IHT : New threat reported against Bhutto

New threat reported against Bhutto

By Salman Masood | October 23, 2007

KARACHI, Pakistan: Adding to concerns about the security of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, a close aide said Tuesday that Bhutto had received a new death threat, in the form of a two-page handwritten letter.

The letter, written in Urdu, came Tuesday morning in Karachi to Farooq Naik, the lawyer for Bhutto.

"There was great emphasis on two things in the letter," Naik, who is also a senator, said in a telephone interview. "First, the letter read that no woman can be a prime minister and second, the assassination attempt will be made with a knife."

The letter, he said, warned Bhutto of a "big surprise" and the possibility of being attacked by a "woman commando." It was not signed, but mentioned that it came from a "head of suicide attacks and a friend of Al Qaeda and Osama bin Ladin," Naik said.

Naik said he had written to Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the chief justice of Pakistan, to advise him of the threats and to ensure Bhutto's security.

Last Thursday, 140 people were killed in this sprawling port city when two explosions detonated close to Bhutto's armored truck, as supporters and workers from her party, the Pakistan People's Party, rallied to welcome her home after eight years of self-imposed exile. More than 500 people were wounded.

The party also said Tuesday that Bhutto was being restricted from leaving the country. Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto, said her name had been placed on an exit control list a day after her arrival in Pakistan. "This is against the Constitution," Babar said. A letter to the Interior Ministry asking for the removal of her name has been sent, he said.

Muhammad Ali Durrani, the Pakistani information minister, said he was unaware of any such step by the government. He said he would check on it.

Sherry Rehman, the information secretary of Bhutto's party, said Bhutto remained undeterred by the threats, but added that Bhutto had asked the government to provide security not only for her, but for all political leaders.

The government has rejected demands by the Pakistan People's Party to invite foreign law enforcement agencies to join the inquiry into the suicide attacks.