Akhas said there was a “strong threat” of a terrorist attack against Bhutto. On October 18, she survived a suicide bombing attack in Karachi that left at least 140 people dead.

Bhutto’s choice for the route of next week’s protest march is particularly significant. Protesters will travel from the eastern city of Lahore to Islamabad, a route of 162 miles that will bring them through the heart of Punjab, the country’s largest and most powerful province.

The vast majority of the country’s army hails from Punjab and the military has hesitated in the past to fire on civilians in the province. Widespread popular unrest there could cause senior Pakistani army commanders to turn on General Musharraf and ask him to resign, some analysts say.

Bhutto’s strategy appears to be relying on the fact that General Musharraf will back down before protests are held, or that senior army officers will decide that the President is doing so much damage to the army as an institution that they should force him to resign.

General Musharraf, in turn, could gamble that Bhutto will not be able to draw large crowds on what she called the “long march”. Lahore is not her home province and her time in office was marred by corruption charges.

There is also widespread speculation that Bhutto, who some have criticised for moving too slowly to launch protests against Emergency rule, will strike a deal with General Musharraf. Lawyers who have carried out protests all week have questioned her commitment to fully ending military rule.

... contd.