Bush condemns assassination of Bhutto

By Tabassum Zakaria

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush condemned the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday and the United States urged Pakistan, a key ally in its war against terrorism, to proceed with elections planned for January 8.

"The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," Bush told reporters on the outskirts of his Texas ranch. "Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice."

U.S. officials called for Pakistan to go ahead with the elections, despite what appeared to be a huge blow to Washington's efforts to promote a democratic transition after eight years of military rule by President Pervez Musharraf.

"I do think that it would be a victory for no one but the extremists responsible for this attack to have some kind of postponement or a delay directly related to it in the democratic process," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Bhutto's old political rival, said his party would boycott the election.

Bush called Musharraf to offer condolences after the Bhutto assassination.

The United States has been careful to show support for Musharraf even after he imposed emergency rule, which he lifted earlier this month after stepping down as army chief.

After the September 11 attacks Washington enlisted the help of the nuclear-armed state in the hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban extremists in the remote border region with Afghanistan. Pakistan has received about $10 billion (5 billion pounds) in U.S. funding since 2001.