WASHINGTON, Dec 27: US President George W. Bush, who telephoned President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday to condole former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, has urged the Pakistani nation to honour her memory by continuing their struggle for democracy.

In a statement issued by his office, Mr Bush recalled that Ms Bhutto had twice served her nation as prime minister and knew that her return to Pakistan earlier this year put her life at risk. “Yet she refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country.”

The US, he said, stands with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism.

“We urge them to honour Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.”

In his conversation with Mr Musharraf, the US president offered to help Pakistan to catch those responsible for the assassination, officials said.

“Laura and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of Benazir Bhutto, to her friends, to her supporters. We send our condolences to the families of the others who were killed in today’s violence. And we send our condolences to all the people of Pakistan on this tragic occasion,” said Mr Bush.

The United States, he said: “Strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy”.

“Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice,” he declared.

At the US State Department, Secretary Condoleezza Rice termed Ms Bhutto’s passing a great loss for Pakistan. “I knew her as a woman of great courage and had been impressed by her dedication and commitment to democracy and to the future of Pakistan itself,” she said.