Bhutto blames Taliban, al-Qaida for explosions

Ex-PM: Other blasts foiled
Bhutto diputed the government’s version of the attack, saying that there were two suicide bombers and that her security guards also had found a third man armed with a pistol and another with a suicide vest.

Bhutto’s procession had been creeping toward the center of Karachi for 10 hours Thursday when a small explosion erupted near the front of her truck as well-wishers swarmed around it. A larger blast quickly followed, destroying two police vans.

Party officials said the 54-year-old Bhutto had left the open top of the truck and gone inside to rest her swollen feet only a few minutes earlier. She was reviewing a speech with an adviser when they heard a loud bang.

“Something in my heart told me that this is not a firecracker, it is a suicide attack,” she said at the news conference. “You could see the light, and then as we waited for 30 seconds to 60 seconds, we heard the sound and saw the huge orange light and bodies spilling all over.”

She praised her security guards. “They refused to let the suicide bomber, the second suicide bomber, get near the truck. So the second suicide bomber hit the security guard wall ... he couldn’t hit the truck.”

Rejecting criticism that she had endangered her supporters, Bhutto said it was the right decision to return to help her homeland and she was willing to pay the price.

Bhutto predicted extremists would now try to attack her homes in Karachi, the country’s biggest city, and her hometown of Larkana. Officials of her Pakistan People’s Party guarded her Karachi residence Friday, forming a human chain around the building to keep people back.

Attack may spur political reconcilation
The attack that wrecked Bhutto’s jubilant homecoming parade was one of the deadliest in Pakistan’s history, with six hospitals reporting a total of 136 dead and some 250 wounded.

While the carnage underlined the threats to stability, the attack also was likely to push Bhutto and Musharraf toward an alliance that would be backed by the U.S. and others in the West.

Musharraf, who phoned Bhutto on Friday to express his condolences, is a longtime rival but they share moderate views and support working with the United States in fighting militant groups.

Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said the parliamentary ballot would go ahead as planned in January. “Elections will be held on time,” he said.

Bhutto served twice as prime minister between 1988 and 1996, but both of her governments ended amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement. She left Pakistan after Musharraf seized power in 1999 and corruption charges were filed against her.

She was able to return after her power-sharing talks with the general brought her immunity covering the corruption cases.

Musharraf won re-election to the presidency in a vote this month by lawmakers that is being challenged in the Supreme Court. If confirmed for a new five-year term, he has promised to quit the military and restore civilian rule.

More from msnbc.com Exuberance at a state-sponsored Chinese church Smog aside, Beijing is blooming 911 systems choking on non-emergency calls Field Notes: Centenarian tales — coming to America

MORE FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA

South & Central Asia Section Front

Myanmar's condition starker than portrayed Pakistan’s Musharraf faces impeachment 200 militants attack Pakistan post 14 tons of meat from rare animal seized South & Central Asia Section Front   Add South & Central Asia headlines to your news reader: