Musharraf holds emergency election meeting

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff today to discuss whether to postpone the election in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's death, an official at the Interior Ministry said.

Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif also questioned whether to hold the elections.

“I think perhaps none of us is inclined to think of the elections,” he said. “We would have to sit down and take a very serious look at the current situation together with the People’s Party and see what we have to do in the coming days.”

Next to Mr Musharraf, Ms Bhutto was the best known political figure in the country, serving two terms as prime minister between 1988 and 1996.

She was respected in the West for her liberal outlook and determination to combat the spread of Islamic extremism, a theme she returned to often in her campaign speeches.