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Dubai: Former Minister Benazir Bhutto said she knew, who tried to take her life during her historic comeback rally on Thursday.
She said that she had already given three names, who she suspected can attack her, in a letter to President General General Musharraf on October 16 - two days before her return to Pakistan.
"The government as a government is not involved but some individuals in the government are responsible for the bomb blasts. They are not Al Qaida or Taliban," Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Bhutto told a crowded press conference on Friday at Bilawal House in Karachi.
But, Bhutto did not reveal names of the people or groups she mentioned in the letter to President Musharraf.
No one has so far claimed responsibility of attacks.
More than 500 international and Pakistani journalists attended the press conference after they were body searched by Pakistan Peoples Party security guard protecting Bhutto.
Bhutto, who looked quite relaxed but determined, said she was also warned by a neighbouring country about planned attacks on her return.
"I told General Musharraf that 'these people' will be responsible if anything happened to me," she said. She said that she was consulting her lawyers to register a police report against attackers.
Bhutto said that she knew about the attacks and had received threats but she did not want to delay her trip because she had given her word to the nation.
In her opening statement, she said: "What does the attack last night signify? The attack was more an attack on the unity and integrity of the country than on any individual or any one political party. It was an attack on Pakistan itself. It was an attack on their political rights, on the political process and on democracy itself.
"The attack last night was a message sent by the enemies of democracy to all the political parties of the country. It was intended to intimidate and black-mail all the political forces and elements working for democracy and human rights in the country. It was a warning not only to me and the PPP but to all political parties- indeed to the entire civil society - in the country.
"But let it be known to the perpetrators of the crime that the PPP will not be deterred. We will continue to raise voice and fight for the peoples' rights, come what may".
To a question, Bhutto said: "A lot of money is involved in the politics of suicide bombing and it is the same mafia which is involved in militant activities," she said.
Her husband in Dubai blamed intelligence agencies for attack. He also ruled out involved of Al Qaida or Taliban in bomb explosions at Bhutto's rally.
Bhutto did not blame police for lack of security. "Both my party guards and police tried their best and both lost lives. I salute them," she said. Some 50 of Bhutto Guards and 100 PPP supporters and policemen were killed in the blasts.
She said she is not afraid of losing her life. "I will continue my journey for the restoration of democracy and eliminate terrorism and extremism," she determined.
President General Musharraf talked to Bhutto over the phone and ensured swift action to arrest attackers.
Meanwhile, Karachi wore a deserted look on Friday as people preferred to stay indoors for fear of clashes, which erupted in different parts of the city. Rangers and police personnel continued patrolling the city roads and hundreds of them were deployed at sensitive locations.
Afghan border, threatened this month to meet Bhutto's return to Pakistan with suicide attacks, according to local media reports. An associate of Mehsud, however, denied Taliban involvement.
Bhutto said her guards prevented more carnage.
The 54-year-old former prime minister returned on Thursday to lead her Pakistan People's Party into national elections due in January that are meant to mark a transition from military to civilian-led democracy.
Bhutto, traveling in a truck reinforced to withstand bomb attacks, was unhurt by one of the deadliest bomb attacks in her country's violent history.
Army chief General Musharraf condoled with his potential ally by telephone from Islamabad and they both "expressed their unflinching resolve to fight the scourge of extremism and terrorism", the president's spokesman Rashid Quereshi said.
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