ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: The government will provide a special security squad to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto who has received threats from militant commander Baitullah Mehsud.

“The security squad headed by senior police official Maj (retd) Imtiaz will be provided to Ms Bhutto on her arrival in Karachi on Thursday,” Interior Ministry Spokesman Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema said here on Wednesday.

Sources said Maj Imtiaz had served in top positions in the police department during the tenures of the PPP government.

Brig Cheema said Pakistan People’s Party chairperson had been threatened by the militant commander that she would be attacked on her return to the country.

The government would provide foolproof security to Ms Bhutto in view of the threat, he said. She had also been allowed to use bullet-proof cars, he added.

Sources in the interior ministry said two bullet-proof cars had already reached the airport. They said the PPP had also demanded a helicopter for Ms Bhutto’s journey from the airport to the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam.

The interior ministry spokesman said the Sindh government had been directed to take adequate security measures.

When asked if Ms Bhutto could be arrested on her arrival, the spokesman said: “She would be treated within the ambit of National Reconciliation Ordinance”.

Talking to Dawn about criminal cases registered against Mr Asif Ali Zardari and the ‘Oil for food’ case against the PPP chairperson which is not covered by the NRO because it was registered after 1999, Brig Cheema said Ms Bhutto’s spouse was on bail in all the criminal cases.