By IANS
New Delhi : India expressed “utter shock and horror” at the assassination of former Pakistan prime minster Benazir Bhutto, describing her as an “outstanding woman leader of the subcontinent”.
“I express my utter shock and horror at the assassination of Benazir Bhutto,” said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in the first reaction of the Indian government to her death.
“This barbarous terrorist attack on her is particularly tragic,” he added, lauding her “contribution to democracy (and) in the improvement of India-Pakistan relations..”.
“She was an outstanding woman leader in the subcontinent,” asserted Mukherjee.
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”.