| "Don't torture yourself, |
Bhutto has blamed militants for the attack on her but accused elements in the government and security services of complicity and called for international experts to help in the investigation. She specifically objected to Manzar Mughal, a senior investigator in the Sindh province police force, claiming he had been present while her husband, Mohtarem said the provincial government had no doubt about Mughal's competency and professionalism, but that he had decided to withdraw from the five-member investigation team to protect it from accusations of bias.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz reiterated the government's insistence that Pakistani authorities are capable of solving the case without the foreign help that Bhutto has requested. "Pakistan is a sovereign country. We know what we're doing. We don't need assistance," Aziz said, adding that Mughal's withdrawal "doesn't change the very fact that we have a whole process looking into such cases."
A police investigator in Karachi said 15 or 16 people had been detained for questioning in the blast. Some had been injured in the attack and were picked up from hospitals, though none was being treated as a suspect, the investigator said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He would not identify them or say where they were being held.
A second police investigator confirmed that a number of people were being questioned.
Authorities have said the attack was likely carried out by two suicide bombers. They have released a picture showing the head of one of the attackers but have yet to identify him. Security in the city remains high after Bhutto claimed on Tuesday that she had received a new death threat. She said her lawyer received a letter from an unidentified "friend of al-Qaida" threatening to slaughter her "like a goat."
The authenticity of the letter could not be confirmed. Bhutto said the writer claimed to be the leader of the suicide bombers "and a friend of al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden." Speaking at her heavily guarded Karachi residence, Bhutto said her opponents "are petrified that the Pakistan People's Party will return (to power) and that democracy will return."