The government assertion that former prime minister and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto was killed after hitting sunroof of her vehicle with heavy impact was based on facts of the preliminary investigation, said Interior Ministry Spokesman Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema (Retd).
"We still stand by it. However, the investigation is going on and conclusive evidence will come to limelight by coming Friday," he said at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday. He said from December 27 to 30, at least 58 people lost their lives and 89 were injured. Out of 58 killed, 57 were killed in Sindh and one in Punjab and from 89 injured people, 61 belong to Sindh, 26 Punjab, and two to the federal capital.
The law and order situation is getting back to normal, he said, adding the situation is now quite satisfactory in many parts of the country as CNG stations, petrol pumps, commercial markets and other shops remained open making availability of the food items easy.
Cheema said that few criminals had done aerial firing to force the shopkeepers to close their businesses in Karachi and interior Sindh, but on Tuesday, the situation is under control. "The death of Benazir Bhutto, no doubt, brought sorrows and sufferings for everyone, but it does not mean that we should burn our own home," he added.
The spokesman also said the government would tackle these criminals with iron hand and no one would be allowed to damage the public and private property. "Banks were targeted by the mobs as 185 banks were burnt and 32 were damaged. Most of the banks were targeted in Sindh where 181 banks were burned and 14 were damaged," he said.
Cheeema said the number of banks damaged in Punjab is 16, one in NWFP and one in federal capital. The total numbers of the burnt government offices are 204 from which 199 were burnt in Sindh. Offices that damaged are 36 in numbers. Total 36 petrol pumps were burnt and two damaged (all in Sindh)," he added.
He said that 572 vehicles were burnt (549 in Sindh) and more than 86 were damaged (43 in Sindh). Similarly, 72 railway coaches were burnt in Sindh and 27 railway stations were set on fire and six were damaged, 802 shops were burnt (791 in Sindh) and 32 damaged.
"We will not hide the facts from the public and all the details will be given to the people the moment we reached some conclusive evidence. My early statements about the incident were based on the initial investigation report and I still stand by those. As Benazir Bhutto's murder was the murder of a national leader of the international repute. The government wanted to give step by step information to the public," he added.
Talking about the security concerns of Mian Nawaz Sharif and some other political leaders, he said that ministry has asked the provincial governments to provide proper security to leaders whose lives were in danger. Some newspapers published exaggerated figures of causalities in Kurram Agency. The factual position is that around 57 people were killed and over 100 injured from December 24.
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