IANS

Islamabad, Dec 31: Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto could not have been fatally inured even if she did hit her head on the sunroof lever of her Land Cruiser, says an official of the Toyota that manufactures the vehicle.

"We are convinced that it can't be a lever (that caused the fatal head injury) but we are still looking into more details," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

According to the official, the lever could not have caused the head injury as it was installed inside the vehicle and was at least six centimeters from the edge of the sunroof.

At the same time, he did not dispute the fact that there could have been bloodstains on the lever. "This is understandable. If she was hit in the head by a bullet, bloodstains could have been left on the lever."

Government spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said that Bhutto was killed after she hit her head against the sunroof lever of her Toyota Land Cruiser as it left the Liaqat Bagh in the twin city of Rawalpindi after addressing a rally.

Cheema did not dispute the fact that three bullets were fired and followed by a bomb blast but claimed that neither the bullets nor shrapnel from the explosion hit the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader.

Instead, Cheema said Bhutto had stood up from the sunroof to wave to her supporters and dashed her head on the lever when she tried to duck after hearing the gunshots.

Cheema had justified his claim by saying that there was blood on the lever. Toyota officials held a meeting in Karachi after Cheema's statement.

PPP leaders have ridiculed Cheema's assertion, saying that many of Bhutto's associates saw the bullet wounds on her.

PPP information secretary Sherry Rehman, who supervised the ritual of bathing Bhutto's body, said there were clear bullet wounds on her head.

She said the bullet seemed to have been fired from left side and came out of the skull on the right.