By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad, Dec 29 (IANS) Two days after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, Pakistan remained in flames as the government offered to exhume her body to clear doubts over how she died.
Meanwhile, as the Election Commission decided to postpone the election scheduled Jan 8, there were moves in the former prime minister’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to have her 19-year-old son Bilawal succeed her as the PPP chief.
Fresh violence brought the toll after Bhutto’s murder in an attack Thursday to 38 with protestors going on the rampage, burning vehicles, petrol pumps banks, eateries, government buildings and trains.
Al Qaeda linked Pakistani militant commander Baitullah Mehsud, who was named a key suspect in the murder of 54-year-old Bhutto, denied his role in the assassination. Pakistan’s government had said Friday it had proof of Al Qaeda involvement in the murder.
PPP leaders refuted government claims that Bhutto died after her head hit a sunroof lever of her vehicle and not of bullet or blast injuries following an attack at her election rally in Rawalpindi Thursday.
The war of words over what actually caused her death intensified further after government offered to exhume Bhutto’s body to clear the doubts.
“If PPP agrees we are ready to exhume the body and conduct an autopsy,” Javed Iqbal Cheema, spokesperson of interior ministry, told reporters here.
“Facts are facts, yesterday (Friday) I gave you facts about the incident; bullets were fired, there was a blast but she did not die of any of these two causes,” Cheema said referring to his earlier press briefing.
Accusing the government of mounting a massive cover up operation over Bhutto’s assassination, a close aide of the slain leader stoutly maintained that she died of gunshots.
“I saw the bullet wounds, it went through her head and she lost a lot of blood,” said Sherry Rehman, Bhutto’s spokesperson.
“What the interior ministry is saying is ridiculous and dangerous nonsense because it is a cover-up of what actually happened.”
Bhutto’s lawyer Farooq Naik told IANS that the government was pushing the country towards civil war by putting out false stories.
“This is a pack of lies,” Naik said and warned that such “foolish” statements would turn the violence into a civil war.
Bhutto, chief of the PPP, died Thursday minutes after addressing a public rally at Liaqat Bagh in nearby Rawalpindi while she was being driven away with her two close associates.
Meanwhile, over 800 vehicles including trains, six outlets of international fast food chains, several buildings and election offices – particularly those belonging to the former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) that is backed by the military and President Pervez Musharraf – have been set on fire throughout the country.
Giving details of damages caused by protestors after Bhutto’s death, Cheema said 38 people have been killed and 53 injured.
He said that 174 bank branches, 765 shops, seven petrol pumps, 19 government offices, 72 railway coaches, six engines, were set on fire since the murder.
Pakistan Railways suffered the maximum loss as protestors set on fire 16 railway stations, all in Sind, eight trains and six engines besides damaging railway tracks at different places.
In Karachi, where the army has taken control of the city, the situation was returning to normal in many areas. But in areas with a concentration of PPP followers, the situation was still tense and two more petrol pumps were set on fire.
Islamabad, which usually ignores strike calls, remained completely shut with all shops closed and petrol pumps made inaccessible by placing hurdles. On complaints of some citizens, the authorities tried to get some gas stations opened, but the owners refused.
Patients were among the worst sufferers as paramedic staff could not reach hospitals and all medical stores were closed. Suppliers said that all businesses were shut, right from the manufacturers to retail sellers.
Meanwhile, miscreants continued looting shops, banks and government offices in different cities especially Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana and some other cities of Sind.
On Saturday, a spokesman for Al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud denied the government claim that he was behind the Bhutto killing. “This is absolutely wrong to say that the Taliban or any member of the Taliban were involved in murder of Benazir Bhutto,” BBC quoted Mehsud’s spokesperson Maulvi Umer as saying from an unknown location.
“I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don’t strike women,” Umer said.
As the Election Commission decided to postpone the Jan 8 poll, there were moves to choose slain leader’s teenager son Bilawal as Bhutto’s political successor. The political programme for the PPP may be announced in a “will” to be read out Sunday evening.
The message Benazir wrote for the people of Pakistan will be read out by 19-year-old Bilawal, Jehangir Badr, a PPP leader told IANS.
Bilawal’s sucession “has been decided according to the will that will be read by him” Sunday, another PPP leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.
He said that Bhutto had sealed her will that was with her son and two daughters – Bakhrtawar and Assefa in Dubai.
The party offered Bhutto’s husband Asif Ali Zardari the opportunity to lead the PPP, but he refused saying that according to the will of Bhutto their son would lead the party.
Another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif met Zardari Saturday in a move that was being seen as an effort to convince PPP to boycott polls.
The Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Sharif has declared it will boycott the elections.
However, Sharif told reporters that his visit was just to condole the death of a great leader and that he didn’t discuss elections.
In his first visit to Bhutto’s home village in his political career, Sharif told PPP workers that Bhutto was like his “sister” and was a symbol of national unity.