Taliban, Al Qaeda had sent suicide squads: Bhutto

Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto on Friday said four suicide squads had been sent by Taliban and Al Qaeda to target her and that she had informed President Pervez Musharraf about "certain individuals" in his government who posed a threat to her life.

In her first public comments in the wake of the deadly blasts on her motorcade after she returned to Pakistan on Thursday from her self-imposed exile, Bhutto told a press conference in Karachi that she was "not blaming the government" for the attack.

She said she had written a letter to Musharraf on October 16 in which she had named three members of the government who should be investigated in the event of any attack on her.

Bhutto also said she had been informed that the "next attack" would be carried out by "placing policemen in the garb of workers of a rival party" near her homes in Karachi and Larkana so that her rivals could be blamed.

Despite repeated questions from reporters, Bhutto refused to identify the three persons she had named in her letter to
Musharraf.

She only described them as "certain people, individuals who abuse their positions and powers".

One hundred and sixty five people were killed and over 500 injured in two blasts near the armoured truck in which Bhutto was travelling through the roads of Karachi late on Thursday night.

Bhutto said the people who planned the attack "are not Muslims" and that "no Muslim can attack a woman". 

Bhutto also said she had been informed by officials of a "brotherly country" that four suicide squads had been sent to target her.

"I was told that Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban and a group in Karachi were planning attacks on me," the Pakistan People's Party chief said adding, officials of that country also provided phone numbers of the "handlers" of the suicide attackers to the Pakistan government.

Bhutto hoped the authorities would act on this information, but said she was aware of the "difficulties" they faced in tackling such militant elements.

The blasts were not "an attack on an individual" but on "what I represent -- it was an attack on democracy and on the
unity and integrity of Pakistan," she told the crowded press conference at her Bilawal House residence in Karachi.

Bhutto also said the streetlights in Karachi were turned off, which created problems for her security personnel in identifying the suicide bombers.

"I do not blame the government for this, but there should be an inquiry into why the streetlights were turned off," she said.

In reply to a question, she said the internal situation in Pakistan was not handled effectively.

Bhutto said Musharraf had spoken to her over the phone after the attack.

"Musharraf said sorry that the attack took place. We should unitedly fight this," she said.

Bhutto said if anything happens to her, an FIR should be lodged against the three suspects she had named in the letter to Musharraf.

"I do not blame the government, but I do suspect some individuals want to eliminate me," she said.