Anniversary of Benazir Bhutto's Assassination Mourned by Thousands

Benazir Bhutto, then 54, was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack on as she was leaving a rally in the town of Rawalpindi, just outside the capital of Islamabad.

At the time, she was campaigning to return her Pakistan People's Party to power in parliamentary elections. Just prior to her assassination, she had been openly critical about the lack of protection afforded to her by then-President Pervez Musharraf.

Following her death, her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, took over Bhutto's party and was elected president in September.

There has been very little in the way of investigation into Benazir Bhutto's death, but U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday he hopes an independent commission of inquiry into the assassination will be convened soon.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has declared December 27th a national holiday to honor her, the first woman to lead a Muslim nation. It has issued commemorative stamps and a 10-rupee (13 cent) coin bearing her picture.