KARACHI, Nov 1: Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto left for Dubai on Thursday afternoon only a few hours after postponing the planned trip.

Ms Bhutto had told a late-night press conference on Wednesday after presiding over a meeting of her party’s central executive and federal councils that she had postponed her visit to the UAE “due to rumours of possible imposition of emergency in view of the petitions pending before the Supreme Court questioning eligibility of General Pervez Musharraf to contest the presidential election”.

According to PPP leader Agha Siraj Durrani, who was among those who saw her off at the airport, Ms Bhutto had left for Dubai to see her children and ailing mother Nusrat Bhutto and she would return on November 8 to address a public meeting scheduled for the following day at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi.

The PPP chairperson, who had arrived in Karachi after ending her more than eight years of self-imposed exile, was the prime target of a terrorist attack on October 18 in which more than 140 people were killed and over 500 injured.

Meanwhile, the PPP released four more resolutions adopted by its central executive and federal councils on Wednesday. In one of the resolutions, it condemned what it called the “reign of terror unleashed in several parts of the country”.

Ms Bhutto and her party had also expressed deep concern over the “total failure of the regime and its agencies to forestall the Oct 18 carnage despite the fact that they were warned about a possible attack in advance and given details”.

The PPP expressed serious concern over the way physical evidence of the incident had been contaminated. It was of the view that the closure of street lights had facilitated the terrorist attack. It was also concerned over what it said non-removal of a car suspected of carrying bombs/explosives and registration of an FIR without taking statements from Ms Bhutto, PPP leadership and her guards.

The resolution also voiced concern over refusal by the authorities to register an FIR by Ms Bhutto. It complained about appointment of DIG Manzoor Mughal as the head of investigation team and his replacement by another officer, without consulting the PPP, who had not briefed the party about the probe.

Ms Bhutto had said after Wednesday’s meeting that no details were made available about what the authorities had done to two men with pistols caught by PPP workers half an hour before the explosions and what actions had the regime taken regarding the suspected militants information about whom had been provided prior to the attack.

The PPP reaffirmed its determination that the terrorist enemies of democracy and the people would not be allowed to derail the process of peaceful transition to democracy started under the wise and courageous leadership of Ms Bhutto.

The meeting also took serious notice of harassment and arrest of PPP workers in Thar, Kotri, Hyderabad and Dadu.

The party deplored government’s selective move to remove PPP flags only and demanded release of all its workers. It expressed concern over the deteriorating economic situation in which the middle class, the working classes and ordinary citizens of the country were suffering.

The meeting of PPP’s central executive and federal councils noted with great concern that prices of flour, rice and cooking oil had almost doubled in the last quarter in spite of favourable weather conditions.

It expressed concern over the surge in food prices by more than 13 per cent despite a rise in yield of all crops.