| Page 2 of 2 < |
Musharraf Delivers a Fierce Denial
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Throughout last year, Bhutto and Musharraf had been negotiating a U.S.-brokered power-sharing arrangement that might have involved him serving as president and her as prime minister.
The two never trusted each other, however, and that mistrust lives on between Musharraf and Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari. In the past week, he has accused Musharraf of criminal negligence and called the president's party "the killer league."
Bhutto had been waving to a crowd of supporters from the back seat of her bulletproof sport-utility vehicle when she was fired on at close range by one assailant, moments before another blew himself up.
Musharraf on Thursday suggested Bhutto had left herself vulnerable and had failed to take necessary safeguards despite warnings from government officials in Pakistan and abroad that she was under threat. Musharraf said she had specifically been told not to go to Liaqat Bagh, the park where the assassination took place.
"She went of her own volition, ignoring the threat," he said. And once there, he said, she decided to take the risk of poking her upper torso out of the sunroof so she could wave goodbye. Her two companions in the back seat of the SUV, Musharraf said, were uninjured in the attack because they had stayed inside.
"Who is to blame for her coming out of the vehicle and standing outside? Who is to blame? The law enforcement agencies?" Musharraf asked indignantly.
Bhutto's aides have said that she knew the risk she was taking by waving to supporters but could not resist responding to their cheers with a display of thanks. Bhutto had a knack throughout her career for drawing massive crowds, and public rallies were an essential part of the PPP's campaign strategy.
Rehman, the PPP spokeswoman, called Musharraf's comments on Thursday "ludicrous" and accused the president of ignoring Bhutto's frequent requests for better protection. "They were the ones who were failing to take her security seriously," she said. Bhutto had asked for four police vehicles to escort her car, Rehman said, but on the day of the attack there had been just one. "That day, I hardly saw any police," she said.
Musharraf acknowledged Thursday that he is also under threat, saying his own security detail is often unhappy with him because they believe he takes too many risks.
"I cannot say that I am very, very secure. There are people gunning for me," Musharraf said. "But I know how to protect myself."
