December 28, 2007
BANGKOK - Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Friday condemned the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, calling her slaying a "heinous act."
"We will send our condolences, and this is such a heinous act," Surayud told reporters.
Surayud joined a chorus of world leaders who expressed outrage at Bhutto's assassination as fears for stability in volatile Pakistan, where general elections are scheduled for January 8, grew, according to AFP.
Bhutto, 54, a two-time former prime minister and head of Pakistan's most powerful political party, was shot in the neck by her attacker Thursday before he blew himself up at a rally in Rawalpindi, killing at least 20 people.
It was the second suicide attack targeting Bhutto since she returned from eight years of self-imposed exile in October. The first killed 139 people.