U.S. President George W. Bush has strongly condemned the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In a televised statement from Crawford, Texas, Bush described the assassination as “a cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy.” Bhutto, who survived an assassination attempt in October, was killed as she left a rally in Rawalpindi. President Bush offered his condolences to Bhutto's friends and supporters and the people of Pakistan. “Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice,” he said. “We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism,” he said. Bush said Bhutto's assassination should not hold up the elections and urged Pakistan to uphold “the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.”
