As Pakistan's troops were told to "shoot protesters on sight" after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, her body was buried next to her father in her family village.
A procession of thousands of her supporters in Nau Dero signified the beginning of her funeral as she was laid to rest in the village of Garhi Khuda Baksh.
It is the same spot where her father, the former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was buried after he was hanged in a military coup.
Thousands of mourners thronged Ms Bhutto's ancestral home as her body arrived earlier aboard a military aircraft, accompanied by her husband Asif Ali Zardari and their three children.
People cried and wailed as Ms Bhutto's coffin was taken to her family home by ambulance.
"Show patience. Give us courage to bear this loss," Mr Zardari urged mourners as the coffin was borne into the house.
Her burial came as a wave of violence broke out, killing 19 people so far and throwing Pakistan into one of the worst crises in its 60-year history.
It threatens the country's already unsteady role as a bulwark against Islamic terror.
As mobs looted and set buildings on fire, paramilitary rangers were given the authority to use live fire to stop rioters from damaging property in southern Pakistan.
Major Asad Ali, the rangers' spokesman, told reporters: "We have orders to shoot at sight."
However, despite fears that the election on 8 January could be put off, the country's caretaker prime minister Muhammad Soomro announced today that the government had no immediate plans to postpone it.
As the news of the assassination spread, supporters gathered at the hospital where Ms Bhutto had been taken, smashed glass doors, stoned cars and chanted, "Killer, Killer, Musharraf".
At least 10 people were killed in fighting in several cities. The provincial minister in Sindh said the security forces were given the authority to shoot protesters.
Yahoo! MyWeb
