LONDON, 8 October 2007 — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto spoke of risks to her life as pro-Taleban militants were yesterday quoted as saying they would launch suicide attacks against her when she returns home after eight years in exile.
“I know there are security risks, people who want to kill me and to scuttle the restoration of democracy,” Benazir said in an interview with the Sunday Times ahead of her planned return home on Oct. 18.
“But with my faith in God and trust in the people of Pakistan, I’m sure the party workers will be there and will protect me,” she added.
Benazir spoke as Baitullah Mehsud, a Taleban leader linked to the Al-Qaeda terror network, said that suicide bombers would launch attacks on her as soon as she returned.
Mehsud is holding more than 250 Pakistani soldiers as hostages and has been blamed for organizing suicide bombings, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said, “The danger to her life is always there if she returns but we have decided that she will return at any cost.” Urging the government to ensure her safety, he added: “After all, she was prime minister twice and deserves security cover when somebody threatens her so brazenly.”
According to reports here, some PPP members have already received envelopes containing bullets as a warning.
In the interview Benazir denied she was returning as part of a US-endorsed plan. “I know some people are saying this is an American plan, but my agenda has always been a Pakistani agenda. Since 1977 the US has supported military rulers, first Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, then President Musharraf, so it’s a very welcome development that the US is calling out for democracy and the holding of free and fair elections.”
The government has said Benazir would not suffer the fate of Nawaz Sharif, another ex-prime minister who was swiftly deported when he arrived in Islamabad last month. Benazir is also not likely to face cases when she arrives because of the amnesty she was granted by President Musharraf’s government.
Benazir stirred controversy by saying she would let the UN quiz Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of the country’s nuclear bomb, if she regained power.
Qadeer in 2004 admitted passing atomic secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. President Pervez Musharraf has refused to grant any outside access to the scientist, who was pardoned but remains under virtual house arrest.
