MULTAN, Jan 3: Punjab PPP President Shah Mehmood Qureshi has claimed that Benazir Bhutto had informed him that she had got an information that she would be targeted by a long-range rifle.

Talking to reporters at press club here on Thursday, Qureshi said the PPP was not satisfied with the government’s stance regarding the investigation of Benazir’s assassination because of contradictory and doubtful statements of its officials.

The Punjab PPP president said that Muhammad Saleem, the chief guard of Benazir fighting for his life in a Rawalpindi hospital, had told him that Benazir was shot at before a bomb blast occurred while the doctors had denied this version, saying that Benazir was killed by the lever of the sunroof of her bullet-proof vehicle she struck due to impact of the bomb blast in the vicinity of her land cruiser.

He said that PPP was not going to lodge an FIR because the party considered the email sent by Benazir to Mark Siegel as her “dying declaration”.

He said that Benazir had directed him to avoid making stage for her Dec 31 public meeting in Multan near high-rises while instructing to make the stage in vast open space instead because she had got information that she could be targeted by a long-range rifle.

He said that Benazir had chosen the way of ballot and not of the bullet but she was assassinated despite she had adopted a reconciliatory attitude.

He said that the PPP chairperson had organised her electioneering excellently and despite all odds, the government was convinced that the PPP would succeed in the upcoming general elections and form the next government.

Condemning the delay in elections, he said the government was not sincere to hold elections but the PPP would not let the government flee again.

He said the government’s claims that election offices had been torched in Sindh province were wrong. He said it was interesting that the Election Commission of Pakistan had postponed the elections to a date told to PML-Q candidates by Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain in a meeting held a day before.

He said the government had delayed the elections only to provide benefit to the PML-Q but this alone would not rescue the sinking PML-Q boat.

He thanked Nawaz Sharif for withdrawing his boycott call on PPP’s request while thanking the people of Punjab for holding symbolic funeral prayers for the former prime minister.

He alleged that the government was lodging false FIR against PPP workers and arresting them for damaging public property in Sindh province.

He said the government was nominating 500 or more PPP workers in these FIRs while Punjab government had also adopted this policy and started arresting party workers in Gujranwala and Khanewal. — Staff Correspondent