Sharif calls for overthrow of Musharraf's dictatorship

Larkana: Nawaz Sharif went to Larkana on Saturday to pay his last respects to former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Sharif met met Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari and her son Bilawal and also visited her grave at the Garhi Khuda Baksh mausoleum where she was buried on Friday afternoon. He could not attend the funeral procession because of security concerns.

Sharif, a former Pakistan prime minister himself, told CNN-IBN that he, too, feared an attack on himself.

"I think since the last two days the government has been confusing the nation by coming up with different versions. Sometimes they say that it was a bullet injury and now they say it's not a bullet injury; she didn't die of a bomb explosion and that she died of hitting the lever of sunroof," Sharif said.

"It is a very serious security lapse and the government knew there was a threat. I don’t think the government took adequate measures to protect her life," he said.

Sharif also blamed the President Pervez Musharraf government for failing to provide him with adequate security.

"The government has also announced on TV that my name is also on the hit list and when I look at the security arrangements they have made for me they are absolutely insufficient to protect anybody's life," he complained.

Sharif dismissed reports that he was planning to leave Pakistan following Benazir's assassination and said the country must get rid of Musharraf's dictatorship soon.

"There is no question of leaving (Pakistan). We need to put our house in order and get rid of this dictatorship. This is an outcome of the dictatorship. We have already made the announcement and we will sit and talk with PPP (Pakistan People's Party) leaders. There is no point in taking part in the elections because under these circumstances where a leader has lost her life and the circumstances are not conclusive for a free fair and transparent elections," he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is still to come to terms with the tragedy of Benazir's assassination.

After a string of violent protests across several cities that left over 30 people dead, there was an uneasy calm on Saturday.

Shops, educational institutions, banks and offices remained closed for the second day and security personnel patrolled the streets in Islamabad, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore.