From Moscow to Washington to New Delhi and points in between, dismay and condemnation poured forth Thursday over the killing of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, along with concern for the stability of the volatile region.
In a letter to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the attack an “odious act” and said “terrorism and violence have no place in the democratic debate and the combat of ideas and programs.”
Bhutto, a former two-time prime minister of Pakistan, was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi just 10 weeks after she returned to her homeland from eight years in exile. The articulate, poised 54-year-old had lashed out at the spread of Islamic extremism as she campaigned for next month’s parliamentary elections.
Sarkozy said Bhutto had paid “with her life her commitment to the service of her fellow citizens and to Pakistan’s political life” and urged Pakistan’s elections be held as scheduled on Jan. 8.
In India, which has fought three wars against Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Bhutto is irreplaceable, and noted she had striven to improve relations between the two countries.
“I was deeply shocked and horrified to hear of the heinous assassination,” Singh said. “In her death, the subcontinent has lost an outstanding leader who worked for democracy and reconciliation in her country.”
Bhutto’s assassination “is not only bad for Pakistan,” said former Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh. “It is bad for the entire region.”
In Britain, where Bhutto had attended Oxford University, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was “deeply shocked” by Bhutto’s death.
“Benazir Bhutto showed in her words and actions a deep commitment to her country,” Miliband said. “She knew the risks of her return to campaign but was convinced that her country needed her. This is a time for restraint but also unity.”
The Bush administration had pushed for reconciliation between Musharraf and Bhutto. A U.S. State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, said the U.S. condemns the attack, which he says “demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy.”
Italian Premier Romano Prodi said he was filled with grief and called Bhutto “a woman who chose to fight her battle until the end with a single weapon _ the one of dialogue and political debate.”
“The difficult path toward peace and democracy in that region must not be stopped and Bhutto’s sacrifice will serve as the strongest example for those who do not surrender to terrorism,” Prodi said.
In Moscow, Anatoly Safonov, Russian President Vladmir Putin’s envoy on international cooperation against terrorism, expressed fears the assassination would trigger violent repercussions.
“The already unstable situation in Pakistan will be further exacerbated by this powerful factor,” Safonov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin condemned the attack, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
“We hope that the leadership of Pakistan will succeed in taking all measures for guaranteeing security in the country,” Kamynin said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who personally knew Bhutto, called on the international community to support Pakistan and its democracy.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said he had felt disgust when receiving the news of Bhutto’s murder, which he called “bestial.”
“I feel a strong worry for the consequences this will have for Pakistan,” he said.
Malta’s reaction
Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said yesterday that “the killing of Benazir Bhutto is an attack on democracy and on secular politics in Pakistan. We express our solidarity with the people of Pakistan at this moment of loss.”