Bhutto, 54, had been hoping to lead the PPP to victory in the January 8 parliamentary election, having been prime minister twice before.
Supporters arrived by tractors, buses, cars and jeeps that were parked in dusty fields surrounding the mausoleum - a vast, marble structure.
Grieving supporters
Weeping in grief and chanting slogans against figures in the pro-government political party, they formed into hundreds of rows for the funeral prayers.
Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband, accompanied the closed coffin draped with the PPP's green, red and black tricolour as it began the 7km journey by ambulance.
Bhutto was gunned down by an assassin who then blew himself up in an attack that killed a total of 16 people at the end of an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
Chants of "Shame on the killer Musharraf, shame on the killer US" were heard from the crowds lining the road and standing on rooftops.
Some protesters chanted defiance: "No matter how many Bhuttos you will kill, a Bhutto will emerge from each house."
New leader
Ameen Jan, a Pakistani political analyst, told Al Jazeera that the PPP needs to find a new leader to achieve its political goals.
He said: "Once the funeral rights are over, I would imagine the PPP leadership coming together, having their internal discussions, and agreeing on ways to move forward."
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Bhutto talked to her supporters before
the fatal attack [AFP] |
"In terms of leadership contenders, there are several, including Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the vice-chairman, who, since yesterday, became the person holding the reigns."
Bhutto had returned to Pakistan from Dubai in October, ending more than eight years of self-imposed exile after reaching an understanding with Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan president.
She survived a suicide-bomb attack during her homecoming procession in Karachi that left about 140 supporters dead.