By IANS
Islamabad : Pakistani authorities have said that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto who is set to return home Thursday would get full protection and cases against her would be withdrawn as per the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
The NRO has been challenged before the Supreme Court but the government is abiding by it till a verdict is given.
The government’s decision to abide by the NRO was reiterated by Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema who said that Bhutto would be treated as per the clauses of the NRO upon her return.
“Benazir will be provided a bullet-proof car. Law-enforcement and security agencies will treat her in accordance with the NRO,” Cheema told reporters Wednesday.
“Baitullah Mahsud (the pro-Taliban militant leader) has threatened attacks on Benazir Bhutto,” Cheema conceded, but added: “The government is fully sensitised in this regard and will provide foolproof security.
“Security forces are on high alert keeping in view the possible suicide attacks or death threats to VVIPs,” he added.
Cheema said a countrywide ban had been imposed on carrying weapons in public gatherings with immediate effect. He clarified that the ban does not apply to the personnel of uniformed law enforcement agencies but added that even they would not be allowed to carry weapons “in their civvies”.
Meanwhile, a court in Rawalpindi was told on the eve of Bhutto’s return home after nine years in exile that the government had no objection to the withdrawal of corruption cases against her and husband Asif Ali Zardari.
A lawyer for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that has pursued the Bhutto cases in different courts at home and in Britain and Switzerland over the years gave the written statement Monday to a judge at the accountability court.
The change has come about since President Pervez Musharraf signed the NRO as part of a political deal that ignores the corruption cases against the couple.
NAB prosecutor general Danishwar Malik’s written statement came in response to applications filed Wednesday by the couple’s lawyer Farooq H. Naek seeking withdrawal under the NRO of an illegal assets reference against them.