Pakistan's elections are likely to be delayed by several weeks, despite demands by Benazir Bhutto's party and other politicians they go ahead as planned.
The uncertainty was not helped by video footage of Ms Bhutto's killing which raised new questions about the government's version of how she died.
And the country's most prominent opposition politician urged President Pervez Musharraf to step down and be replaced by a national unity government.
A paramilitary soldier stands guard outside the Election Commission of Pakistan building in Islamabad
"He is a one man calamity," former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said. "The United States should see that Musharraf has not limited or curbed terrorism. In fact terrorism is now stronger than ever before with more sinister aspects."
The Election Commission said it had recommended an unspecified delay in the parliamentary polls following unrest triggered by the assassination of opposition leader Ms Bhutto last week. It said its final decision would be made tomorrow.
Separately, a senior government official predicted the elections would be postponed by "six weeks or so as the environment to hold free and fair elections is not conducive."
Despite being in mourning, Ms Bhutto's political party and that of Pakistan's other major opposition leader want the polls held on time.
Mr Sharif threatened street protests if the vote was delayed. "We will agitate. We will not accept this postponement," he said.
Western governments are also urging the government to go ahead with the polls without major delays. They see the elections as a key step in plans to restore democracy to the nation as it battles Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.
Ms Bhutto was killed in a suicide bomb and gun attack on Thursday, but disagreements between her supporters and the government over the precise cause of death are undermining confidence in Mr Musharraf and adding to calls for an international investigation into
the killing.
The video footage shows a man firing a handgun at Ms Bhutto from close range as she stands up in an open-topped vehicle. Her hair and shawl then move upward, suggesting she may have been shot. She then falls into the vehicle just before an explosion rocks the car.
The government has insisted Ms Bhutto was not hit by any of the bullets and died after the force of the blast slammed her head against the sunroof. Her family and supporters say she died from gunshot wounds to her head and neck.
Ms Bhutto's husband said yesterday he refused permission for doctors to perform an autopsy, meaning that short of exhuming her body, something her supporters have already ruled out, the cause of her death will be difficult to establish.
After days of rioting that left at least 44 dead, life in many Pakistani cities began returning to normal, though soldiers and police patrolled many areas. The streets were still quiet in the southern city of Karachi, the scene of some of the worst violence, witnesses said.
Meanwhile Ms Bhutto's political party named her 19-year-old son, Bilawal Zardari, as its symbolic leader and left day-to-day control to her husband, extending Pakistan's most enduring political dynasty.
AP