Three are detained in bombing of Bhutto convoy

KARACHI, Pakistan - Authorities sifting through clues in last week's deadly bombing of Benazir Bhutto's homecoming parade detained three men for questioning yesterday.

The police and Bhutto's associates acknowledged, however, that the list of groups and individuals that might have an interest in harming the pro-Western former prime minister was a long one.

Police circulated a sketch of a man they believed blew himself up only a few feet from the former leader's armored vehicle Thursday, killing at least 136 people and injuring hundreds of others, as she returned from eight years of self-imposed exile.

Some Pakistani newspapers took it a step further, printing photographs of the man's decapitated head showing his facial features.

The three men in custody were picked up in Punjab province, which serves as a base for several major Pakistani militant groups.

A senior investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police believe they may have traced a vehicle the bomber used to join in the massive convoy.

The investigator said the detained men, who have not been charged, may hold crucial clues on the attack.

A second detective, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators are scanning government databases in search of suspects. They are focusing on requests for duplicate identity cards, indicating that some attackers may have been posing as Bhutto supporters.

Bhutto and authorities have blamed Islamic militants for the attack, but she also has suggested possible complicity on the part of some political allies of Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf.

The 54-year-old former prime minister also has asserted that measures by local authorities to guard her convoy were inadequate.

Musharraf's government responded angrily yesterday, saying that everything possible had been done to ensure Bhutto's safety but that she had courted danger by insisting on an hours-long procession into the heart of Karachi.

"The government provided the best possible security to her," said Tariq Azim, the minister of state for information.

Bhutto stayed out of sight yesterday, sequestered with aides at her residence in Karachi.

She had planned this weekend to hold a large rally in her family's ancestral hometown of Larkana, where she was to visit the tomb of her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The elder Bhutto was hanged in 1979 by then-military ruler General Zia ul-Haq. But all such appearances were on hold while party faithful observed three days of mourning in the aftermath of the attack early Friday.

Nearly all of the people killed were Bhutto supporters who turned out to welcome her or police and security guards who were stationed around her vehicle.

In Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and its commercial center, tensions boiled over yesterday as angry Bhutto supporters sought to enforce a closing of shops and businesses in observance of the mourning period. The protesters burned tires and threw stones at shopkeepers who failed to observe the closure.

Police said 14 people suffered gunshot wounds in daylong clashes in several neighborhoods.

Bhutto's camp said the government might use the attack as a pretext for limiting campaign activity in advance of parliamentary elections due by early January. Her Pakistan People's Party is expected to perform strongly in the vote, giving her added leverage in negotiating a power-sharing arrangement with Musharraf.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the attack was unlikely to delay elections but that the government would be alert for future attacks.

"I don't see the election process being hindered," Aziz told reporters. "We owe it to our people to have free and fair elections."

Commentators, however, said the attack was having a chilling effect on political activity.

The bombing "made it starkly clear that unless the streets are made safe, no free and fair elections can be held in January 2008," the Daily Times newspaper said in an editorial.

Both Bhutto and Musharraf have vowed to fight extremism and terrorism, and reiterated their pledges after the bombing.

Despite Bhutto's suggestion that some of Musharraf's political allies have militant links, the attack could push the two closer into an alliance against extremism, some analysts said.

Adding to the volatile atmosphere, five people were killed yesterday in a car bombing in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, the scene of a long-running insurgency. A previously unknown rebel group claimed responsibility.

Baluch rebels have waged a low-key insurgency for years for autonomy and a larger share of the profits from resources in the province.

Also yesterday, suspected pro-Taliban Islamic militants shot and killed two pro-government elders as they traveled through the northwestern tribal region of Bajur, officials said.

The men were part of a council of tribal elders that met last week with aides of militant leader Baitullah Mahsud, trying to forge a cease-fire between government forces and militants, said Fazal Rabi, a local government official.

Mahsud had reportedly threatened recently to target Bhutto with suicide attacks.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.