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First Place
John Moore Getty Images
"The Assassination Of Benazir Bhutto"


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"Final Moments" Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto sits on stage at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan December 27, 2007, just minutes before she was assassinated. The opposition leader had returned to Pakistan after eight years in exile and had survived a suicide bomb blast during her arrival procession in Karachi only months before. Following almost 6 weeks of emergency rule when large gatherings were banned, her campaign rally in Rawalpindi was her largest event yet, drawing thousands of supporters. Departing the event, she came out into the open road waving from the sun roof of her armored vehicle, her adoring supporters pushing to get close and slowing the vehicle's movement. Gunshots sounded, and as she dropped down through the roof into the car, a suicide bomber set off his charge. Within seconds, her damaged vehicle sped away, leaving a scene of chaos and carnage, as the dead and injured waited to be taken away and her supporters screamed in anguish. The assassination left the country in a state of shock and cast serious doubts on the prospects of democracy in Pakistan.
 

 

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