KARACHI, Oct 31: Pakistan People’s Party chairperson and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday submitted a petition through her counsel Shahadat Awan to the district and sessions judge, East, Agha Rafiq Ahmed, under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code for directing the Bahadurabad police station house officer to register another FIR of the Oct 18 midnight carnage by incorporating her statement.

The court directed the district attorney and the Bahadurabad SHO to appear in court along with relevant record on Thursday for arguments on the matter.

The counsel stated in the petition that Benazir Bhutto being a former prime minister and the chairperson of the PPP was coming home on Oct 18 when about three million people belonging to different parts of the country had gathered to welcome her at Karachi airport and on both sides of the roads that she was to travel on.

The roads were packed with party workers and supporters, but as the procession reached Karsaz on Sharea Faisal the streetlights were switched off and in the meantime two powerful bombs exploded, killing 138 people and seriously injuring 550 others.

The counsel stated that the darkness prevented the security personnel from clearly identifying the attackers. She said it was a conspiracy to assassinate her, but police and security personal saved her life.

Mr Awan stated that Syed Qaim Ali Shah, president of the Sindh chapter of the PPP, went to the police station concerned on Oct 21 and presented a written complaint to the SHO for the registration of an FIR, but the police refused to do so and told him that the case was already registered.

He said it was a direct attack on the life of the petitioner by what he described as the enemies of democracy to eliminate her, adding that the registration as per her statement was her legal right.

He said the aggrieved person was Benazir Bhutto but the police did not even bother to approach her for recording her or any other PPP leader’s statement in the case under Section 154 of the CrPC, adding that it was a cognizable offence for which the police were duty bound to register the FIR.

Another letter which she wrote to the SHO of Bahadurabad was also submitted to the court which said that the PPP government led by her was dismissed undemocratically in 1996 although she enjoyed the confidence of parliament and the people.

“With a view to eliminating my leadership, special laws, bureaus and courts were established to persecute and keep me trapped in a web of litigation and denying me a fair chance to contest elections or promote the views of my party,” she said.

“Consequently I was compelled to go into exile in 1999 due to this persecution by the state apparatus. From exile I led my party which obtained the highest number of votes in the general election of 2002, proving that the people of Pakistan had confidence in my leadership” she said.

“To prevent my party and the people from forming the government a session of parliament was indefinitely postponed and a coalition government with only one majority vote was installed after forcing defections from my party. I continued striving for the rights of the people and announced my homecoming for the 18th of October 2007,” she added.

Ms Bhutto said she had been warned that certain militant groups wanted to kill her. After receiving this information, she wrote a letter to President Pervez Musharraf on Oct 16 to inform him of grave concern about her security and specified the forces and persons behind them whom she suspected were likely to harm her physically.

She asked the police to register the case and investigate so that the accused might be brought to book and punished according to the law.