Deputy Superintendent of Police Ishtiaq Hussain Shah, who was seriously injured in the suicide bomb attack on Bhutto on December 27, said security arrangements for the rally were "absolutely perfect".

But Shah said he became worried when he saw that the walk-through gates were not working because of a power breakdown. He feared that people would get inside the venue without any security check, Shah told the Dawn newspaper in his first interview since the attack.

Shah said he immediately called the electricity authorities in Rawalpindi and requested them to restore power. Later, he also sought the help of Bhutto's close aide Naheed Khan's for getting power restored.

The police officer, currently recuperating at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi, was also interviewed on Monday by the team from Britain's Scotland Yard that is probing Bhutto's assassination.

Shah said he had seen the man who opened fire at Bhutto with a pistol when she emerged from the sun-roof of her bulletproof vehicle to wave to supporters while leaving Liaquat Bagh after addressing the rally.

"A man wearing sunglasses was standing about three metres from Benazir Bhutto's car and was firing at her with a pistol. As soon as I jumped to overpower him, a mighty explosion occurred," Shah said.

President Pervez Musharraf has also admitted that Bhutto might have been shot. The Pakistan government had earlier claimed that she died of a skull fracture caused by a lever on the sun-roof of her vehicle.

Shah, who was on the left side of Bhutto's vehicle, said he saw some people appear from nowhere and stop the car while she was leaving Liaquat Bagh.

"I don't know who they were or from where they came. They were carrying flags of the Pakistan People's Party and shouting pro-PPP slogans. They just appeared on the road," he said.

"I started to clear the way for Ms Bhutto's vehicle. I saw a man who was probably wearing a grey jacket and sunglasses shoot from the crowd towards Ms Bhutto. I jumped to overpower him. He was about 10 feet away from my position. A mighty explosion took place soon afterwards."