3,000 PPP volunteers to form human shield around Benazir Bhutto's vehicle
Karachi, Oct 13 : More than 3,000 Pakistan People’s Party volunteers would form a human shield around Benazir Bhutto’s vehicle after her arrival in Karachi on October 18, said Agha Siraj Durrani.
Representatives of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the provincial and federal governments agreed to extraordinary security measures to ensure the protection of Bhutto on her arrival.
They discussed a comprehensive security plan at the provincial home department. Around 15 government officers attended including the Home Secretary, CCPO, and representatives of the Airport Security Force and intelligence agencies.
PPP Karachi’s leader Rashid Rabbani, former Health Minister Major General (retired) Ehsan Ahmed, and two persons close to the Bhutto family, Durrani and Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, represented the party.
According to party sources, the representatives informed the authorities about some possible threats to Bhutto’s life. They include a suicide attack on her convoy, an attack with a rocket on her vehicle, a bomb blast either at the airport or on the route, etc.
The Daily Times quoted Durrani as saying that the party has arranged an armoured/bullet-proof truck for Bhutto and the government has agreed to aerial surveillance along the route of her convoy.
The government representatives have assured the PPP leaders that the police and rangers would be deployed on all the buildings along the route of her rally, sources said.
The government has also sought the party’s assistance to impose some restrictions on its workers inside and outside the airport, they added. (ANI)