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Germany issues Pakistan travel alert after Bhutto’s murder

By IRNA

Berlin : Germany’s Foreign Ministry here Friday issued a travel warning for Pakistan following the murder of Pakistani opposition head Benazir Bhutto.

The foreign ministry advised Germans on its homepage against taking trips to Pakistan until further clarification of the situation.

Unrest over Bhutto’s death has left at least 10 dead across Pakistan over the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the German Parliament, Ruprecht Polenz warned that Pakistan could slip into anarchy in the wake of the ongoing political turmoil in the country.

He urged Pakistanis to urge the advice of their President Pervez Musharraf and remain calm, in a bid to avoid a worsening of the political situation.

On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed “shock and abhorrence” over the murder of Bhutto.

Merkel condemned Bhutto’s killing in the “strongest terms”, branding it a “cowardly terrorist attack,” deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg quoted her as saying in a press statement on Thursday.

For his part, Steinmeier said Bhutto’s murder ahead of the looming parliamentary polls and the latest violent acts during the election campaign was a severe blow for all those fighting for democracy in Pakistan.

He called on Pakistani political leaders to contribute their share for the “stability of the country, rule of law and democracy in a bid to set the stage for free and fair elections.”

Bhutto and at least 20 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack during an election rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The former prime minister returned to Pakistan last October following her self-imposed eight-year stay in exile.