Bhutto is set to return from eight years of self-imposed exile on Thursday after President Pervez Musharraf gave her amnesty against corruption charges, in an apparent step towards a US-backed power-sharing deal.
But the government has backpedalled and says Bhutto should wait until the Supreme Court has ruled on the legality of the amnesty and on the validity of Musharraf’s landslide win in an October 6 presidential vote. Musharraf says he has sent personal messages to Bhutto asking her to stay away for now.

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said Bhutto could be arrested if the Supreme Court upholds legal challenges that were lodged last week against the amnesty. “It is because of this that we are asking her to wait,” Azeem said. “But at the moment it is unlikely the government will arrest her,” he added.

However, Bhutto’s party said she would not change her plans. “She will arrive in Karachi as per schedule on October 18,” said party vice president Makhdoom Amin Fahim.