Benazir Bhutto assassinated

Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, has been assassinated at an election rally in Rawalpindi.

She was attacked on 27 December as she left the rally, in a shooting and suicide bombing that killed more than 20 other people.

The attack

Bhutto had just addressed thousands of supporters and was standing up through the roof of her vehicle to wave to the crowd when shots were fired. A bomb then exploded nearby. She was taken to hospital, where she died.

A political dynasty

Bhutto, 54, was the first woman to lead a Muslim-majority country, serving as prime minister twice, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996. Both governments were dismissed amid allegations of corruption, which she denied.

She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former prime minister who was overthrown in a military coup and hanged in 1979.

Educated at Harvard and Oxford, where she was president of the Oxford Union, she spent many years in exile in London and Dubai.

Her return

Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October to lead her Pakistan People's Party into elections due next month. On the day she arrived, a bomb attack on her convoy in Karachi killed more than 130 people. She survived.

Violence spreads

News of her death has led to riots in several cities, with cars and buildings set on fire. The government has called for calm.

President Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, condemned the killing and declared three days of mourning.

Who is responsible?

No group has claimed responsibility. Bhutto had been threatened by Islamist militants, and had also complained that the government was not providing her with enough security.

World reaction

World leaders have condemned the killing. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said the terrorists who were responsible must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan.

Birmingham

The killing has shocked the large Pakistani community in Birmingham, many of whom have family in Pakistan. Supporters of her party in the city have been gathering to mourn her.

The future of the elections, due on 8 January, is now uncertain.