'Very real danger' of civil war, says Pakistani opposition party

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto threatens to plunge a nuclear armed Pakistan into civil war, opposition groups warned today.

The former prime minister was killed by a suicide bomber as she left a public rally in the city of Rawalpindi today.

Commentators said the killing would make the postponement of the upcoming elections almost certain and could spark further unrest.

Riaz Malik, of the opposition Pakistan Movement for Justice party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), warned: “The impact will be that Pakistan is in more turmoil - it will be the start of civil war in Pakistan.

“There is a very real danger of civil war in Pakistan.”

He said that while suspicion was likely to fall on insurgent groups based in the northern tribal areas near the Afghan border, the killing was bound to increase dissatisfaction with the regime of President Pervez Musharraf.

“There will be a lot of fingers pointed at the government,” he said.