By IANS
New Delhi : Asserting that the attack was “a reminder of common dangers” in the region, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday that he was “deeply shocked and horrified” at the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
“The manner of her going is a reminder of the common dangers that our region faces from cowardly acts of terrorism and of the need to eradicate this dangerous threat,” Manmohan Singh said.
Describing Bhutto as “no ordinary political leader”, he noted that she has left a “deep imprint on her time and age”.
Lauding her role in bringing a ray of hope in India-Pakistan relations, he said, “Her contributions to a previous moment of hope in India-Pakistan relations, and her intent to break India-Pakistan relations out of the sterile patterns of the past, were exemplary”.
He felt that in Bhutto’s death, “the sub-continent has lost an outstanding leader who worked for democracy and reconciliation in her country”.
“My heartfelt condolences go to her family and the people of Pakistan who have suffered a grievous blow,” said the prime minister.
Similar sentiments were also expressed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who echoed the Manmohan Singh in calling her a “a brave and outstanding woman leader of the sub-continent”.
“I express my utter shock and horror at the assassination of Benazir Bhutto,” said Mukherjee, in the first reaction of the Indian government to her death.
“That she should fall to a barbarous terrorist attack is particularly tragic, and should strengthen our resolve to fight this scourge,” he added, praising Bhutto’s contributions to democracy, India-Pakistan relations and to the restoration of normalcy within Pakistan as am “inspiration”.
Expressing condolences to the family and people of Pakistan, he said, “our hopes and prayers are with them”.
Later, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said that he was “at a loss of words” for the event which had left India “shocked and saddened”.