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E-mailExiled former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said on Saturday, she plans to return to Pakistan later this year, despite possible arrest, and doesn’t rule out running for the top post again.
In an interview to BBC radio Ms Bhutto said,
Pakistan is a military dictatorship, led by a sitting chief of army staff.The day another Ex Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, was arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia within hours of arriving home from exile vowing to end the rule of President Pervez Musharraf, her
Mrs Bhutto leads the Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) and has been trying unsuccessfully to reach a power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf. She also faces possible corruption charges on her return. She was dismissed for alleged corruption on both occasions and left Pakistan in 1999, although she was never convicted.The Pakistani authorities said earlier on Friday they would not obstruct Ms Bhutto’s return, but she would still have to face corruption charges in court. Mrs Bhutto, in response, said that there is nothing new in those charges. She addedMrs Bhutto has decided to travel to Pakistan.
I’m not worried about these false charges.
She also confirmed that the power-sharing talks with Gen Musharraf had stalled, because the people around General Musharraf were thoroughly opposed to any understanding between them.While refraining from much direct criticism of Musharraf, she spoke out harshly against the president’s political backers, blaming them for allowing extremism to fester in Pakistan and saying they have deliberately scuttled the deal in order to keep moderates like herself out of power.According to her the talks
failed because some elements within the ruling party, who have presided over the expansion of extremism and militancy, did not want the path of moderation to take Pakistan to a democratic future.
Analysts say the failure of the ruling pro-military PML-Q party to bring greater support and legitimacy to the army-led government forced Gen Musharraf to seek a dialogue with Ms Bhutto, whose party received the largest number of votes in the 2002 elections.Bhutto’s own Pakistan People’s Party, however, had also been resistant to the deal. Many of her strongest supporters have expressed grave reservations about the idea of negotiating with a military man. They have urged her to abandon the talks and return to Pakistan to oppose Musharraf’s reelection.
She has also demanded the withdrawal of cases against her and Mr Sharif, and wants to reverse a constitutional amendment that bars prime ministerial candidates from seeking more than two terms in office.
Mrs Bhutto plans to come back to her homeland on October 18, she told BBC, and wants that Musharraf shed his uniform before contesting the election for the post of President. She was dismissed for alleged corruption on both occasions and left Pakistan in 1999, although she was never convicted. She told CNN from New York
I’m immediately seeking the restoration of democracy in my country...But if the people of Pakistan wish to vote for me and elect me as prime minister for a third time, I’d be honored.
