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Musharraf urged to accept US offer for probe into Karachi blasts
WASHINGTON: Three veteran US senators on Wednesday urged Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to ensure the safety of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto after the deadly attack on her homecoming parade.
In an unusual letter to the key US anti-terror ally, Senators Joseph Biden, Joseph Lieberman and Patrick Leahy warned that the suicide bombings, which killed 139 people, reflected risks faced by all candidates in January's elections.
"We extend our condolences to you, to the victims' families, and to all of the people of Pakistan," the senators wrote in the letter.
"We believe this devastating attack serves as a stark reminder of the need for effective security mechanisms for the protection of all candidates and their supporters (particularly, although not exclusively, Ms. Bhutto and members of her party)."
The senators called on Musharraf to provide the level of security to Bhutto offered to any former Pakistani prime minister.
They suggested the use of government bomb-proof vehicles and jamming equipment to protect Bhutto and other political leaders from roadside bombs.
The senators also said they were "troubled" by allegations "well founded or not" of potential links between extremist forces and current or retired military or intelligence officials.
"We urge you to ensure that any individual involved in (or alleged to have been involved in) past political action against Ms. Bhutto and her supporters be excluded from any part of the former prime minister's security detail."
The senators also urged Musharraf not to use security concerns as a rationale for imposing a ban on political rallies in Pakistan, and called for a full probe into the October 18 attack.
Two suicide blasts ripped through Bhutto's homecoming parade in Karachi last week, killing 139 people and ruining her planned triumphant return to Pakistan after eight years in self-imposed exile.
Bhutto has been surrounded by heavily armed guards on each of her rare public outings in Karachi since the blasts, amid her claims that the security forces and government have been infiltrated by "militants and Al-Qaeda."
Bhutto has also called for international help in the investigation, a request rejected by the Musharraf's government.
Courtesy Geo