| | Minutes before death ... Benazir waves to supporters at the rally |
RAWALPINDI: Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was shot dead at a political rally yesterday - sparking riots across the country. The gunman then detonated a bomb, killing at least 25 of her supporters in Rawalpindi. Many more were injured in the suicide blast. It is the first major attack since President Pervez Musharraf lifted emergency rule two weeks ago. He last night appealed for calm and declared three days of mourning. At least 10 people have been shot dead in rioting. There were immediate predictions of civil war in the strife-riven country - despite international calls for restraint and unity. The killing of the first woman prime minister in an Islamic state came less than two weeks before elections many expected would return Benazir to power and restore democracy to the nuclear-armed nation. Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said his party would now boycott the January 8 poll in protest of the killing. Leaders around the world immediately condemned the assassination. | 
