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'The poor and shirtless of Pak are my strength'
Published on Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 02:30, Updated at Wed, Sep 12, 2007 in World section
Tags: Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan
PEOPLE'S PERSON? Bhutto insists she is not under American pressure but pressure from the people of Pakistan.
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Karan Thapar: If all of that may happen without your being involved, how does your involvement make this more likely?
Benazir Bhutto: That is not true. That is absolutely not true. It think that it was the involvement of the Pakistan People’s Party through dialogue and street pressure which has lead to a particular situation Pakistan.
Karan Thapar: Do you mean with that pressure General Musharraf would still be retaining his uniform not even talking of shedding?
Benazir Bhutto: Yes, I think that if the pressure of the Pakistan People’s Party as well as of the other democratic forces would not be there then the Chief Justice would not have been reinstated. That was a very critical point on our country’s history.
Karan Thapar: Did you play a role in the reinstatement of the Chief Justice?
Benazir Bhutto:My party was very critical.
Karan Thapar: What about the fact that people say that Benazir Bhutto is the one person who ensures that Musharraf gets five years as President? Without her support and without the understanding it is the end of Musharraf, but she ensuring that he survives?
Benazir Bhutto: I don’t agree with that assessment. I think General Musharraf could be replaced by another General. I don’t believe that the jehadi forces are in the restoration of democracy. The jehadi force that the destabilised the PPP government in 1996 made sure that when Mr Nawaz Sharif was removed there was martial law so PPP would not go down.
In Pakistan it is a battle between dictatorship and democracy but it also battle between moderation and extremism.
Karan Thapar: Which is the more important one?
Benazir Bhutto: They are both important.
Karan Thapar: At the moment you seem to be supporting the survival of a dictator in the belief that he is liberal like you.
Benazir Bhutto: I don’t believe in the survival of dictatorship. I believe in democracy. There have been contacts in 1999 that have not led to an agreement. Mr Nawaz Sharif did sign an agreement with Saudi and Lebanese guarantees and he left. If I had done the same democracy would have died in Pakistan and we would be in a situation like Husni Mubarrak.
Karan Thapar: So in other words, by accepting exile and not doing a deal, you have kept the flame of democracy alive.
Benazir Bhutto: My husband was in prison so I didn’t accept the exile. I went into exile myself and it was not a comfortable exile. There was once a time when I was dragged from one courtroom to another, I had litigation, I was slandered in the press, I had Interpol notices and I could hardly go from airport to airport without knowing that I would be arrested. If I too had said why should I be troubled and thought of my self then there would have been no democracy today in Pakistan.
I have fought for the democratic rights of my people and I am grateful to the people of Pakistan who support me despite the propaganda of my opponents.
Karan Thapar: The challenge that now lies ahead of you is this- without an understanding will you return? You will be arrested like Nawaz Sharif, you could face trial or you could end up in jail. Will you return of you don’t have an understanding?
Benazir Bhutto: Yes. I will return. I announced on January 5 of this year that I would be returning to Pakistan and whether there is an understanding or not. The reason there has been no understanding to date is because I have refused to accept anything for myself. I have been fighting to get something for the people of Pakistan. Through this process of dialogue, I have insured that the elections that were promised in Pakistan not be derailed.
There could have been an emergency and there could have been an imposition of martial law, but during these critical months from January to September, we have averted such a disaster and we have done so because we always kept the doors of dialogue open for a peaceful political transition towards democracy in our country.
Karan Thapar: My last question is that is there an outer date by when you will be back on Pakistan soil?
Benazir Bhutto: My party intends to announce the date of my return on September 14. We want to announce it from the soil of Pakistan.
Karan Thapar: And what ever that date is, you will abide by it, you won’t change it.
Benazir Bhutto: I don’t change dates. There has been no dates announced so far because when a date is announced, the date is implemented.
Karan Thapar: Thank you for talking to us.
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Total Comments: 13
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if she says that poor people and without shirts are is strength,it means if pakistan will grew then her strength
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Ask her about the millions she and her corrupt family embezzled...that what she meant when she said the shirtless are
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Begum Bhutto does not need votes of people who can afford shirt to cover their bodies, mullahs of pakistan, tumne
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Dear Karavadi Raghava Rao,The only reason the late PM Mr. Morarji Desai could not bring himself to condemn the death
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Why don't you realise that China is a bigger threat to India than Pakistan or USA ?History will tell that
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