LAHORE, June 5: Human rights activist and prominent lawyer Asma Jahangir has accused “high-level security authorities” of having made a plan for her assassination. But she said at a press conference here on Tuesday that “I am not afraid nor will I leave the country”.

She said the trend of killing progressive intellectuals should be brought to an end. “We are not going to accept this mindset in the country at any cost.”

Ms Jahangir said information about the plot to assassinate her was authentic and received from highly reliable sources.

She asked media persons not to confuse the public if she was killed because “I have no personal enmity with anyone”.

She said the plan to assassinate her had not been made by any individual but by state security operators.

Ms Jahangir, who is former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said she had cancelled a scheduled foreign visit in the current circumstances.

“If someone knows to fight with guns, I know better to fight without guns,” she said.

Replying to a question, she said the interior minister had telephoned her and deployed a Rangers squad for her security but the arrangements were not satisfactory. President Asif Ali Zardari has also discussed the matter with her.

Ms Jahangir said the Punjab government had been informed about the situation but the provincial authorities were yet to respond.

She said she would not seek an inquiry commission because she had lost trust in the practice after seeing the outcome of the commissions on Saleem Shahzad’s death and the memo scandal.

Ms Jahangir said the “khaki waley” had no right to take decisions about the future of Pakistan. Only the people of the country have the right to decide about their future.

She said leaders had also been killed in other parts of the world but Pakistan was a country where leaders were assassinated and killers were never arrested.

Meanwhile, Punjab police chief Mohammad Habibur Rehman has ordered all regional, city and district police officers in the province to provide Ms Jahangir a complete security cover.

A police spokeswoman said she would be provided security at home and during her movement across the province.