Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto had arrived to a joyous welcome in Karachi on Thursday afternoon after eight years in exile. But tears of relief and joy soon turned into shock at the mammoth tragedy that followed hours after.
Bhutto was on her way to a party meeting in Karachi, greeting thousands of supporters who had gathered to welcome her, when two bombs went off right next to her convoy, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds others. The former Pakistan prime minister could have also been hurt or killed, had she not stepped inside the armoured vehicle for a while.
Militants linked to al-Qaeda, angered by Bhutto’s support for the United States war on terrorism, had threatened to had assassinate her. Authorities had urged her to travel in Karachi by helicopter to reduce the risk of attack. But Bhutto, hated by radical Islamists because she supports the US-led war on terrorism, brushed off the concerns.
”I am not scared. I am thinking of my mission,” she had told reporters on the plane. ”This is a movement for democracy because we are under threat from extremists and militants.”
Source: IbnLive, ALjazeera, Nighi Videos
