Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani opposition leader and former Prime Minister, has been killed in a suicide bombing at a political rally.

Bhutto had been addressing crowds in Rawalpindi, ahead of Pakistan’s general election next month, when the bomber detonated his explosives, killing around 20 people. She was taken to hospital, but could not be saved.

This is likely to be a very stabilizing event in Pakistan.

She had spent eight years in self-imposed exile in Great Britain and Dubai before returning to Pakistan a few months ago. Upon her return, President Musharraf declared a state of emergency and placed her under house arrest. She filed a nomination paper for a parliamentary seat on November 25 and appeared headed for a power showdown with Musharraf before she was assassinated Thursday. Many Bhutto supporters are already turning their blame onto President Musharraf.

As news of her death filtered out, Ms 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.

Just another wonderful example of what happens when common sense finds a voice in the middle of the radical islamic world.

UPDATE:
One report is saying al-Qaida is claiming credit.

UPDATE 2:
It appears this was a highly coordinated attack, as just hours earlier gunmen inside the offices of a political party that supports Mr Musharraf opened fire on supporters of another former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, killing four, police said. Mr Sharif was several kilometres away at the time, on his way to Rawalpindi after attending a rally.

UPDATE 3:
Former Democrat Presidential candidate John Kerry comments on the tragedy and reminds us why our actions in Iraq were right:

“Her loss underscores the fragility of the situation in Pakistan and the perils of a volatile mix of unrest, tension, radicalism, and nuclear weapons.“

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