Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith condemned the assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and urged Islamabad thold elections as soon as possible.
"I condemned this act of political violence in the strongest terms," he said in a statement released on Saturday.
Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday, triggering bloody protests across the country and increasing fears that the general election slated for January 8, 2008 could be put off.
Smith said he had a conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Inam ul Haque on Friday night and expressed deepest sympathy to the people of Pakistan following the death of Bhutto.
"I told Mr ul Haque that Australia strongly supports a return to democratic processes in Pakistan, and the holding of elections at the earliest possible opportunity under conditions allowing for full and safe participation," he said.
"On behalf of the Australian government, I urged all parties to exercise restraint at a moment of great and grave difficulty for Pakistan," he said.
Source: Xinhua
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