I am ready to return at short notice, says Benazir

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JAN. 2. The former Prime Minister of chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, has said she is ready to return to the country at short notice and is only waiting for a nod from her partymen.

In an interview to the Pakistan English daily, The Nation, Mrs. Bhutto said the exact date of her return would depend on when the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) intended launching a political movement and her party testing the waters to gauge public opinion on various issues.

Mrs. Bhutto has been on a self-imposed exile in London for the last two years. She left Pakistan during the tenure of Mr. Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister after a lower court convicted her in a corruption case. The case is pending in a higher court.

The decision of Mrs. Benazir assumes significant as the military ruler and the Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has vowed to ensure that she and Mr. Sharif are kept out of national politics.

In his address to the nation on the state-controlled radio and television recently, Gen. Musharraf accused both the former Prime Ministers of having destroyed various institutions.

Since the departure of Mr. Sharif to Saudi Arabia on exile last month, the PPP has been weighing the options of the return of Mrs. Bhutto to fill the void in the political field. She had called her senior party leaders to Dubai to discuss the current political situation.

In her interview to The Nation, Mrs. Bhutto said it is disturbing when Gen. Musharraf says that Pakistan is not a banana army and that it will not permit her return. ``It is wrong of Musharraf to appear to pit the whole army against one innocent lady, who has twice served the country as the Prime Minister''. She also said all the governments since her overthrow have failed in getting things better in Pakistan.

Days before Mr. Sharif went into exile, Mrs. Bhutto's party joined hands with the Pakistan Muslim League to be part of the newly-formed Alliance for Restoration of Democracy.

Mrs. Bhutto has expressed concern at the rising ``fanaticism'' and demand of some people to `Talibanise' Pakistan. ``In the last one year, militant groups have grown stronger and are flexing their muscles. Unless democracy is restored, it is possible that Talibanised thoughts may take over the country posing fresh problems''.

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Section  : International
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