 On 27 December 2007, Pakistani opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated upon leaving a political rally for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.A suicidal assassin reportedly fired shots in Bhutto's direction just prior to detonating an explosive pellet-laden vest, killing approximately 24 people and wounding many more.Ultimately, President General Musharraf and his military establishment blamed the attack on al-Qaeda, but this was contradicted following day, when Baitullah Mehsud sent a statement to the media saying that he and al-Qaeda had "no involvement in the murder of the former Prime Minister", and that they believed that Musharraf was responsible.