Gulf Daily News : I'll Defy The Cowards

I'LL DEFY THE COWARDS

October 20, 2007

KARACHI: Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto yesterday condemned a suicide bombing that killed at least 138 people at her homecoming rally in Karachi, calling it an "attack on democracy".

"The attack was not on me, the attack was on what I represent," Bhutto told a Press conference. "It was an attack on democracy and it was an attack on the very unity and integrity of Pakistan."

She pledged to defy the "cowards" from Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups who had vowed to launch suicide attacks against her before she flew home from Dubai.

"If it means sacrificing our lives, then we are prepared to risk our lives, but we are not prepared to surrender our great nation to the militants," she said.

Bhutto was unhurt in the attack, having climbed into her specially fortified vehicle just moments before two explosions ripped through crowds welcoming her back to Karachi after eight years in exile.

She said there were two attackers in the deadly bombing, and that her security guards found a third man armed with a pistol and another with a suicide vest.

President Pervez Musharraf called Bhutto to "convey his deepest sorrow over the terrorist attack" and pledged to arrest the culprits, a presidential spokesman said.