The New Nation - Internet Edition

Agencies, Karachi

Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto has called the deadly terrorist attack on her convoy "an attack on democracy" and vowed it would not deter her political campaign or her fight for human rights.

Bhutto, 54, hopes to earn a third term as prime minister in January's parliamentary elections. She returned to Pakistan on Thursday after a self-imposed, eight-year exile.

"What does the attack last night signify? The attack was more an attack on the unity and integrity of the country than on any individual or any one political party," Bhutto said at a news conference on Friday, a day after the terror attack that killed 136 people.

"It was an attack on Pakistan itself. It was an attack on their political rights, on the political process and on democracy itself. The attack last night was a message sent by the enemies of democracy to all the political parties of the country.

"It was intended to intimidate and blackmail all the political forces and elements working for democracy and human rights in the country. It was a warning not only to me and the PPP (People's Political Party) but to all political parties -- indeed, to the entire civil society."

After the blast, police retrieved the head of a possible suspect, which was being analyzed at a forensics lab.

Police said they were due to release a sketch soon and are offering about $83,000 (5 million rupees) for information leading to possible arrests.

Bhutto was traveling from the airport after returning to Pakistan when the bomber struck her convoy late Thursday. She was not hurt.

A defiant Bhutto on Friday said she did not blame the government for the attack, but complained of poor security preparations. She blamed extremists who oppose her support for Pakistan's Western allies.

No-one has claimed responsibility, and police have named no possible suspects or groups.

However, U.S. State Department officials, quoting the Pakistanis, told CNN Friday they believe there is a "strong al Qaeda connection" to the attacks. The officials said U.S. agents are helping Pakistan in the investigation.

One senior department official said the attack "bears the hallmarks" of an al Qaeda attack, and noted the group has threatened Bhutto before.

The Pakistanis have told U.S. officials that they were aware of three or four al Qaeda-related cells seeking to undertake an attack on Bhutto's return. The attack, officials said, is frightening because it shows how much freedom al Qaeda has to move around in Pakistan.

Govt version

Pakistan did everything it could to protect Benazir Bhutto on her homecoming, a top government official insisted Saturday, dismissing accusations that officials may have been complicit in the attack that she escaped but left at least 136 other people dead.

Bhutto blamed al-Qaida and Taliban militants for the assassination attempt against her, and vowed she was ready to risk her life to restore democracy to her troubled homeland.

But she also hinted Friday that government or military officials could have been involved in the attack - a charge the government rejected.

"Peoples names have been mentioned and names have been hinted at without giving any reason or without giving any proof of their involvement, and that is unfair," he said.

The list of people who could have targeted the pro-Western leader is long. Bhutto blamed remnants of the regime of former military leader Gen. Zia ul-Haq allegedly complicit in her father's execution. Islamic extremists could also be bent on stopping a female political leader from modernizing Pakistan.

Authorities say the suicide bombing bore the hallmarks of a warlord and the al-Qaida terror network - an attack that began with a man throwing a grenade into a sea of people following Bhutto's convoy, and then blowing himself up with a device packed with nuts and bolts.

"So far we cannot say it was done by al-Qaida, but the investigations are still going on," Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said Saturday.

Pakistani police released a photograph on Saturday of a suicide bomber who killed at least 139 people, as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto worked out her next step after the bloody start to her comeback campaign.

The militant threat demonstrated to such devastating effect in Karachi on Friday raised fears over the prospects for a national election due in early January that is supposed to mark a transition from military-led to civilian-led democracy.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the general election would not be affected but government officials had indicated that campaigning could be restricted because of security worries.

Newspapers carried photographs of the head of the suicide bomber propped on a white sheet. The dead eyes stared blankly out of a chubby, unshaven face.

"The age of the suspect is between 20 to 25 and he looks to be a Karachiite," said a security official, who declined to be identified.