader Benazir Bhutto was shot dead on Thursday at an election rally in Rawalpindi.
Gunmen opened fire at her vehicle when leaving after addressing the rally, reports said. Reports said five bullets were fired, one of which pierced her neck.
Just before the shots were fired by a sniper, a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing more than 20 people and injuring several others, the reports said.
The 54-year-old leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Rahman Malik, the PPP chairperson's security advisor, said some persons fired at Bhutto's vehicle after the suicide attacker blew himself up.
“At 6:16 pm (6:46 IST), she expired,” said Wasif Ali Khan, a PPP member, who was at the hospital.
She is survived by her husband Asif Ali Zardari and two children.
A senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment, confirmed that Bhutto had died.
Bhutto's supporters at the hospital began chanting “dog, Musharraf, dog”, referring to Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf. Some of them smashed the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit, others burst into tears.
Meanwhile, TV reports said that Musharraf has called for a high-level meeting.
Agencies
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