Date:18/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/18/stories/2007101861841800.htm

International

Thousands await Benazir in Karachi

Nirupama Subramanian

KARACHI: Thousands of supporters of Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto are converging on the country’s biggest city to welcome the former Prime Minister who is set to end eight years of self-exile on Thursday.

They are coming in trucks, buses and vans from many parts of Pakistan, but especially from all corners of Sindh province, a PPP stronghold. Banners, posters and hoardings in the PPP’s green, red and black colours greeting Ms. Bhutto are everywhere. Ms. Bhutto is expected to arrive at Karachi International Airport on a flight from Dubai at 1 p.m. Party workers are preparing to leave in buses for the airport as early as 6 a.m., and will escort her from the airport to the mausoleum of Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah in a massive procession that could take hours to reach its destination.

According to reports, an estimated 7,000 policemen are to be deployed in the city for the arrival of the PPP leader, who has said she is on the Al-Qaeda hit-list or may be assassinated by retired hardline military officials. The government also recently expressed concerns for her safety, asking her to stay away for this reason. The visible enthusiasm on the streets of Karachi and the carnival feel to the city ahead of her arrival has lifted spirits of senior party leaders and organisers unsure of the kind of reception to Ms. Bhutto from the people after her deal with President Pervez Musharraf to erase corruption charges against her in return for PPP’s tacit support to his re-election.

“There have been only two massive receptions in the history of this country. One was on April 10, 1986, for BB in Lahore, and the second was her reception on May 3, 1986, in Karachi. We are hoping to match those receptions tomorrow, and we hope this one will be even better,” said Safdar Abbasi, a Senator of the PPP, as he spoke with party activists at her home.