US calls for calm and elections in Pakistan

The United States appealed for calm and urged its "war on terror" ally Pakistan to press on with its elections after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Condemning the "cowardly" suicide attack that killed her, US President George W. Bush urged Pakistanis Thursday "to honor Benazir Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life." The attack at an election rally in the Pakistani city Rawalpindi sparked deadly riots and fears for stability in the nuclear-armed country, as well as overshadowing next month's planned elections, which Bhutto had been tipped to win. Bush telephoned President Pervez Musharraf to discuss the situation, the White House said, while US officials appealed for calm in Pakistan amid deadly riots following Bhutto's murder. "The US strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," Bush told reporters.