KARACHI, Sep 8 (IPS) - After sweeping Pakistan's presidential elections, Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the late, twice-elected prime minister Benazir Bhutto, called his triumph the `'victory of democracy''. But this triumph follows a flood of criticism against Zardari in the domestic and foreign media. The charges against Zardari range from corruption and murder -- that have never been proved in court -- to mental instability in recently reported documents that were used to excuse him from court hearings a year ago. A whispering campaign implicated him in the 1996 murder of then prime minister Bhutto's younger brother Murtaza. The controversy weakened Bhutto and contributed to the dismissal of her government six weeks later. Similar rumours sprang up after Benazir's assassination in December 2007, implying that Zardari was responsible for her murder. Zardari's response to such criticism has always been his wide, toothy grin, even during eleven years in prison when he suffered periods of mistreatment and negligence that may have permanently damaged his health. The disenchantment against him may not be as widespread as it is made out to be, comments Kamal Siddiqui, editor reporting of daily `The News'. "Many in Pakistan could not care less who is president. They want to know when their economic conditions will improve." The disparagement against Zardari, most intense in recent months, is hardly new. "It started when he married Benazir (in 1987) and took her away from us," well-known psychiatrist Dr Haroon Ahmed conjectured while talking to IPS. "Before that she belonged to all of us." In this patriarchal society with its deep caste and class divisions and prejudices Zardari has many handicaps. Apart from his playboy reputation he also hails from a `lesser' tribe than the aristocratic Bhuttos and was less well educated than his already famous Oxford and Harvard (Radcliffe) educated bride. Talking to IPS, Abdul Jabbar, a driver in the bustling metropolis of Karachi, summed up both the caste and the patriarchy angles while explaining why he is against Zardari becoming president, despite being a supporter of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) that Zardari now co-chairs with their college-going son Bilawal: "He came into power because of his wife... He is being very `sweet', but the Zardaris (literally, `camel-herders' ) are not a sweet tribe." Political analyst and development consultant Raza Rumi in a recent op- ed drew attention to the deep-rooted misogyny in Pakistani society as a major reason for Zardari being so widely reviled in this patriarchal culture, given that he derives his source of power from a woman. His "ascension and capture of a matrilineal power-base directly confronts the overly masculine identity of power in Pakistan," Rumi told IPS. He also pointed to the PPP's "essentially `feminine' rhetoric" on forgiveness and reconciliation, compared to the other mainstream political leaders' "rigid application of `principle', honour, and aggression'' . This focus on forgiveness and reconciliation goes beyond rhetoric, noted the feminist Nafisa Shah, a PPP Member of Parliament. She pointed out that Zardari has befriended political opponents and apologised to the people of Balochistan where the state has responded to nationalist uprisings with disproportionate force. Using ties forged during his years in prison, Zardari got party workers to visit the graves of political rivals in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) killed in ethnic conflicts and got the MQM to visit the family of a former chief minister whose brother who was also killed in the conflict. These political rivals came to condole with Zardari and pray for Benazir Bhutto when she was killed. "All these exchanges forged political ties between hitherto unlikely partners," said Shah. Zardari also demonstrated great political acumen and skill in forging a coalition government after the Feb. 18 elections "using it to peacefully unseat President Musharraf," as the BBC's Barbara Plett put it. Three decades ago, Benazir Bhutto had countered tribal, patriarchal traditions by retaining her own (father's) last name rather than taking on her husband's. The family's decisions after her assassination also counter the patriarchal model: their three children took on the Bhutto name, hyphenating it with Zardari. Benazir was buried by her father's grave as she had wished rather than at her husband's family graveyard. Zardari has stated that he too wishes to be buried there rather than at his own ancestral graveyard. Although the mud flung at Zardari all these years has stuck, some analysts point out that he is hardly more corrupt than other politicians or even the military that has ruled Pakistan for much of its existence. "Nobody asks them about their corruptions, " says one analyst asking not to be named. "You won't see the kind of leaks about them as you see about him. Our intelligence agencies work overtime when it comes to defaming Zardari. There should be accountability, but why single out one person?" The reason for this singling out may be the PPP's traditionally anti- establishment stance, stemming from its nationalist, secular polity that tends to make the ruling elite very nervous -- that is, the nexus known as the `establishment' , comprising the military- bureaucracy- feudal, and in recent years, religious elements. "In a country where swindlers, thugs, constitution- twisters and vulgar-rich continue to shine and enjoy power with respectability, the moralistic histrionics against Zardari appear so out of place," said Rumi. "Patriarchy ensures that all black is transformed into white, unless, of course, the power-sharing centre lies outside its orbit." Besides the intelligence agencies and what has been termed their `dirty tricks brigade', political rivals have also been actively working to discredit Zardari. According to the `Daily Times', the dirt on Zardari relating to his medical condition a year ago was leaked to a foreign paper by "a leading light of the PML-N" -- the Pakistan Muslim League led by Zardari's political rival and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. "The PML-N spokesman, who hails from a religious background and is constantly targeting Zardari, got the medical certificates from a PML- N sympathiser in NAB (National Accountability Bureau) who was handling Zardari's case," alleges the Daily Times report, citing anonymous sources. (END/2008)

by Nashia Ahmad Gabol

My heart filled with grief and my eyes with tears as i read this article, written by an American girl . This is the first article being posted on the blog after the assassination of MBB . I really feel that words can not describe my immense love, admiration and appreciation for MBB. On the other hand, my intense feelings of pain, grief and anger at her assassination are immensely overwhelming. We love you MBB and you are in our hearts ,soul and blood . No one can take this away from the People who love M.B.B. .She lives in our heart forever. She was, and will be in our hearts for eternity.

By Michelle Lindsey

A new day has come to Pakistan with the restoration of democracy. My congratulations and my joy are with the people of Pakistan, whom I love, and with their new democratically elected parliament.

At this momentous time, my heart is so full. My emotions are a dichotomy of both profound sadness and also profound joy....as I think of Benazir Bhutto, whom I loved so dearly.

The arrival of this extraordinary moment for Pakistan is the moment and the cause for which she gave her life. Her life and death - her sacrifice and courage - are what made this moment possible.

Benazir wrote to me, in an e-mail, in November 2007:

“I hope many people will benefit from my struggle to restore democracy in Pakistan.

People have an unquestionable desire for democracy, for control over their own lives, for human rights, gender equality, labor and minority rights and for a chance to build a better life for their children. These are indeed the dreams of the Pakistani people and of all people in this part of the world. We appeal to all the people of the world to walk with us on our common destination towards freedom.”

In reading and seeing the reports of these historic days in Pakistan, seeing the joy and hope in the faces of the people - I see Benazir’s face, and her smile, and I feel the hope that her courage, spirit, and vision illuminated in hearts and minds across her country and around the world. Her remarkable spirit and strength; her faith in God; her conviction and commitment to her beliefs and her vision and her cause, are the nexus and heartbeat that made this extraordinary moment a reality.

The hope that she inspired lives on in the hearts of those whose lives she touched. Her courage lives on. Benazir lives on.

The unquenchable, unkillable spirit of Benazir Bhutto is now the heart of Pakistan - and of all the people in this world who believe in freedom, human rights, and democracy - and who hold on to faith and hope, regardless of circumstance. The glow from the flame she lit burns brightly across Pakistan and in hearts around the world. As it will forever.

ZINDA HAI  BIBI  ZINDA HAI.

Michelle Lindsey, of Colorado Springs, Colorado is the founder of  www.SupportBenazir.org

This article was published in DAWN, The Frontier Post, and also in The Rocky Mountain News (in the United States)

BEFORE the imposition of martial law on Nov 3, Pakistan was
struggling with two critical challenges to its political stability.One was
the subversion of civilian, representative rule, an issue the
nation-state had confronted since 1958 when the first martial law
was imposed on Pakistan.The other challenge had its roots in the
more recent, but far more bloody vintage of the 1980s. Militancy that exploits religion, which incubated with Gen Ziaul Haq’s security apparatus and state ideology, has grown into a full-scale terrorist insurgency today. Major portions of the Tribal Areas, the NWFP, some territory in the Northern Areas, and now two-thirds of Swat, have ceded ground to non-state actors, both foreign and local.Today the country is back in the quagmire of both dictatorship and terrorism. Gen Musharraf has once again called a martial law an emergency, as he did in 1999. An emergency suspends fundamental human rights, but falls short as an instrument that can send the judiciary packing. Judges cannot be made to swear fresh oaths of allegiance, and therefore may not provide the judgments required to prop unconstitutional measures.An emergency does not require a PCO for its imposition. A PCO, or Provisional Constitution Order, entails a suspension of the Constitution of the state, substituting it with a martial law, which can only be imposed by a chief of army staff. Under a martial law, there is no source of justice other than PCO courts, and dictators are provided a veneer of legal cover. So let’s first call a spade a spade. Pakistan is under martial law today, not emergency rule. The assemblies, whether constitutional until Nov 15 or under the PCO, are alive so that they can provide a democratic window-dressing.The PCO cabinet has already given its rubberstamp to the emergency, and the military’s surrogates in parliament pushed it through the National Assembly as well. All these acts are post-PCO and have no bearing on the facts on the ground that Gen Musharraf has already created. There is one man-rule in the country and that is propped only by the use of force.Which is why Gen Musharraf’s announcement of a general election in February and his stepping down as army chief before that has been received with general scepticism.The reason why Pakistan is under martial law today is not so that terrorism can be contained as the disingenuous promulgation order says. It is under martial law so that the possibility of an adverse judgment by the former benches of the newly independent superior judiciary on Gen Musharraf’s eligibility to hold two offices could be avoided. Nothing more, nothing less.If terrorism was the issue, why are peaceful opponents of martial law and terrorism being detained and brutalised all over the country? If terrorism was the objective, why were Asma Jehangir, Aitzaz Ahsan, I.A. Rehman, Iqbal Haider and hundreds of lawyers like PPP’s Ahsan Bhoon, and civil society activists detained? Do they look like the sort of people who run into crowded buses and buildings to maim and kill in the name of religion?Why are wanted criminals allowed to hold press conferences openly threatening the life of Ms Benazir Bhutto for her anti-terrorism clarity? Why have 25 terrorists been released after the imposition of martial law? Why is a peaceful tourist backwater like Swat overrun by foreign and Pakistani militants? Is the state only able to establish its writ now through the law of the jungle?If terrorism is the objective, why has the investigation on the massacre of Oct 19 in Karachi not been treated as an urgent priority? Why was evidence hastily cleaned up, and why is a Pakistan-led independent police inquiry not being assisted by Scotland Yard or the FBI as many enquiries have been in the past? Why is the death of 160 innocent people who were victims of terror being treated like a non-event? Do the culprits not need to be nabbed?If terrorism was the objective why has the independent media been blacked out? Why have cable networks been jammed and why have satellite alternatives been the object of crackdowns by the state? Why has the print media been given press advice, and why is a new ‘code of conduct’ being formulated by the regime to gag the press? Why has Pakistan been thrust back into the dark days of the 1980s, when political leaders were either killed, tortured, arrested or driven underground?Clearly, none of the actions described have anything to do with curbing terrorism. In fact, quite to the contrary, history has taught us that Pakistan has only drifted towards crises during military clampdowns. Extremism and polarisation flourish when democracy is under lockdown.But structural and fundamental disconnects are not the only problem in such a scenario. When the sixth largest standing army in the world busies itself with manipulative politics through coups and double coups, it begins to lose focus. It loses ground in the public eye as an institution that rules the nation instead of serving it.The pseudo-jihadist officials who served Zia’s fundamentalist agenda by creating an anti-PPP political alliance in the shape of the IJI by funnelling state money into slush funds and diverted Afghan resistance petro-dollars into powerful non-state proxies are back in action today. They subverted the aims of a professional army and democratic politicians by using intelligence resources to serve their own covert agenda then, and are trying to do the same again today with the same line-up of reactionary political proxies.The opposition is gearing up to challenge this reversal from a transition to democracy. The PPP was the only party that sees a peaceful transition to democracy as a priority. Its negotiations with the regime were for movement towards democracy, not to prop a dictatorship.The PPP chairperson’s return to Pakistan from Dubai was a brave step to lead the nation and the party in this moment of crisis. Her call to take the protest to the streets came after months of attempts to avoid more bloodshed, as Pakistan can ill-afford more instability. The PPP has been consistent in its position in calling for a restoration of the Constitution, the stepping down of General Musharraf as army chief, respect for the judiciary, a free and fair election on schedule, under a reconstituted Election Commission, and the removal of the curbs on the media as the only route to democracy.Slapping a ban on the PPP’s Rawalpindi rally will only roil the streets further, as will any bid to immobilise Ms Bhutto by house arrest before the Nov 13 long march from Lahore. The PPP showed its non-violent mass support on Oct 18, yet at the same time no one can doubt the party’s ability or record to resist dictatorships, as it stands firm in the face of bullets and persecution.The message to democratic politicians is that we will once again have to fight with our lives, on the streets, for the right to elect our own leadership and for the rule of law to return to Pakistan. Democracy and its attendant institutions have never been given a chance to take root, and now this is a fight for the survival of Pakistan. The military regime is no longer at a place where it can guarantee peace, stability and governance to the people of Pakistan alone, and for the first time, the whole world can see that this is true.

The writer is the central information secretary of the PPP.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/10/op.htm#1

Labels: pakistan, Pakistan People's Party, sherry rehman, true

Labels: america, Benazir Bhutto, democracy, pakistan

Click here to view PPP Manifesto 2008. posted by Nashia Ahmad Gabol at 7:21 PM

Today, the Pakistan Peoples Party marks its fortieth year in
mainstream politics. Why does this party hold a unique place in Pakistan's history, politics and social transformations? What animates its diehard support-base, and why do people seek its banner? One, it is the one federal party in this country that has not arisen out of a backroom deal. Two, it has never strayed from its core vision of seeking sovereignty through empowering the people. Three, as a party that sees the poorest, the vulnerable and the oppressed as its first priority, the PPP is the one party that has remained consistent with its agenda of change through progressive politics. In its social democratic vision to deregulate the economy while protecting the vulnerable, the party has evolved to spur the private sector as an engine of growth. Four, in international affairs, it has charted an iconic leadership course through intensely troubled waters. Five, on fighting for fundamental freedoms, the PPP has stood firm in raising its banner for the rule of law, representative civilian democracy and provincial autonomy. Six, it defines national security through development indices, not military adventurism. And seven, it offers hope for a better future through power of human agency.In 60 years of Pakistan's chequered life, from 1947 to 2007 the nation has seen 13 presidents or governors-general, 15 prime ministers and 12 national assemblies. In this whole period, four army generals ruled for 34 years openly, while after 1988, the military ruled as a powerful player in truncated civilian governments. In these sixty years, only one elected government completed its term, and that first PPP government is remembered with widespread nostalgia for empowering people and setting the country on a path to stability. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave Pakistan the strongest institutional foundations by drawing up the 1973 Constitution. By building the national consensus so vital to democratic processes in its signing, the PPP laid the foundation stone for so many social and economic changes that it literally revolutionised the relationship of the state to the citizen.In defining its public agenda, the PPP has evolved through different epochs as the only party that seeks, before everything, to liberate the oppressed, to provide for equal opportunity and empower the most disadvantaged through specific policy interventions. The unaddressed labour and peasant classes, the largest populations at risk in a developing country, have always been targeted by successive PPP governments for public policy relief. That is why they come out in droves to show support for the PPP at public rallies like Ms Bhutto's welcome on October 18, and are tagged for disenfranchisement often through rigged polls.Women, minorities and other socially vulnerable groups have been the focus of actual empowerment through party advocacy and policy articulation by empowerment programmes. In Ms Bhutto's two governments, for instance, key human rights issues were not used as donor magnets and government spin. They were the object of party policy and state action. Women judges were appointed and gender mainstreaming took place on a large scale through the public and private sectors. Remember the women's bank? And the lady health workers programme? No judges were sacked and neither women's marathons baton-charged nor any attempts made to impose manmade shariat laws. The media was given unprecedented freedoms and wage board awards for journalists implemented.An elite-consensus of anti-democratic forces that fear the vast mobilizing power of the PPP have spent an entire generation devoting time and resources to vilifying the PPP as an anti-business party. The facts tell another story. While providing protection for the weak, Ms Bhutto's PPP deregulated the economy to empower a new middle class, introduced communication technology, and ended electricity shutdowns. In fact, Ms Bhutto's PPP was the first government in the history of Pakistan to retire the country's principal debt through privatization proceeds. That is why among those who believe in change through the political process, the PPP is seen as a modern and democratic party, which introduced both energy infrastructure and information technology in Pakistan and empowered, educated and motivated an entire generation to value the power of hard work in a merit-based society. Instead of being labelled as a terrorist sanctuary, Pakistan joined the top ten emerging markets of the world.On foreign relations, the PPP has always led with a defining vision. History is testament to the fact that after the seminal Simla Treaty, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's vision of steering Pakistan out of the narrow alley of India-centrism bore fruit in larger bilateral initiatives that altered the limits of Islamabad's horizons, both in the developing and Muslim worlds. His Islamic summit stands out as a true leadership initiative for Pakistan in the comity of nations. Ms Bhutto's governments -- short as they were -- laid down an entire architecture of peace to replace the infrastructure of war with both India and Afghanistan. Pakistan never went to war in either Kabul or Kargil, but in fact began investing in a vision for South Asia whereby founding SAFTA the ground-work for a regional common market was laid. The blowback from Ziaul Haq's jihadist forward policy in Afghanistan was staunched by containing the Taliban to Kandahar, and in the third PPP government despite pressures, it refused to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.It was not a military dictator who secularized Pakistan's politics; it has always been the PPP. In fact, dictatorship in Pakistan has always emboldened extremists and fuelled terrorism. The dangerous idea that politics is the source of evil in this country has been sown by dictators as early as 1958 when the first martial law was slapped on. The propaganda machine deployed against a genuine political class, fighting a motley crew of military proxies, has diverted state resources and slush monies in such large quantities that it has acquired a life of its own. This has led to swathes of honest people brainwashed and depoliticized. Their retreat from democratic politics is a challenge only the PPP can take on for the future. The anti-democratic establishment in Pakistan believes that the PPP's legitimacy amongst voters is a danger to their formula for fixing politics, manipulating elections and shuffling surrogates.Today, when Pakistan stands at its most dangerous crossroads after the fall of Dhaka in 1971, there really is only one party that will squarely address the threats to the country such as extremism, hunger, and dictatorship. Ms Bhutto has clearly identified terrorism as a national crisis, not another country's problem. To her and the PPP, religion is about peace, about knowledge and about civilizing society, not polarizing it. But if grassroots politics is once again thwarted as a vehicle for democratic expression and social change, the millions of Pakistanis who want a stake in their governance will lose their voice in another closed system. Yet in good times, and in bad, the PPP will still stand out as a beacon of hope in the darkness that threatens. For 40 years it has held out that hope, and when given a chance, turned some dreams into reality. One day, the hope of a government -- elected by the people and accountable to the people -- will surely become a reality.
The writer is a former MNA, and the Central Information Secretary of the PPP
http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=9

By Senator Dr. Javaid Laghari

The Pakistan Peoples Party is led by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who is the symbol of the country's thirty year fight against domination by the military or its surrogates. She is the most popular leader in the country with a national following whose courage in the face of odds has inspired others to overcome adversity and triumph over odds.
Mohtarma Bhutto has paid a heavy price for her commitment to the people of Pakistan. She lost her Father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, and two brothers brutally and tragically. Her husband was imprisoned in ghastly conditions for eleven and a half years without a sentence. She spent six years including in one of the worst prisons of Pakistan and brought up her children as a single parent in years of exile persevering despite the obstacles. Her story is a mirror of the story of her supporters who have sacrificed and suffered so much to give the people of Pakistan freedom, equality, respect and emancipation from poverty, hunger and backwardness. No amount of demonisation by wicked opponents using the resources of the state for political purposes has diminished her standing as the massive reception of three million people at Karachi on October 18, 2007 demonstrated at her homecoming after eight years of exile.
And when the terrorists struck at the October reception killing 179 people with cowardly bomb detonations, the PPP supporters did not lose heart. Even in their grief they called out, "how many Bhutto's will you kill? From each house a Bhutto will be born to fight on against tyranny". The PPP workers see themselves as the heirs of Quaid e Awam Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who gave his life fighting tyranny.
The PPP is a modern, democratic party which introduced the age of information technology into Pakistan. It empowered, educated and motivated young people to reach the top through effort and hard work. Mohtarma Bhutto kept peace in the region. There was no war in Pakistan or Afghanistan or with India. She never sacked a Judge nor curbed the media unlike the others. Her government brought the fruits of development through deregulation and decentralisation, creating a vibrant middle class, ending power shut downs and transforming the South Asian landscape. From a country being described as a terrorist state, Pakistan became one of the ten emerging markets of the world. Now under the present regime corruption and poverty is rampant. Transparency International rated the present regime more corrupt than any of its civilian predecessors. Some academics call Pakistan a failed state. Others fear a militant take over of the country that could trigger a conflict over who controls Pakistan's nuclear assets bringing death and destruction to the Nation.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is a towering political leader with the mass support and is the only hope of the people to save Pakistan from a catastrophe. She will win any fair election hands down because people of Pakistan know from experience that her leadership will provide them hope and opportunity, respect and honour, peace and security as well as the compassion so necessary to create a caring society.

EMEL magazine, January 2008

Labels: Benazir Bhutto, bhutto, democracy, Pa, Pakistan People's Party, ppp

Labels: Benazir Bhutto, history, pakistan, Pakistan People's Party

Labels: Benazir Bhutto, pakistan, zia

Labels: ambassador, bilawal house, Karachi, pakistan, ppp

Benazir Bhutto arrives in Karachi with a prescription for her country
BENAZIR BHUTTO
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
October 18, 2007 at 10:18 AM EDT

As I board the plane that takes me home to Pakistan today, I carry with me a manuscript of a book I am writing that will be published shortly.
It is a treatise on the reconciliation of the values of Islam and the West and a prescription for a moderate and modern Islam that marginalizes religious extremists, returns the military from politics to their barracks, treats all citizens and especially women with full and equal rights, selects its leaders by free and fair elections, and provides for transparent, democratic governance that addresses the social and economic needs of the people as its highest priority.
To me, this is not just a book but a campaign manifesto, a guide to governing. If the people of Pakistan honour me again with an opportunity to lead, I fully intend to practise what I preach, to have my actions match my rhetoric and to make Pakistan a positive model for one billion Muslims around the world.
For 60 years, my nation has lurched between military dictatorships and democracy. The promise that is Pakistan has been stifled by political oppression and economic stagnation. For almost a decade, we have been ruled by a military dictatorship. For the past five years, we have been challenged by an international terrorism movement that seems, unfortunately, to have the tribal areas of Pakistan at its very epicentre. These are not ordinary times, and they require extraordinary solutions.
Over the past several months, I have negotiated with General Pervez Musharraf to simultaneously ensure a transition to democracy in Pakistan and to mobilize the moderate middle of our society to confront and contain fanatics and extremists. It has been a difficult process, made even more difficult by the resistance of many who now enjoy power in Pakistan to accepting a democratic alternative.
But the long discussions have borne some fruit. In September, Gen. Musharraf promised Pakistan's Supreme Court he would retire from the post of army chief before taking the oath of office for President for a new term. This month, the government of Pakistan announced a set of confidence-building measures codified initially in the Ordinance of National Reconciliation to pave the way for a legitimate and accountable Parliament.
It is not a perfect agreement, and it certainly is not an end to the process. But it is an important beginning to the transition to democracy, with the goal of bringing reform and political change without the chaos and bloodshed under which extremism and militancy thrive. In the next phase, more confidence-building measures are expected.
As I board the plane to Pakistan, I am fully aware that the supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda have publicly threatened my assassination.
Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has said his terrorists will "welcome" me on my return. Everyone understands the meaning of these comments. And I fully understand the men behind al-Qaeda. They have tried to assassinate me twice before. The Pakistan People's Party and I represent everything they fear the most - moderation, democracy, equality for women, information and technology. We represent the future of a modern Pakistan, a future that has no place in it for ignorance, intolerance and terrorism.
The forces of moderation and democracy must, and will, prevail against extremism and dictatorship. I will not be intimidated. I will step out on the tarmac in Karachi not to complete a journey, but to begin one. Despite the death threats, I will not acquiesce to tyranny, but lead the fight against it.
Ms. Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, returned to her native land today after eight years in exile.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071018.wcobhutto18/BNStory/Front

Labels: Benazir Bhutto, Karachi, native, pakistan

By Benazir Bhutto

The forces of moderation and democracy must, and will, prevail against extremism and dictatorship. I will not be intimidated. Despite threats of death, I will not acquiesce to tyranny, but rather lead the fight against itAs I board the plane that takes me home to Pakistan today, I carry with me a manuscript of a book. It is a treatise on the reconciliation of the values of Islam and the West and a prescription for a moderate, modern Islam that marginalises extremists, returns the military from politics to their barracks, treats all citizens and especially women equally and selects its leaders by free and fair elections.To me this is not just a book but a campaign manifesto, a guide to governing. If the people of Pakistan honour me again with an opportunity to lead, I intend to practise what I preach and to make Pakistan a positive model