Benazir enters contest for party leadership

Karachi |By A Correspondent | Gulf Times 23-07-2002

Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto will contest the leadership of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in a bid to qualify for national elections due in October, her spokesman said yesterday.

It will be the first time since the formation of the PPP in 1967 that it will hold internal elections for the party's top leadership, the spokesman said, adding that the vote will be taken by August 5.

However, political analysts do not expect a challenge for Bhutto from within the party.

The party's central executive committee will be meeting in southern Karachi today to work out the modalities of the elections including that of the chairperson, spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

"All the party office-bearers will be elected through secret ballot as per conditions of the election commission," Babar said, adding that current chairperson Bhutto will contest the same post.

He said the physical presence of Bhutto, who has been living in self-imposed exile since 1998, was not required for her to run for office.

Elections within the party have been included in the proposed constitution package announced by military ruler President Pervez Musharraf who has been criticised by the main opposition parties, including the PPP.

Earlier yesterday, the PPP had said Bhutto has not resigned from the party leadership in response to reports in a section of press that she is quitting the top slot. These are "entirely erroneous statements," the spokesman said.

"It is stated once again that there is no truth in the reports of Bhutto's resignation from the chairpersonship of the party," he said. "She has been the party leader yesterday and will be the leader tomorrow as well."

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who accuses both Bhutto and another former premier Nawaz Sharif of massive corruption and abuse of power, has vowed that both these leaders won't be allowed any role in the future political setup.

The government says that Bhutto, who faces several corruption charges, would be arrested on her arrival to Pakistan.

Bhutto is living in self-imposed exile since early 1999. A court has given her two separate three-year prison terms for continued absence from the judicial proceedings in two separate corruption cases.

Bhutto denies the charges and accuses the military government of victimisation.

"The party has been invited by Musharraf for talks, but the final decision will be taken by the central committee in consultation with the opposition's Alliance for Restoration for Democracy (ARD)," the spokesman said.

Provincial Sindh PPP president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro added: "We will contest the elections and will not leave the field open for pro-government candidates."

"She has not yet been disqualified as she has appealed against the conviction in the superior courts," Khuhro said.

PPP acting secretary general Raza Rabbani said: "PPP and Bhutto go together, come what the military regime thinks and want, the party has already decided to nominate her as premier for the third time."

In a newspaper interview published yesterday, Bhutto said President Musharraf is aiming to solidify military rule of Pakistan rather than restore democracy as he has promised.

Bhutto said other countries must support restoration of democracy in Pakistan, drawing parallels to neighbouring Afghanistan.

"The world walked away from Afghanistan in 1989 when it could have stayed to build democracy. That gave rise to the Taliban and Al Qaida," she said in an interview in The News.

"It is important that the world community now supports democracy in Pakistan, otherwise the consequences could be horrific," she said.

Bhutto's statements added to the wave of criticism that has hit Musharraf since he proposed constitutional amendments that would create a military-loaded council to watch over the next elected government, with powers to fire the prime minister, cabinet and the entire parliament.