KARACHI/ISLAMABAD, 24 October 2007 — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto received a death threat from a “friend of Al-Qaeda” yesterday, four days after 139 people were killed in an assassination attempt by one or more suicide bombers.
No arrests have been made since last Thursday’s attack in Karachi, which government officials swiftly blamed on Islamist militants operating out of tribal areas that have become hotbeds of support for the Taleban and Al-Qaeda.
Police were unsure whether there were two suicide bombers or one, and had yet to confirm whether the photograph released of a severed head belonged to a suicide bomber, Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqui told Reuters.
The investigation hadn’t singled out any particular organization, the police chief said, but Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the trail led to tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
“Suicide bombers are trained in Waziristan and some other places in tribal areas. There are three groups in Waziristan. So the tracks go to tribal areas,” Sherpao told independent television news channel ARYONE.
A fresh threat to kill Benazir was passed on to her lawyer, Sen. Farooq Naik, by a government prosecutor yesterday.
Written by someone who described himself as the “chief of suicide attackers” and a friend of Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and Pakistani jihadists, the letter said Benazir could be stabbed, attacked in her car, or in her bedroom, Naik told Reuters. Naik said the threat should be taken seriously, even if the letter may have been written by a crank.
“Benazir Bhutto doesn’t want democracy to be interrupted and she is not deterred by such threats,” Sherry Rehman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Information Secretary, told reporters.
Benazir, who came back from eight years of self-imposed exile last Thursday, has said she told Gen. Musharraf that members of the establishment were involved in a conspiracy against her.
Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said Chief Minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, was one of the people named by Benazir, but said such accusations hurt chances of a rapprochement. “If this trend of implicating political rivals into false cases continues, what chances for national reconciliation will there be?” Azeem said.
Benazir is negotiating with Musharraf over a transition to civilian-led democracy. The United States is believed to be quietly encouraging the two to work together.
US Ambassador Anne Patterson met Benazir for around 30 minutes yesterday, according to PPP officials.
Benazir said yesterday she was considering “virtual” mass rallies and campaigning via phone to avoid mass violence after the deadly suicide attack.
Benazir wrote her suggestions in a Wall Street journal opinion piece.
“Intimidation by murdering cowards will not be allowed to derail Pakistan’s transition to democracy,” wrote Benazir.
“We are now focusing on hybrid techniques that combine individual and mass voter contact with sharp security constraints,” she said.
“Where people have telephones, we can experiment with taped voice messages from me describing my issue positions and urging them to vote. In rural areas we are contemplating taped messages from me played regularly on boom boxes set up in village centers.
Meanwhile, the police officer heading the investigation team is expected to be replaced. The move is being considered after Benazir said she had no confidence in the current chief, senior police officer Manzoor Mughal, whom she accuses of involvement in the torture of her husband.
Supreme Court Hears Petitions
The Supreme Court yesterday continued hearing of petitions challenging the re-election of President Musharraf while still army chief.
Aitzaz Ahsan, lawyer for Justice Wajihuddin, one of the petitioners, said Gen. Musharraf being the chief of the army staff violated Articles 243-245 of the Constitution that bar army officers from taking part in politics.
Ahsan told the 11-member top court bench that violation of Articles 243-245 meant violation of Article 6 of the Constitution that is tantamount to committing high treason.
At this, Judge Faqir Mohammad Khokhar said, “What about those who admitted President Musharraf’s nomination papers.”
Ahsan said the Election Commission also violated the constitution by altering rules without legal authority.
Ahsan said army chiefs in the past violated constitution and their acts were validated either by courts or by the parliaments. Justice Javed Iqbal said, “Under the 17th Constitutional Amendment it was the Parliament that allowed President Musharraf to retain his army post.”
