Updated Dec. 27 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, and then leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, had been campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for January 2008 when she was shot, in a suicide terrorist attack.
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When Was Benazir Bhutto killed?
After eight years in exile in Dubai and London, while her court cases for corruption remained pending in foreign and Pakistani courts, Bhutto returned to prepare for the 2008 national elections, with a possible power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf. Upon her return to the country to begin campaigning, she was killed on December 27, 2007.
What happened after Benazir Bhutto’s death?
After her death, supporters rioted and reportedly chanted “Dog, Musharraf, dog”, referring to President Pervez Musharraf. Others attacked police and burned election campaign posters. Though the upcoming elections would be postponed, opposition groups said that the assassination could lead to a civil war. After protests broke out, Musharraf ordered a crackdown on rioters and looters to “ensure safety and security”, but in the end, over 100 people died, either by police or in the crossfire.