AP pix as Benazir Bhutto gives presser ahead of return to Pakistan

(17 Oct 2007) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of vehicles passing by exterior of hotel 2. Various of Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto in hotel lobby with her daughters 3. Various of Bhutto walking into news conference 4. Cutaway of media 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Benazir Bhutto, Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader: ++Talking about potential threats from Islamic militants when she returns to Pakistan++ 6. Various cutaways of media 7. Wide of news conference 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Benazir Bhutto, Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader: ++Talking about fierce fighting in Pakistan's tribal regions++ 9. Cutaway of media and officials 10. Wide pan from media to Bhutto at top table in news conference 11. Bhutto leaving news conference STORYLINE: Thousands of supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto surged toward Karachi on the eve of the former premier's return from exile, as the former premier declared any Islamic militant assassin targeting her would "burn in hell." Police were readying bomb disposal squads and sealing roads ahead of Bhutto's planned arrival to Karachi on Thursday, where she hopes one (m) million people will greet the end of her eight-year exile. Negotiations with Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf that could see the archrivals team up in a US-friendly alliance to fight al-Qaida linked militants and the Taliban have already produced an amnesty covering the corruption cases that made her leave Pakistan in 1999. Bhutto hopes to secure a third term as prime minister after January elections. Flanked by her two daughters and her husband, Bhutto told reporters at a news conference in Dubai that her return to Pakistan heralds the turn of the wheel from dictatorship to democracy. Bhutto plans to touch down in Karachi on Thursday, ending an eight-year exile and launching a campaign that she hopes could lead to her third term as prime minister after January elections. Bhutto recently courted controversy in Pakistan by saying that she would cooperate with the American military in targeting Osama bin Laden, and authorities here warned that militants could launch suicide attacks and roadside bombings against her. Asked about such threats, Bhutto said Islam forbids suicide bombings and attacks. "Muslims know that if they attack a woman they will burn in hell," she said. The government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, appealed to Bhutto to abandon plans for an snail-paced 16-kilometre (10-mile) grand procession into Karachi, saying it would leave her vulnerable. It said the main threat was from Taliban and al-Qaida. With Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) already mobilising rallies and convoys of supporters expected to arrive from its strongholds across Sindh by late on Wednesday, many observers believe more than 100-thousand people will turn out. The party is predicting there will be more than one (m) million. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...