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Pakistani police have yet to see Bhutto threat letter

Pakistan police said yesterday they have not yet received a letter containing a death threat supposedly from a "friend of al-Qaeda" against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Bhutto said late on Tuesday that extremists were trying to derail Pakistan's return to democracy after her lawyer received the letter threatening to kill the ex-prime minister "anywhere we get the opportunity."

The letter, written in Urdu, was signed by the "head of the suicide bombers and a friend of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden."

Suicide bombers targeted Bhutto last week during her massive homecoming procession on the streets of Karachi in attacks that killed 139 people.

Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi said Bhutto's aides had not yet passed on the letter, making it difficult for investigators probing the blast to determine whether the threat was real.

"We have learnt through the media that they have received a threatening letter. It is information, not a piece of intelligence," he said.

"We will be in a position to pursue it once they share the information with us officially about the latest threat," he said.

He said no group had yet claimed responsibility for last Thursday's attacks.

Bhutto has vowed to stay in Pakistan to contest upcoming general elections scheduled for early January despite the carnage, and ongoing fears for her safety in light of threats from Islamic extremists.

The two-time prime minister had set foot back on Pakistani soil only hours before the multiple blasts, after corruption charges forced her to flee eight years ago.

An amnesty against the charges was signed by President Pervez Musharraf earlier this month, paving the way for her return.
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