PPP mulls over Benazir's options

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 8. Following the Pakistan Supreme Court's quashing of a lower court conviction of the former Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, and ordering retrial, the military Government has sent out clear signals that the order of the apex court did not mean the end of the case against her.

The Attorney-General, Mr. Aziz Munshi, went on record on Saturday that ``the judgment is for a retrial of the accused and not an accused'' even as some other top legal functionaries of the Musharraf regime sought to remind that several other cases were pending against the former Prime Minister.

The Attorney-General's statement and other legal luminaries came even as the central council of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) deliberated at an extraordinary meeting on the implications of the apex court order and considered the possibility of return of its leader from self-exile.

Within hours after the court verdict in a television interview to a London-based channel on Friday declared that the quashing of her conviction has removed a major hurdle for her return to Pakistan. ``One big hurdle to my return has been removed and it is important for me to go back and be part of the democratic process in my country.''

A group of senior leaders of the PPP are expected to fly to London soon for consultations with Ms. Bhutto to discuss the prospects of her return at an early date. A statement issued by the party on Friday had declared that country needed the leadership of the former Prime Minister.

However, the legal functionaries of the military Government left no one in doubt that the former Prime Minister risked the chance of being arrested if she chose to come back. They argued that they are at least nine other corruption cases pending against her and in one case a non-bailable warrant for non-appearance has already been issued.

There is serious debate within the PPP on the pros and cons of the return of Ms. Bhutto at this juncture. The majority view is that the time has come for her to end the self-exile, particularly in the light of the quashing of the acquittal.

They believe that if the Government decides to arrest Ms. Bhutto on her return it would only help the party to emerge stronger. In fact, the debate on whether or not Ms. Bhutto should return has been going on within the PPP ever since Mr. Nawaz Sharif left the shores of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia after a deal with the Government.

In December last year, Ms. Bhutto had told a group of PPP leaders, who had gone to London to persuade her to come back, to prepare the ground for her return by mobilising support at the grassroots level.

In a related development an Accountability Court in Rawalpindi adjourned the hearing of corruption reference cases against Ms. Bhutto, former Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr. Manzoor Wattoo, and Mr. Asif Zardari till April 10, 17 and 13 respectively.

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Section  : International
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