Benazir’s body brought to Larkana ; al Qaeda claims responsibility

Islamabad, Dec 28 : Benazir Bhutto’s body has been brought to her home constituency Larkana in Sindh for burial. She would be laid to rest next to her father in their family graveyard. Meanwhile, al Qaeda has claimed responsibility while the interim government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the killing. The caretaker PM has also said that January 8 elections will be held on schedule.

An alleged spokesperson of al Qaeda, Mustafa Abu Al Yazid, called up a news agency, AKI, in Pakistan and claimed the responsibility of Benazir`s assassination. There are also reports that an outfit called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi executed the attack.

Burial

The body of slain Pakistani Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was brought to Sindh province’s Larkana on Friday for burial in the family’s graveyard.

Her husband Asif Zardari and her three children also arrived from Dubai for the funeral.

The top leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as well as her supporters are gathering there in huge numbers.

Bhutto will be buried in her ancestral graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh near the grave of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the afternoon today, party spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said.

Caravans of her supporters are expected to arrive from several towns in Sindh, which is considered a PPP stronghold.

The coffin carrying Bhutto was earlier flown in a Pakistani Air Force C-130 aircraft from Islamabad. The former Prime Minister breathed her last at the Rawalpindi general hospital on Thursday at 6:16 pm Pakistan time.

Two assassins on motor bikes carrying AK 47s pumped 5 bullets into Bhutto’s neck and chest before carrying out a suicide attack as Benazir left an election rally in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Immediately after the news of Benazir’s death spread, violent protests broke out across the country. At least 10 people were killed in the riots, buses and vehicles were torched and anti-sloganeering reverberated in the streets. President Musharraf’s appeal for calm had little impact and the situation remains volatile even now. Particularly badly hit was Larkana where violence continued through the night.