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The Rediff Interview/Benazir Bhutto
 

January 2006

Islamabad, 28 January 2006: The Pakistan Peoples Party has decided to take head on the regime in Pakistan and its efforts to abuse the Interpol process. In this regard Senator Farooq H Naek, the Counsel of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Senator Asif Ali Zardari has written a letter to the Secretary General Interpol, Ronald Kenneth Noble asking him not to become a vehicle in the government of Pakistan campaign against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Senator Asif Ali Zardari to settle political scores with them. He has also demanded of the Secretary General Interpol to withdraw Red Notice if it has been issued.

Senator Farooq H Naek in a letter addressed to the Secretary General Interpol gave a detailed history of victimisation of the most popular leadership in Pakistan since November 1996 when her government was illegally removed, He wrote, "In a bid to persecute and politically victimize Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Mr. Zardari, after the dismissal of her government in 1996, under the cover of so called accountability, a number of false and cooked up Accountability References were filed before hostile and partial judges to ensure the conviction of both Mohtarma Bhutto and Mr. Zardari at all costs under a specially tailored law known as Ehtesab Act 1997 which was later on replaced by National Accountability Bureau Ordinance (NAB) Ordinance 1999 by the present regime. The sole purpose of these laws was and is to persecute, pressurize, blackmail, harass and defame the reputation of opposition politicians and use it to coerce them to succumb to the illegal designs and wishes of the despotic regime for the purpose of change of loyalties and allegiance to opposition political party to which they belong. Some of the opposition legislators were forced to join government party either by filing cases under NAB Ordinance or threatening them with action under NAB Ordinance. Glaring examples are that some of the present cabinet members against whom References under NAB Ordinance are pending or withdrawn."

Farooq H Naek further wrote, "It is pertinent to mention over here that Mohtarma Bhutto had left Pakistan with the permission of the court and her personal attendance was dispensed with in the References filed by former Ehtesab Bureau by the Lahore High Court, Lahore in the Writ Petition filed by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The order in the SGS Case was passed by the court in her absence. The appeal filed by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto against the judgment convicting her in the SGS Case was admitted and heard by the Supreme Court in her absence. It was held by the Supreme Court that Mohtarma Bhutto had not fled from the jurisdiction of the court and is residing within territory of another State and her personal attendance had been dispensed with by Supreme Court after her conviction when she was residing within territory of another State (1999 SCMR 1619). The Government had also instituted corruption case against Mohtarma Bhutto for providing employment to the youth of Pakistan in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA Case) before the Accountability Court in Karachi. In this case also Mohtarma Bhutto was granted exemption from personal appearance before the Accountability Court by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and ultimately the case resulted in the acquittal of Mohtarma Bhutto in November 2005. The entire PIA Case proceeded and the judgment was announced in the absence of Mohtarma Bhutto."

Citing the facts about proceedings of concocted and baseless cases, he wrote, "On the basis of Section 31A, the Accountability courts acting under the instructions of the government, passed orders in 2002 sentencing Mohtarma Bhutto under the said section for non-appearance before the court (the decisions / judgments have not been pronounced on the merits of References / Cases) despite the fact that the court was informed by her counsel that the Lahore High Court in Writ Petition No. 26421 of 1998 gave permission to Mohtarma Bhutto to proceed abroad and her counsel Sardar Latif Khosa Advocate undertook to appear on her behalf before courts. Mr. Khosa had appeared before the said courts and submitted that in his presence Mohtarma Bhutto cannot be declared as an absconder and convicted for non-appearance. However the plea of Mr. Khosa was not accepted and against the said decision appeal filed before Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench by Mr. Khosa Advocate is pending adjudication. Furthermore in its recent judgments, Supreme Court has held that a person cannot be tried and convicted in absentia being violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973. Thus the correct facts are that Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has not been convicted on merits by any court in Pakistan, the appeal against the order of conviction for non-appearance is pending before the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, the Honourable Supreme Court has held that the conviction in absentia is violative of Constitution rendering provision of Section 31A of NAB Ordinance unlawful, unconstitutional and null and void. Moreover Mohtarma Bhutto left the country in March 1999 with the permission of the court and her personal appearance in the pending References at the time of her departure from Pakistan was exempted by the courts. Recently in November 2005, Mohtarma Bhutto had appeared before the Swiss Magistrate in Geneva, Switzerland and the government was also represented before the Magistrate. Thus the Government of Pakistan is fully aware and in knowledge of the whereabouts of Mohtarma Bhutto. As such she cannot be treated and termed as a fugitive from law and absconder by any figment of imagination."

Regarding the cases against Asif Ali Zadari, he wrote, "As far as Mr. Asif Ali Zardari is concerned, he was released from prison in November 2004 on orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan after 8 years in prison without a conviction. However during his confinement, he was acquitted in two corruption cases by the concerned High Courts (KESC and Steel Mills Case), one murder case, two suicide cases and two cases under Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. Mr Zardari remained confined in prison from November 1996 uptil November 2004 (8 years). During this period Mr Zardari was kept in solitary confinement and was not provided the proper medical treatment despite the fact he was suffering from various ailments. The regime acceded to the orders of the courts for providing him medical treatment reluctantly and after inordinate delay. After his release from prison on the order of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Mr Zardari's name was removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) and passport was provided to him by the government in response to the petition filed by Mr Zardari before Sindh High Court Karachi. Thereafter Mr Zardari many a times went abroad and came back to Pakistan. On account of inhuman treatment in prison and failure of the regime to allow him to do exercise despite order of court and due to the stress from attacks on his reputation and threats to his liberty and life, Mr. Zardari suffered a heart attack in June 2005 while in Dubai where he had gone to meet his children and wife Mohtarma Bhutto with the implied permission and to the knowledge of the government. He had to undergo emergency angioplasty. His entire major artery, the LADD, was blocked and it was a miracle he survived with God's Grace. Two stents were put into his major artery and ballooning was also done. Mr. Zardari's counsel informed the courts about his ailment and request was made for the adjournment of the cases against him till he returns to Pakistan. Many a times adjournments were granted on this ground. Mr. Zardari himself sent applications to the Accountability Courts informing them about his ill health and requested for adjournment. However later on the Courts declined to accede to the requests."

Farooq Naek wrote, "Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as well as Mr Asif Ali Zardari are willing to come back to Pakistan and they are not evading the process of the courts. On the contrary General Musharaf is on the record of saying that he would not allow Mohtarma Bhutto to come back to Pakistan. Keeping in view the above described facts and circumstances and the Interpol's Charter, it is apparent that neither Ms Bhutto nor Mr. Zardari can be termed as fugitives. Both of them neither concealed their person nor deliberately and intentionally failed to appear before the Accountability Courts" and asked the Secretary General Interpol, "In the interest of justice and to avoid the abuse of process of law, it is requested that the undersigned be informed as to whether Government of Pakistan has made any request for the issuance of Red Notice / Warrant against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari. In case such a request has been made, it is requested that in view of aforesaid facts, such request may not be entertained and a fair hearing be given to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari before the issuance of Red Notice / Warrant. And in case the request of the Government of Pakistan has already been entertained, the Red Notice / Warrant may kindly be withdrawn and a fair hearing be given to both of them to explain the real and correct facts."

Islamabad January 27, 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has expressed profound grief and shock over the death of veteran politician and ANP Rahbar Abdul Wali Khan.

In a condolence message the former Prime Minister paid rich tributes to late Wali Khan saying that he was one of the last freedom fighters in the Indo-Pak subcontinent whose struggle and sacrifices in the cause of freedom will be long remembered. She said that after independence Wali Khan devoted his life to the struggle for restoration of democracy and rights of the smaller federating units and left a deep imprint on the national political scene.

Wali Khan fought the battle for life as tenaciously as he had fought the battle for democracy and the rights of oppressed people during his lifetime, she said. His last brave battle for life was as courageous and dauntless as was his political struggle in life.

She said that in his death Pakistan had lost one of those rare leaders of people who adopt politics as a means for the emancipation of their people and not for their personal aggrandisement.

Many may have disagreed with his political views but none will assert that Wali Khan did not believe in the values that he so passionately advocated and pleaded, she said.

She also prayed for the departed soul of Wali Khan to rest in eternal peace and for courage to the members of bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.

On the instructions of Mohtarma Bhutto a Party delegation led by Makhdoom Amin Fahim also visited Peshawar to participate in the funeral of late Wali Khan. Led by Makhdoom Amin Fahim the delegation included MNAs Raja Pervez Ashraf and Aitzaz Ahsan and Senators Enver Baig and Farhatullah Babar. Provincial PPP President Rahimdad Khan and MPAs Iftikhar Jhagra and Zahir Ali Shah besides other PPP leaders also attended the funeral.

Islamabad, 27 January 2006: "The days of the Pakistani military regime are numbered and all its efforts to malign the name of the most popular leadership of Pakistani masses through abuse of Interpol process would miserably fail". This was said by Senator Dr. Safdar Abbasi in a statement today.

Senator Abbasi said that the political midgets of the regime who had been claiming that the Swiss investigation would determine the future of Pakistan Peoples Party and its leadership, have lost their faces as the government of Pakistan has requested to delay the hearing in Switzerland because the political arm of the regime, the NAB, has realised that the case is lost in Geneva. Now after NAB’s failure in its efforts despite wasting millions on fabricating false charges and pursuing it in Pakistan and abroad, the regime has resorted in requesting the Interpol knowing well that these efforts would come to nothing. This is only to create a false perception that Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is running away from the law whereas the fact is that Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Senator Asif Ali Zardari are being represented in every case against them through their lawyers and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has assisted the Swiss magistrate’s inquiry in person.

Senator Dr. Safdar Abbasi said that the NAB is heavily manned by the same jihadi element, which had supported Taliban and facilitated the rise of Al-Qaida in Afghanistan. This jihadi element is hell bent to remove the biggest democratic force in Pakistani politics but the people of Pakistan would never allow the regime to fulfil its jihadi agenda. He said that there was another dictator in the past by the name of General Zia who wanted to eliminate the name of Bhutto but the legacy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lives on and people of Pakistan have continued to repose their confidence on the leadership of the brave daughter of a brave leader, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. He said that the military regime’s grip on the power is slipping away since Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has announced to return and lead Pakistan Peoples Party in the next elections.

Islamabad, 25 January 2006: Senator Farooq H Naek, the legal counsel of the former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Senator Asif Ali Zardari has asked the government of Pakistan to inform him that if any request has been made by the Government of Pakistan to Interpol for the issuance of Red Notice / Warrant against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari and if such a request has been made, the basis and grounds of making the request may also be disclosed and in case request has been made by the Government of Pakistan to Interpol for the issuance of Red Notice / Warrant against Mohtarma Bhutto and Mr Zardari, the same may kindly be withdrawn forthwith and the undersigned be informed about it.

Senator Farooq H Naek in a letter addressed to Secretary Ministry of Interior, Government of Pakistan Syed Kamal Shah, wrote, "As Advocate of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari, I have read with grave concern in the newspaper "The News" Islamabad dated 23 January 2006 that on the request of the Government of Pakistan, Red Notice / Warrants against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari are likely to be issued by the Interpol. I would like to emphasize that if such a request has been made, the same is politically motivated and is based on fabricated and concocted facts."

Detailing the legal proceedings of the politically motivated, fabricated and concocted cases against his clients, Senator Naek wrote, "The correct facts are that Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has not been convicted on merits by any court in Pakistan, the appeal against the order of conviction for non-appearance is pending before the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, the Honourable Supreme Court has held that the conviction in absentia is violative of Constitution rendering provision of Section 31A of NAB Ordinance unlawful, unconstitutional and null and void. Moreover Mohtarma Bhutto left the country in March 1999 with the permission of the court and her personal appearance in the pending References at the time of her departure from Pakistan was exempted by the courts. Recently in November 2005, Mohtarma Bhutto had appeared before the Swiss Magistrate in Geneva, Switzerland and the government was also represented before the Magistrate. Thus the government is fully aware and in knowledge of the whereabouts of Mohtarma Bhutto. As such she cannot be treated and termed as a fugitive from law and absconder by any figment of imagination. As far as Mr. Asif Ali Zardari is concerned, he was released from prison in November 2004 on orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan after 8 years in prison without a conviction. However during his confinement, he was acquitted in two corruption cases by the concerned High Courts (KESC and Steel Mills Case), one murder case, two suicide cases and two cases under Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. Mr Zardari remained confined in prison from November 1996 uptil November 2004 (8 years). During this period Mr Zardari was kept in solitary confinement and was not provided the proper medical treatment despite the fact he was suffering from various ailments. The regime acceded to the orders of the courts for providing him medical treatment reluctantly and after inordinate delay. After his release from prison on the order of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Mr Zardari's name was removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) and passport was provided to him by the government in response to the petition filed by Mr Zardari before Sindh High Court Karachi. Thereafter Mr Zardari many a times went abroad and came back to Pakistan. On account of inhuman treatment in prison and failure of the regime to allow him to do exercise despite order of court and due to the stress from attacks on his reputation and threats to his liberty and life, Mr. Zardari suffered a heart attack in June 2005 while in Dubai where he had gone to meet his children and wife Mohtarma Bhutto with the implied permission and to the knowledge of the government. He had to undergo emergency angioplasty. His entire major artery, the LADD, was blocked and it was a miracle he survived with God's Grace. Two stents were put into his major artery and ballooning was also done."

He further wrote, "The courts in a most inequitable and unlawful manner ordered for the issuance of non-bailable warrants against Mr. Zardari. The bias and malice of the court towards Mr. Zardari is obvious. Mr. Zardari is not an absconder and fugitive from law. He left the country after Pakistan authorities removed his name from the Exit Control List (ECL). He has suffered heart attack and had two angioplasty. By insisting on Mr. Zardari's personal presence, the courts are pleasing the Pakistan authorities who are seeking to stress Mr. Zardari to aggravate his heart problem and prevent his early recovery. This is a form of torture. The government has obtained orders from the courts to exploit these orders with malicious purposes. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as well as Mr Asif Ali Zardari are willing to come back to Pakistan and they are not evading the process of the courts. On the contrary General Musharaf is on the record of saying that he would not allow Mohtarma Bhutto to come back to Pakistan."

A copy of the letter has also been sent to Mr. Ronald Kenneth Noble, Secretary General, Interpol, Lyon, France with the request to inform as to whether Government of Pakistan has made any request for the issuance of Red Notice / Warrant against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari. "In case such a request has been made, it is requested that in view of aforesaid facts the same may not be entertained. And in case the request of the Government of Pakistan has already been entertained, the Red Notice / Warrant may kindly be withdrawn" the request reads.

Islamabad, 25 January 2006: Naheed Khan MNA, the political secretary to the Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, has very strongly condemned Musharraf’s regime for running a vilification campaign against the most popular leadership of the country just to continue its illegal hold on the power.

Naheed Khan in a statement said that the efforts by the regime to abuse Interpol process and maligning the name of the former prime minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is work of Jihadi elements in the NAB on the behest of General Musharraf to pursue the terrorist agenda of marginalizing democratic forces. How many people have been brought back by Pakistan through red warrant, she asked the regime? This Jihadi element has plunged Pakistan deep into trouble by supporting Taliban and facilitating the rise of Al-Qaeda. Now they want to punish the popular leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for leading the people of Pakistan in their struggle for freedom from the shackles of tyranny. In the past Osama Bin Ladin distributed money to get support against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and now General Musharraf is wasting hard earned national wealth for the propaganda campaign against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Naheed Khan said that the Pakistani Establishment is suffering from Bhutto phobia because the legacy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lives on and people of Pakistan continue to support the brave daughter of the brave leader in the fight against usurpers of power that belongs to the people. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will soon return to the country and lead the peoples’ struggle against dictatorship, she concluded
 

Islamabad, 25 January 2006: "My country Pakistan is an example of a Nation where the forces of tyranny, terrorism, proliferation and a marginal, yet militant interpretation of Islam mingle to create an extraordinarily dangerous challenge. The democratisation of Pakistan is important to the war against terror, to the interpretation of Islam as a message of freedom and enlightenment as well as to the empowerment of the people of Pakistan".

This was said by the former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto while addressing a distinguished gathering at Desert Forum attended by intellectuals, academics, policy strategists and opinion makers in Indian Wells California, USA today.

She said that the question before the world is whether the path to catastrophe and the clash of civilizations is reversible. "The Pakistani military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, has made a choice. And his choice is to stand by and let terrorists operate freely the territory of Pakistan. These terrorists may actually control territory where Bin Laden has sanctuary. And the West too has made a choice"

She said that by acquiescing to the Musharaf dictatorship, they have empowered him to defy the world and cooperate with the forces of terror. As in all governing, choices have consequences. The choice to sustain dictatorship in Pakistan has consequences both in the short and long term that threaten the interests of the West as well as the values of democracy in the East. Much of our ability to avert the clash of civilizations lies in learning the lessons of history.

She said that Islam is a religion of moderation, tolerance and equal right for all. "Central to the issue of religion in modern society is the treatment of women. In the post September 11th environment, the true nature of Islam has been so distorted by those who would politicise it, that Islam has become not only something foreign to the rest of the world but also something feared"

She said "There is no religion on earth that, in its writings, is more respectful of the role of women in society than Islam. It is this tradition of Islam that has allowed me to battle for political and human rights, and strengthens me today.

Our religion is not only committed to tolerance and equality, but it is committed to the principles of democracy. The Holy Book says that Islamic society is contingent on "mutual advice through mutual discussions on an equal footing." In Islam dictatorship is never condoned, nor is cruelty. The Q'oran, in its very essence, is an anti-terrorism doctrine, she said.

About the nexus between the extremists and the military dictatorship in Pakistan she said, It is well known that there is sympathy for Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the insurrectionists in Iraq among Pakistan's military and clerical class. These were the two entities used to train the Mujahideen against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. They were armed and supported by the United States, both overtly and covertly. Following the withdrawal of the Soviets, the Mujahideen went on to become in large part the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

She said that Pakistan's military dictatorship has resulted in the domination of the country's political, financial and social class by the military. It has led to the rise in power and importance of fundamentalist religious parties. These religious parties are public supporters of Bin Laden and Mullah Omar of Afghanistan. They have filled the vacuum caused by the military regime's determination to sideline the genuine representatives of the people of Pakistan. Extremism has replaced moderation in a despotic Pakistan, she said.

Regarding the fast diminishing image of the lone Superpower the United States she said, "Sadly, the world's only superpower may have missed a precious opportunity, may have squandered its unipolar moment to truly lead the world socially, economically, politically and militarily. Those who have cautioned the developing world to be responsible and restrained in our fiscal and budgetary priorities have not practiced what they have preached. And mounting Western debt threatens the stability of the interconnected global economy. A problematic intervention in Iraq has lead to tens upon tens of thousands Iraqi deaths, more than 2300 American and British deaths, and an increase in the U.S. national debt of 300 billion dollars, with no end in sight to the human and financial costs of this tragic miscalculation".

Regarding her achievement during the two tenures in the government and the fear of fundamentalists by change in the society she said, "The extremist's greatest fear, wherever they live, is the spread of information, social equality and democracy. These three principles choke off the oxygen of terrorism. Information leads to change. Change is something that many fear and will not tolerate. I am proud that we methodologically implemented change in Pakistani society. We heralded the information age by introducing fax machines, digital papers, fiber optic communications, cellular telephones, satellite dishes, computers, Internet, e-mail and even bringing CNN to Pakistan".

She said that under her government Pakistan integrated into the global economy and it became one of the top ten emerging capital markets of the world, attracting over 20 billion dollars in foreign investments, particularly in power generation. We eradicated polio in our country. We dramatically reduced infant mortality. The World Bank held up our economic program as a model to the entire developing world. Despite institutional and social constraints, when I became prime Minister of Pakistan I used my office to try to reverse centuries of discrimination against women. My tenure was a textbook affirmative action program against gender discrimination. We increased literacy by one-third, even more dramatically among girls. We built over 30,000 primary and secondary schools, targeting rural Pakistan. We brought down the population growth rate by establishing women's health clinics in thousands of communities across our Nation.

She said that her government outlawed domestic violence and established special women's police forces to protect and defend the women of Pakistan. "We appointed women judges to our nation's benches for the first time in our history. We instituted a new program of hiring women police officers to investigate crimes of domestic violence against the women of Pakistan. I systematically appointed women judges to the courts of the land for the first time. I condemned the so-called honor killings by members of their own families against women. I encouraged women's and girl's participation in sports, both nationally and internationally by lifting the ban imposed on their participation. We believed that the best way to guarantee literate children is to educate literate mothers, and thus my government targeted adult women for remedial education programs. I refused attempts by reactionary forces within my country to turn Pakistan into a theocracy. We have all prayed for a world of reason, of abundant resources, of equality and above all, of peace".

Regarding terrorists threat and the US policy Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said, "In the closing days of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, during a State visit to America, I cautioned that US policy to defeat the Soviets had empowered and emboldened the most fanatical, extremist elements of the Afghan seven-faction Mujahideen at the expense of the moderates, creating a "Frankenstein" that could come back to haunt us in the future. Yet the early decisions by Western nations with the then- Pakistani regime counterpart to arm, train, supply and legitimise the most extreme fanatics sowed the seeds for the 21s century terrorism that is now swirling around us, she said.

She said that just as the Pakistani dictator Zia ul Haq played the West like a fiddle over Afghanistan, the Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharaf plays America like a fiddle over the war on terror. The fundamental mistake that lead ultimately to the creation of Al Qaeda out of the remnants of the Afghan Jihad and thus contributed to a long-term historical calamity, was that we were not consistently committed to the values of freedom, democracy, social equality and self-determination that ultimately undermine and belie the basic tenets of terrorism.

Regarding the double standards displayed by the West she said, "Unfortunately, we do not always view the world -- its peoples, its cultures and its religions -- with a single moral standard. The West chooses to apply human rights standards when politically expedient, not as a central and universal principle of policy, she said.

She said that only electoral process can not guarantee human liberation and prosperity. She said that liberty and freedom depend on social and economic justice, and above all on the universal, non-selective application of human rights to all citizens of the world. She said that democracy is not just about elections. It is equally about governing.

"Justice is economic independence. Justice is social equality. Nations make choices. And choices lead to consequences -- political consequences, economic consequences, social consequences. And these consequences are intertwined. They are difficult to separate. The child who is starving has no human rights. The girl who is illiterate has no future. The woman who cannot plan her life, plan her family, plan a career, is fundamentally not free -- irrespective of constitutions and elections. Economic development and political development are surely linked, but both are predicated on guaranteed human rights. And the cause of human rights must begin within us, within our individual communities and within our own nations".

Islamabad, 9 January 2006: Pakistan Peoples Party has apprised the United Nations of the inability of the military dictatorship in Pakistan to provide justice as required under the constitution, human rights and good governance.

Senator Rukhsana Zuberi in a letter addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Leandro Despony wrote, "I refer to the Mir Murtaza Bhutto case being tried by Judge Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani of Karachi District East in which former Senator Asif Ali Zardari has been falsely implicated. Mr. Zardari moved a petition which was heard this January asking Judge Sherwani not to hear this Case. Mr. Zardari apprehended that since the brother of the judge was a NAB Deputy Prosecutor General, he must have been putting pressure on him (the judge) to decide the matter against Mr. Zardari. In this regard, Mr. Zardari cited the example when he filed an acquittal application, NAB immediately called the file of the Case which it had no business to do to influence the Case. Consequently, the application was rejected as the Court came under NAB’s influence."

She further wrote, "Sessions Judge Karachi East, Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani is the brother of Brigadier (retd) Shafat Nabi Sherwani who is presently working as Deputy Prosecutor General, NAB, Sindh. Mr Zardari apprehends that his applications for acquittal and exemption from personal appearance in the Court were rejected due to pressure from NAB."

Giving the background of the case Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, wrote, "It may be recalled that following the overthrow of the PPP government, a Commission was established to investigate the Murtaza Murder Case headed by a Supreme Court Judge. That Commission established by Bhutto-Zardari opponents exonerated Mr. Zardari from involvement in Murtaza Bhutto's murder. Moreover, investigators hired by the then government in 1996 said that it could not rule out that the murder of Murtaza Bhutto was a conspiracy to overthrow the government of his sister."

"Judge Sherwani should not hear the Case because it raises issues of propriety and separation of prosecution and judgment. Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done which is not the case in Pakistan. I hope you will raise this issue as it is one which impinges on justice, human rights and good governance", she concluded.

 

Islamabad January 8, 2006: Leader of the opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has issued the following statement today.

"The police action against PPP workers and leaders in Lahore today is an act of highhandedness by a nervous regime and is condemned in the strongest terms.

"The meeting in Lahore today of the Party leadership and MPs from Punjab was aimed at reiterating the Party’s position on the Kalabagh Dam, Balochistan and to express confidence in the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

"This was the constitutional and legal right of the Party but the regime panicked and raided the houses and offices of Party workers and leaders and chased them to prevent them from assembly and meeting.

"The Party demands that cognisance be taken of the incidents of highhandedness in Lahore and those responsible brought to justice.

"Under the leadership of Chairperson Mohtarma Bhutto the Party will continue to agitate issues of national importance and expose the regime’s policy of dividing the people to perpetuate itself in power. The Party workers and leaders will not be intimidated by any show of force"

Islamabad January 8, 2006: Pakistan Peoples Party has condemned the demolition of houses in the Nusrat Bhutto colony in North Nazimabad in Karachi’s Central district and demanded an immediate end to the reign of political victimization.

Residents of the Nusrat Colony have complained to the Party leadership that scores of their houses have been demolished since the take over of the new town administration. They said that the move undertaken behind the façade of widening the road was actually intended to target and harass the PPP supporters who live in the area.

The residents have also complained that not only houses are being demolished but the surrounding Goths were also being bifurcated so as to disperse the PPP voters’ strength in the area.

In a statement today the PPP Sindh President Syed Qasim Ali Shah denounced the move as inhuman, callous and politically motivated and asked the rulers not to go too far in their pursuit of political vendetta.

H said that it was most unfortunate that the very name ‘Nusrat Colony’ was anathema to the rulers because the locality had been named after the former first lady of Pakistan whose family had made unparalleled sacrifices for the country.

Qaim Ali Shah said that previously a katchi abadi, the Nusrat Colony had been regularised and all basic facilities like electricity, gas and water were provided to it residents. It was after regularization that the people built their houses and it was illegal to demolish their houses now, he said.

The Sindh PPP President said that during Zia’s dictatorship also attempts had been made to demolish the colony the attempts were foiled by the Party workers and warned that such attempts will be foiled again.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah demanded that the cruel action must be stopped immediately and the residents allowed to go back to their homes

Islamabad January 7, 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has condoled the death of squash legend Roshan Khan.

Pakistan’s squash legend and former British Open champion Roshan Khan passed away in Karachi on Friday after protracted illness at the age of 77. He was under treatment at a local hospital for the past over one year.

Roshan Khan was the father of another squash legend and President of the World Squash Federation Jehangir Khan.

In a condolence message the former Prime Minister said Roshan Khan was a beacon light for the youth of the country as he demonstrated that no handicap and no difficulty could stand in the way of a determined sportsman to achieve the goal. Roshan Khan had a goal in life and was lifted to it by his dreams and sheer hard work, she said.

The phenomenal rise of Roshan Khan from a most ordinary position in the sport of squash to the pinnacle of championship will continue to inspire future generations, the former Prime Minister, adding also ‘the likes of him are born once in generations’.

She said that the name of Roshan Khan had become synonymous with the sport of squash in Pakistan and it was impossible to think of the squash without recalling Roshan Khan.

It is a measure of the new dimensions that he lent to the sports that today the winning strokes are called Roshan Khan strokes, she said.

Roshan Khan won the British Open Championship in 1957 after twice winning earlier the Dunlop Cup International in 1954-55. In the decade of 80’s his son Jehangir Khan strode the squash scene as an unbeaten champion.

She said that the death of Roshan Khan will be mourned not only by his family but the lovers of sport in Pakistan and throughout the world.

Mohtarma Bhutto prayed for the soul of Roshan Khan to rest in peace and also for the courage to the members of the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.

Islamabad January 7, 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto today visited Zabeel Palace to offer condolences on behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party to the new ruler His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, his brother Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum and other family members over the passing away of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al-Maktoum the ruler of Dubai.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum who was also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven Gulf states .He died at 62 during visit to Australia.

During his time, late Shaikh Maktoum played a pivotal role in facilitating the formation of the Federation of the United Arab Emirates. Shaikh Maktoum often visited Pakistan and played a humanitarian role not only for his people but for the people of Pakistan, the Muslim Ummah as well as the larger world community.

With his passing away, the stability is ensured in the safe hands of his brother former Crown Prince and now Ruler Shaikh Mohammad who is credited with the many new initiatives in the economy which has seen Dubai grow at an unprecedented rate.

Earlier on Friday Mohtarma Bhutto had also called on Her Highness Sheikha Aalya widow of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and condoled with her on the death of her husband.

Islamabad January 6, 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto today called on Her Highness Sheikha Aalya widow of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al-Maktoum the ruler of Dubai and condoled with her on the death of her husband.

Mohtarma Bhutto remained with Her Highness Sheikha Aalya for sometime.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum who was also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven Gulf states, died at 62 during visit to Australia.

Condoling with Her Highness Sheikha Aalya the former Prime Minister also paid glowing tributes to the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum as a leader who played a key role in establishing the United Arab Emirates and then striving to raise its stature internationally. She said that late Sheikh Maktoum was a great friend of Pakistan whose death will be mourned for a long time.

She also prayed for the departed soul of Sheikh Maktoum to rest in eternal peace.

Islamabad January 19, 2006: Pakistan Peoples Party today moved a resolution in the Senate to disapprove the Ordinance promulgated on December 22 last by President General Musharraf curtailing the term of office of Members and Chairman from five to three years.

The resolution moved under Rule 132 (2) of the Rules of Business says,

"Under sub paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) clause 2 of Article 89 of the Constitution this House disapproves the Ordinance No. XXV of 2005 issued on December 22, 2005 amending the Public Service Commission ordinance 1977 (Ordinance XLV of 1977)."

The resolution moved by Senator Farhatullah Babar has been moved under the provisions of the Constitution leaving no room for the government to either have it killed it in the Chamber of the Chairman or disallow discussion on it.

Senator Farhatullah Babar also added an explanatory memo explaining the rationale and need for the resolution under the Constitution.

The memo said, "The Ordinance No XXV of 2005 was promulgated on December 22, 2005 just a few days before the session of the National Assembly was to begin and three weeks before the Senate session. It seeks to reduce the term of office of the chairman and Members of the Commission from five to three years.

"The Ordinance was first promulgated last year but was never brought up before either of the House for enactment despite the fact the both houses have met separately for several times during this period. It has now been re-promulgated with a view to bypass the Parliament from law making.

"The Ordinance is manifestly void, unconstitutional, based on malafide and ulterior motives without lawful authority and of no legal effect. It is intend to move the Senate of Pakistan at its coming session starting from Friday January 20, 2006 to disapprove the same under the provisions of the Article 89 of the Constitution.

"It is important to focus on what the Ordinance achieved and why it is being promulgated and re-promulgated just when the Parliament’s session was about to begin and also why it was not placed before either House when it was first promulgated..

"The Ordinance seeks to reduce the term of office of Members from five to three years. Not only that but under 1 (A) it had been given back dated effect. Those who had been appointed for five years and taken oath as such have either been sent home or will soon go home.

"Four members of the commission namely Gul Hanif, Justice Abdur Rehman Khan and Javed Akram and Tariq Saeed Haroon who had not yet completed their five year term have already been relieved. Chairman Gulzar Kiyani would be sent home in the next few weeks in March long before his legal term of office.

"According to the preamble of the Ordinance, ‘President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action’. The effect of the Ordinance resulting in the removal of all five members of the Commission before their term of office needs to be nullified through a disapproval resolution by the Senate. "It is significant to note that on 6-11-04 the Chairman FPSC submitted his annual report to the President as required under the law and requested that he himself wanted to present the report. The Commission’s reports are also to be laid by the President before the NA and Senate under the law. On Dec 3, 2004 a reminder was sent. On 16-6-2005 another reminder was sent but there has been no response from the Presidency nor the report has been laid before the Parliament.

"The FPSC report for 2003 also contained a memo containing objections to the contract appointment of two retired senior military officers namely Agha Masood Hassan as DG Post Offices and Brig Maqsoodul Hassan DG federal government educational institutions. That is why the report has been lying dormant and is not being laid before the Parliament.

In circumstances like these of the re-promulgation of this ordinance it is important that the Senate exercises its Constitutional prerogative to disapprove the same, the memo said.

Islamabad January 16, 2006: Four Senators today requisitioned a meeting of the Senate Human Rights Committee to discuss the human rights violations and custodial killings in Dera Bugti in Baluchistan.

The meeting and visit to Dera Bugti has been requisitioned by opposition leader Mian Raza Rabbani and Senators Farhatullah Babar and Sardar Lateef Khosa of the PPP and Dr Muhammad Said of MMA. Under the rules of procedure the requisitioned meeting has to be convened by the Chairman within two weeks and in the event of the Chairman being unable to do so the Secretary of the Committee is bound to convene it within three weeks.

Senator S. M. Zafar chairs the Senate Human Rights Committee.

Giving reasons and objects of the requisitioned meeting the movers said,

"-There have been widespread reports of violations of human rights including custodial killings during the past weeks allegedly by some agencies in some parts of Baluchistan. On January 2, 2006 a very graphic and painful description of such violations also appeared on the web placed by a sitting Senator Mr Sanaullha Baloch on behalf of the Baochistan National Party.

Giving further reasons the notice said, "On Sunday January 8, 2006 a team of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) led by its Chairperson Asma Jehangir was fired upon while on its way to Dera Bugti to investigate the allegations of human rights violations". The circumstances surrounding the incident are clouded in mystery raising questions whether Balochistan is being sealed to those wishing to probe, it said.

Further there have also been media reports of custodial killings, the notice said.

In order to discuss the allegations of human rights violations and custodial killings in Dera Bugti and the alleged attempts to cover up it is important that members of the Committee visit Dera Bugti, the notice said adding also "Notable NGOs, media and individuals concerned may also be invited for the meeting".

It may be mentioned that a week before Senator Farhatullah Babar had asked through a formal letter the Chairman of the Committee to arrange visit to Dera Bugti even while formal requisition was under process.

"Keeping in view the urgency and importance I am confident that you will not wait for completing the formality of requisitioning and take steps for Members’ visit to Dera Bugti", the letter said. The formal requisition notice however was submitted today (Monday)..

Islamabad January 16, 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has condoled the death of Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah the ruler of Kuwait.

Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad passed away in Kuwait on Sunday at the age of 79 after remaining in power for almost quarter of a century.

In a condolence message today Mohtarma Bhutto said that Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah was a wise and sagacious ruler who had dedicated his life to the welfare of his people and took Kuwait to greater heights in the comity of nations.

She said the Shaikh Jaber was also a great friend of Pakistan who made significant contributions to its development and promoting relations between the two countries.

Mohtarma Bhutto said that late Shaikh Jaber’s rule would be long remembered for the prosperity he brought to his people and also for the leadership he provided during the critical period of foreign invasion of Kuwait.

Mohtarma Bhutto also prayed for eternal rest to the soul of the departed ruler and patience to the members of the bereaved family and the people of Kuwait to bear the loss with equanimity.

"On behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Pakistan I offer my most profound condolences on the demise of Shaikh Jaber to the government and the people of Kuwait".

Islamabad, 15 January 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has said that it was irrational to spend money on building a second General Headquarters next to the existing one while 58% of the people of Pakistan live on less than $2 a day. The girl who is illiterate has no future but we spend one billion dollars on SAAB aircraft even as we make peace with Indian and make overtures to Israel and therefore face no imminent threat, she said.

She was addressing a large gathering of Pakistani community in New York today.

Debunking the claim of moderation she said, "We cannot claim to believe in moderate enlightenment if we do not fight for it in our own homelands. We cannot imprison a speaker of the National Assembly, a Cabinet Minister, the spouse of a Parliamentarian, because we disagree with their choice of political leader and political party. We cannot say Islamabad respects human rights. While elected Prime Ministers are forced into exile, we cannot say Pakistan has human rights. While NAB finds corruption only in the opposition and not in the ruling party, we cannot say Pakistan has Justice".

She said that international support for the military dictatorship in Pakistan for short term strategic reasons was a mistake. Afghanistan was a tragic case in point of how retreating from the principles of human rights and democracy can have the most tragic unanticipated consequences.

"The goal of the international community’s foreign policy agenda must also be to simultaneously promote stability and to strengthen democratic values -- not selectively but universally, not just because it is convenient but also because it is right".

"This mixture of realism and idealism was best manifest when The United States, under President Bill Clinton, militarily intervened to stop the genocide of Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. Was the US strategically threatened? No. Was it morally threatened by genocide on this planet? Yes".

Regarding West’s claims of being supporter of democracy she said that in the rhetoric of the West, democracy, women’s rights, human rights, and press freedom were important, but apparently only sometimes. Violations of these principles lead to international sanctions -- but only sometimes. If democracy is good for Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, then democracy, and not dictatorship, should be supported in Pakistan, she said.

She said that governing was essentially about making choices and about deciding what is most important and must be addressed immediately. Governing is deciding, in the words of the sociologist Harold Lasswell, who gets what, when and how.

"This is why it is so very important to have a government that is elected, representative, accountable and responsive to the needs of the people".

She asked the Pakistani community in New York to make the choices that can help build a better, brighter Pakistan and a proud Pakistan, where its people live in peace, progress and prosperity as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam and Quaid-e-Awam.

About the political situation in Pakistan she said that political miscalculations had been compounded by the power of Nature.

She said that the nation mourned the devastating earthquake in the Northwest Frontier and in Kashmir that has killed 100,000 of our fellow countrymen and left millions of poor and defenseless Pakistanis to fend for themselves, with little support from their own government, through a cold and dangerous winter.

"Even as we try to come to terms with the earthquake new tensions arise" she said and added, "In Baluchistan, separatist sentiment is running high. A military operation has been launched. Every day we hear of guerrilla attacks on Pakistani installations. The proposal to build Kalabagh Dam threatens to alienate Frontier and Sindh".

The internal tensions in Pakistan take place at a time when our country is in the grip of a military dictatorship.

Regarding the broken promises of General Musharraf she said, "Despite the promise to take off his uniform, General Musharaf did not do so following the elections of 2002. He said everything he has introduced in Pakistan’s interest would have been derailed if he had relinquished his military uniform. One day he will have to take off the uniform. This is why plans based on force do not last, whether they are good or bad. Plans based on political participation last because they give legitimacy. After coming to power, General Musharraf held a referendum like Zia’s. The 2002 election were "pre-rigged" to bring a parliamentary majority he wanted. The mainstream parties were also "broken" to create a majority of one in the National Assembly The pledges he had made about cleaning up the textbooks, reforming the religious seminaries and bringing the jihadi militias to heel, have not been honoured, damaging his international credibility".

About the post 9/11 world and the perception created about Islam she said, "The dictatorship exploits the war against terrorism to stay in power. The war against terrorism begun after the post-September 11th environment has seen the true nature of Islam distorted by those who would politicise it. Islam denounces inequality as the greatest form of injustice. Yet Pakistan, the second largest Muslim country of the world, cannot provide justice to its people irrespective of whether they are politicians or not. It enjoins its followers to combat oppression and tyranny. Yet the shadow of one man rule clouds the future of our country.".

She said that we live in a dictatorship whilst our religion is not committed to tolerance and equality. Torturing and humiliating women is inconsistent with the principles of Islam but the clothes of a United Nations Rapporteur are torn as a collective warning to women of the humiliation that awaits them if they exercise their constitutional right to protest, she sid.

About the Pakistan Peoples Party’s achievements in the government she said that the PPP and she believed that it is through freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law that we can salvage our country from the specter of brutality brought about by one man rule. Information leads to change and was change that the PPP and she devoted herself in two terms in government.

"We introduced freedom by bringing in the information age. Under our government, Pakistan was the first country in the Muslim world to break the shackles of tradition by electing a woman Prime Minister. We were the first country to break the bondage of centralisation by deregulating, privatising and opening financial markets. South Asia and the Middle East are now following the road we introduced in 1988 and 1993".

Under the PPP government Pakistan integrated into the global economy became one of the top ten emerging capital markets of the world, attracting over 20 billion dollars in foreign investments, particularly in power generation. We eradicated polio in our country. We dramatically reduced infant mortality.

The World Bank held up our economic program as a model to the entire developing world. Despite institutional and social constraints, the PPP government reversed centuries of discrimination against women, she said.

"We increased literacy by one-third, even more dramatically among girls. We built over 48,000 primary and secondary schools, targeting rural Pakistan. We brought down the population growth rate by establishing women’s health clinics in thousands of communities across our Nation. We outlawed domestic violence and established special women’s police forces to protect and defend the women of Pakistan. We appointed women judges to our nation’s benches for the first time in our history. We instituted a new program of hiring women police officers to investigate crimes of domestic violence against the women of Pakistan. We encouraged women’s and girl’s participation in sports, both nationally and internationally by lifting the ban imposed on their participation. We refused attempts by reactionary forces within Pakistan to turn into a theocracy. We stopped two such constitutional attempts twice through the Senate".

PPP’s achievements on international front she said, "We facilitated the formation of an interim government of national consensus in Afghanistan where the moderates and hard liners agreed to co-exist. We blocked the Taliban’s solo show in Afghanistan. Within days of the PPP dismissal, the Taliban invited in Osama Bin Laden and permitted the establishment of Al- Qaida training camps. That critical and strategic mistake paved the way for the attack on the Twin Towers and the repercussions that flowed from it culminating in the Afghan and Iraq wars".

On relations with India she said that extraordinary progress was made with the fist nuclear confidence building treaty not to attack each other’s nuclear facilities. Borders were reopened to travel and tourism, and a south Asian preferential tariff agreement that established a free-trade zone between Pakistan, India and the other nations of the region was adopted. She said that the PPP government also called upon all the nations of the region to declare the sub-continent a nuclear free zone.

The PPP government she said was making dramatic progress in relations with India and with containing terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan but moderation and progress is not what supporters of military dictatorship tolerate. A democratic and stable Pakistan, gaining strength economically and moving forward socially under a popular government was their threat. The PPP government was eliminated and every attempt made to eliminate the Party and its leadership, she said.

Following is the full text of Mohtarma Bhutto's speech.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
Community Function
New York PPP
January 15, 2006

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to have this opportunity of addressing members of the Pakistani Community here in New York, the financial center of the world.

I thank you for the warmness of your welcome, for your hospitality and your commitment to Quaid-e-Azam and Quaid-e-Awam’s great democratic principles.

To all of you, Salaam Aleichem, May Peace Be With You.

We gather together at a difficult time in the South Asian region and in this world.

The international situation in which the world finds itself is not what we would have expected in those glorious days of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

The peace dividend -- when the world hoped that the resources of the Cold War could be diverted to international economic and social development -- never materialized.

The stability that we hoped would be achieved in a unipolar world has degenerated into a potentially even more dangerous instability and unpredictability.

Ethnic and religious tensions, long suppressed, have erupted to the surface.

This is not the way we thought it would be just 15 years ago when it appeared that the forces of democracy, human rights and the free market had triumphed and that these positive values would sweep -- unimpeded

-- across the planet.

Some things may be out of our control. But most that has happened has been caused -- directly or indirectly -- by choices that have been made by leaders, by governments, by nations.

Governing is about making choices.

Governing is about setting priorities.

Governing is about deciding what is most important, what cannot wait, and what must be addressed now.

Governing is deciding, in the words of the sociologist Harold Lasswell, who gets what, when and how.

This is why it is so very important to have a government that is elected, representative, accountable and responsive to the needs of the people.

Governing can be deciding whether the social sector or the military sector is fully funded.

It can be deciding who is educated, and who is not.

It can be deciding who is fed, and who is not.

It is deciding where roads are built, and where they are not.

It is, most painfully of all, sometimes deciding between life and death.

It is also about building consensus within nations and between nations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Political miscalculations are compounded by the power of Nature.

We mourn the devastating earthquake in the Northwest Frontier and in Kashmir that has killed 100,000 of our fellow countrymen and left millions of poor and defenseless Pakistanis to fend for themselves, with little support from their own government, through a cold and dangerous winter.

And even as we try to come to terms with an earthquake that shattered so many of our towns and villages, new tensions arise.

In Baluchistan, separatist sentiment is running high. A military operation has been launched. Every day we hear of guerrilla attacks on Pakistani installations.

· Return of Baloach leaders in 1988 by PPP.

The proposal to build Kalabagh Dam threatens to alienate Frontier and Sindh.

Meanwhile General Musharraf went back on yet another promise, the promise he made following the London bombing in July last summer to ensure all foreign students left Pakistani Madrassas by December 2005.

Moreover while political parties have to submit sources of funding to the Election Commission. Schools run by religious leaders do not have to declare sources of funding.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The internal tensions in Pakistan take place at a time when our country is in the grip of a military dictatorship.

Despite the promise to take off his uniform, General Musharaf did not do so following the elections of 2002. He said everything he has introduced in Pakistan’s interest would have been derailed if he had relinquished his military uniform. One day he will have to take off the uniform. This is why plans based on force do not last, whether they are good or bad. Plans based on political participation last because they give legitimacy.

After coming to power, General Musharraf held a referendum like Zia’s. The 2002 election were "pre-rigged" to bring a parliamentary majority he wanted. The mainstream parties were also "broken" to create a majority of one in the National Assembly.

While negotiating the 17th Amendment with the MMA, President Musharraf promised that he would step down in 2004. When the year passed and he still retained the uniform, there was a protest against this breach of promise, which damaged his still somewhat positive image. What he has said now will improve it even less. In December 2004, he had given us a different excuse. He had said the MMA had promised something regarding the National Security Council outside of the text of the 17th Amendment, which it had not fulfilled. He asked the MMA to go to the Supreme Court on the issue, while some experts opined that the text of the 17th Amendment had been so manipulated that he could actually stay on wearing two caps. True to his pledge of plain speaking, he has now admitted that he had actually reneged on a pledge given in earnest to the opposition.

The pledges he had made about cleaning up the textbooks, reforming the religious seminaries and bringing the jihadi militias to heel, have not been honoured, damaging his international credibility.

The dictatorship exploits the war against terrorism to stay in power.

The war against terrorism begun after the post-September 11th environment has seen the true nature of Islam distorted by those who would politicize it.

Islam denounces inequality as the greatest form of injustice. Yet Pakistan, the second largest Muslim country of the world, can not provide justice to its people irrespective of whether they are politicians or not.

It enjoins its followers to combat oppression and tyranny.

Yet the shadow of one man rule clouds the future of our country.

Islam enshrines piety as the sole criteria for judging humankind.

But we see that it is political affiliation, gender or minority views that are the criteria for judging humans in our society.

We live in a dictatorship whilst our religion is not only committed to tolerance and equality, but it is committed to the principles of democracy. The Holy Quran teaches that Islamic society is contingent on "mutual advice through mutual discussions on an equal footing."

Beating, torturing and humiliating women is inconsistent with the principles of Islam. But the clothes of a United Nations Rapporteur are torn as a collective warning to women of the humiliation that awaits them if they exercise their constitutional right to protest.

Islam is an open, pluralistic and tolerant religion that positively shapes the lives of one billion people across this planet, including millions upon millions in the growing Islamic populations of Europe and the United States. Yet Muslims and Muslim societies are judged not by the values of Islam but the values of unelected dictators that rule through force.

When the human spirit was immersed in the darkness of the Middle Ages in Europe, Islam proclaimed equality between men and women. But I do not see this culture of equality in the crimes committed against women through honour killings.

The PPP and I believe that it is through freedom, through democracy, through human rights and the rule of law that we can salvage our country and our society from the specter of brutality and barbarism brought about by one man rule.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Information leads to change. Change is something that many fear and will not tolerate. But it was change that the PPP and I devoted myself to in our two terms in government.

We introduced freedom by bringing in the information age. We put an end to the ban on fax machines, digital papers, fiber optic communications, cellular telephones, satellite dishes, computers, Internet, e-mail and introduced private television in Pakistan.

Under our government, Pakistan was the first country in the Muslim world to break the shackles of tradition by electing a woman Prime Minister. We were the first country to break the bondage of centerlisation by deregulating , privatizing and opening financial markets. South Asia and the Middle East are now following the road we introduced in 1988 and 1993.

Under the PPP government Pakistan integrated into the global economy became one of the top ten emerging capital markets of the world, attracting over 20 billion dollars in foreign investments, particularly in power generation.

We eradicated polio in our country.

We dramatically reduced infant mortality.

The World Bank held up our economic program as a model to the entire developing world.

Despite institutional and social constraints, when I became prime Minister of Pakistan, the PPP government reversed centuries of discrimination against women.

We increased literacy by one-third, even more dramatically among girls.

We built over 48,000 primary and secondary schools, targeting rural Pakistan.

We brought down the population growth rate by establishing women’s health clinics in thousands of communities across our Nation.

We outlawed domestic violence and established special women’s police forces to protect and defend the women of Pakistan.

We appointed women judges to our nation’s benches for the first time in our history.

We instituted a new program of hiring women police officers to investigate crimes of domestic violence against the women of Pakistan.

We encouraged women’s and girl’s participation in sports, both nationally and internationally by lifting the ban imposed on their participation.

Sharing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s view that the best way to guarantee literate children is to educate literate mothers, the PPP government targeted adult women for remedial education programs.

We refused attempts by reactionary forces within Pakistan to turn into a theocracy. We stopped two such constitutional attempts twice through the Senate.

The PPP governments made extraordinary progress on the international front as well.

We facilitated the formation of an interim government of national consensus in Afghanistan where the moderates and hard liners agreed to co-exist.

We blocked the Taliban’s solo show in Afghanistan. Within days of the PPP dismissal, the Taliban invited in Osama Bin Laden and permitted the establishment of Al – Qaida training camps. That critical and strategic mistake paved the way for the attack on the Twin Towers and the repercussions that flowed from it culminating in the Afghan and Iraq wars.

On the India front, we had extraordinary progress with the fist nuclear confidence building treaty, the agreement not to attack each other’s respective nuclear facilities.

We reopened our borders to travel and tourism, and adopted a south Asian preferential tariff agreement that established a free-trade zone between Pakistan, India and the other nations of the region.

I called upon all the nations of the region to declare the sub-continent a nuclear free zone.

The PPP government was making dramatic progress in relations with India and with containing terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But moderation and progress is not what supporters of military dictatorship tolerate.

A democratic and stable Pakistan, gaining strength economically and moving forward socially under a popular government was their threat. The PPP government was eliminated and every attempt made to eliminate the party and its leadership.

But ideas and dreams cannot be replaced as easily as a coup against leaders.

The record the PPP accomplished is one in which I have great pride. Despite the reversals in our country, both to the political institutions of democracy and the role of women in society -- the progress that the PPP made raised the bar of expectations and cannot long be ignored.

I view the PPP’s commitment to women’s rights as consistent with our commitment to human’s rights and to the inevitability of democracy. In our commitment to political liberty and to democracy, we have never wavered.

Unfortunately, that has not always been the case in the conduct by many great nations of international affairs over the last generation.

Today a military dictatorship in Pakistan is supported by the international community for short term strategic reasons. I believe that is a mistake.

Afghanistan is a tragic case in point of how retreating from the principles of human rights and democracy can have the most tragic unanticipated consequences. Not planning for a post-war Afghanistan built on democratic and Islamic principles of coalition, consensus and cooperation was a very bad choice.

The goal of the international community’s foreign policy agenda must also be to simultaneously promote stability and to strengthen democratic values -- not selectively but universally, not just because it is convenient but also because it is right.

Might doesn’t always or necessarily make right. Indeed it was the great American President Abraham Lincoln who said just the opposite, that it is "right that makes might."

This mixture of realism and idealism was best manifest when The United States, under President Bill Clinton, militarily intervened to stop the genocide of Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. Was the US strategically threatened? No. Was it morally threatened by genocide on this planet? Yes.

The universalization of human rights may be the underpinning of internal stability within nation states, and peaceful relations among nation states.

I address this issue from a unique double focus.

I wear the scars -- on my body and my soul -- of the abuse of basic human rights, and thus I view oppression through the eyes of the victim.

In the rhetoric of the West, democracy, women’s rights, human rights, and press freedom are important, but apparently only sometimes.

Violations of these principles lead to international sanctions -- but only sometimes.

The world is not yet a fair or just place, and will not be so until each and every country on our planet is treated equally.

If democracy is good for Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, then democracy, and not dictatorship, should be supported in Pakistan.

Democracy is the first step toward humanity’s liberation. But it is not an end in itself.

Liberty and freedom depend on social and economic justice.

Voting does not guarantee justice. An independent judiciary with members who impartially uphold the law does.

Equal rights depend on more than electoral choices. They depend on cultural change and education.

Democracy is not just about elections. It is equally about governing in a manner that is representative, respectful of constitutional provisions, provincial autonomy and the balance of power.

Nations make choices. And choices lead to consequences -- political consequences, economic consequences, social consequences.

Today 58% of the people of Pakistan live on less than $2/= a day.

But we spend our money building a second General Headquarters next to the one we already have.

The girl who is illiterate has no future. But we spend $ 1 billion dollars on SAAB aircraft even as we make peace with Indian and make overtures to Israel and therefore face no imminent threat.

Economic development and political development are surely linked, but both depend on respect to human rights and the right economic policies.

We cannot claim to believe in moderate enlightenment if we do not fight for it in our own homes, and in our own homelands.

We can not imprison a speaker of the National Assembly, a Cabinet Minister, the spouse of a Parliamentarian, because we disagree with their choice of political leader and political party.

Here I will take the opportunity to call for the release of Yousaf Raza Gilani, Bismillah Kakar and Pir Mukkram, who have been imprisoned for their political beliefs by the Musharaf dictatorship. I also call for the return of the exiles and a restoration of democracy through impartial elections held by an interim government through an independent Election Commission and an immediate vote count and announcement. While Yousaf Reza Gillani, Bisimullah Kakar and Pir Mukkaram remain behind bars on political grounds. We cannot say Islamabad respects human rights. While elected Prime Ministers are forced into exile, we cannot say Pakistan has human rights. While NAB finds corruption only in the opposition and not in the ruling party, we cannot say Pakistan has Justice.

It is through the empowerment of the people of our nation that we can reclaim the heritage of Quaid-e-Azam and Quaid-e-Awam, that we can confront and defeat social evils in the form terrorism, extremism, militancy, honour killings nor give our youth an opportunity to live a life free of poverty, backwardness, disease and unemployment.

Social inequality leads to political instability, not just in the Middle East, Asia, but also all through the developed world including America and Europe.

This is evident in the large, radicalizing Muslim communities in France and across much of Europe.

The challenge is to make alienated Muslim immigrants and their children feel like fully integrated members of the nation, and to convince them to accept the full obligations of democratic citizenship.

The way to accomplish this certainly is not religious or cultural ridicule.

The way clearly is equality of opportunity, education and respect for cultural and religious pluralism. These are choices that the world community must make.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is our job to make choices.

It is our job to find answers.

It is our job to marginalize the extremes.

It is our job to act, not just talk.

Realizing that in the time it took me to deliver this speech, over one thousand children have starved to death on this planet.

I want you to know that choices have consequences.

I ask you to make the choices that can help us together build a better Pakistan, a brighter Pakistan, a proud Pakistan, where its people live in peace, progress and prosperity.

I ask you to support the Pakistan Peoples Party and its allies in reclaiming our constitutional and democratic heritage so we can bequeath to our children a better world than we saw.

 

Islamabad January 13, 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has expressed profound grief and sorrow over the tragedy in Mina in which over four hundred pilgrims were killed.

Over four hundred pilgrims were killed in a stampede in Mina on Thursday while performing the ritual of stoning the satan.

In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that it was an occasion for great sorrow and anguish that hundreds of innocent pilgrims should perish in an avoidable tragedy.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto prayed to Allah to grant peace to the souls of those killed in the tragedy and patience to their bereaved family members to bear the loss with fortitude.

 
Lahore, January 10: A rare opportunity offered by the simultaneous presence of former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Ms Benazir Bhutto in the UAE to meet each other at lunch on Monday and hammer out a strategy to fight their “common enemy” was deferred by mutual consent in view of the death of the Dubai ruler.

However, a three-member PPP delegation comprising Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Dr Safdar Abbasi and Qasim Zia paid a courtesy call on Mr Sharif at the Dubai residence of former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The two sides renewed their resolve to continue their struggle for democracy from the ARD’s platform.

Sources say the two former Prime Ministers would now meet in London, where Mr Sharif would shift immediately after getting British visa.

A PPP leader said: “Had it taken place, it would have been a high-profile meeting. And there is ban on political activities in the UAE. The atmosphere of grief and sorrow because of the death of the Dubai ruler was yet another reason for the cancellation of the Sharif-Benazir meeting.”

PML-N leader Ishaq Dar said the two parties had excellent cooperation on the ARD’s platform and were working according to instructions from their respective leaders.

He said Mr Sharif was busy during the first two days of his visit while on Monday Ms Bhutto was scheduled to leave for the USA along with her children to celebrate Eid with her husband Asif Zardari.

“Mr Sharif fully appreciates the situation,” he said.

According to a statement issued by the PML-N, Mr Sharif said while talking to the PPP delegation that deviation from the constitution was the root cause of all political, economic and social problems of the country. He said adherence to the constitution in letter and spirit was imperative to make Pakistan a sovereign, respectable and prosperous country.

“Restoration of the constitution and an end to dictatorship was problem number one,” said the exiled former Prime Minister.

He warned that any compromise on the constitution —as it stood on October 12, 1999 — would make the future of the country bleak.

However, he said, the ARD could consider any proposal for the establishment of an interim government, formation of an independent election commission for fresh elections, transfer of power and the restoration of the constitution.

Mr Sharif hoped that the MMA leadership would also play its role to steer the country out of the prevailing situation.

According to the statement, Mr Sharif said had he given preference to his personal interests than to those of the country he would not have had to face jails or banishment.

Khar PPP founder leader: Kharal

LAHORE, Jan 10: PPP Federal Council secretary-general Khalid Kharal says Ms Benazir Bhutto has set up a four-member committee to activate the party. The committee, he said at a news conference, comprised himself, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, Jehangir Badr and Qasim Zia.

He said the committee would hold a workers convention in Multan on Jan 19 after which a campaign for contact with workers would be launched.

He said Khar was among the leaders who had founded the PPP, and thus a controversy about his membership should come to an end after Ms Bhutto’s decision to include him in the committee.

Munir Khan, Mushtaq Awan and Tahir Khaleeq were also present at the news conference.—Staff Reporter

Mian Raza Rabbani condemns police action against Party in Lahore

Islamabad January 8, 2006: Leader of the opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has issued the following statement today.

"The police action against PPP workers and leaders in Lahore today is an act of highhandedness by a nervous regime and is condemned in the strongest terms.

"The meeting in Lahore today of the Party leadership and MPs from Punjab was aimed at reiterating the Party's position on the Kalabagh Dam, Balochistan and to express confidence in the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

"This was the constitutional and legal right of the Party but the regime panicked and raided the houses and offices of Party workers and leaders and chased them to prevent them from assembly and meeting.

"The Party demands that cognisance be taken of the incidents of highhandedness in Lahore and those responsible brought to justice.

"Under the leadership of Chairperson Mohtarma Bhutto the Party will continue to agitate issues of national importance and expose the regime's policy of dividing the people to perpetuate itself in power. The Party workers and leaders will not be intimidated by any show of force".

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Greets Muslims on Eid-ul-Azha

Asks for ending poverty and unemployment that has deprived people of true joy

Islamabad January 10, 2006: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has greeted Muslims throughout the world on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha falling on Wednesday January 11. Following is the text of her message:

"Today we commemorate the supreme sacrifice offered by Hazrat Ibrahim (May Allah be pleased with him). In doing so we affirm unity of action in an imperishable bond of brotherhood.

"I greet the Muslims throughout the world in general and of Pakistan in particular on this auspicious occasion.

"The celebration today is also an occasion to reflect on the message that came through Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him. The message of Islam is a message of consensus and of the rights of the weak and the dispossessed. Let us determine that we have an obligation to our community through which we attain a higher purpose in life.

"Let us therefore resolve to end tyranny where we see it and to end poverty and exploitation.

"Even as we celebrate the great occasion of Eid, it saddens me that so many of our people are living in despair and misery brought by unemployment, low wages and lack of justice.

"The deprivation and helplessness of the people and lack of justice is dramatized by what is happening in Balochistan where protesting people are faced with the brute might of the regime as they are bombed, killed and maimed in a military operation only because they are demanding their rights.

"Let us therefore also pray on this day that the deprivations of the people will soon be over and they regain their civil and economic rights

PPP apprises the UN of perversion of justice by the military regime

Islamabad, 9 January 2006: Pakistan Peoples Party has apprised the United Nations of the inability of the military dictatorship in Pakistan to provide justice as required under the constitution, human rights and good governance.

Senator Rukhsana Zuberi in a letter addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Leandro Despony wrote, "I refer to the Mir Murtaza Bhutto case being tried by Judge Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani of Karachi District East in which former Senator Asif Ali Zardari has been falsely implicated. Mr. Zardari moved a petition which was heard this January asking Judge Sherwani not to
hear this Case. Mr. Zardari apprehended that since the brother of the judge was a NAB Deputy Prosecutor General, he must have been putting pressure on him (the judge) to decide the matter against Mr. Zardari. In this regard, Mr. Zardari cited the example when he filed an acquittal application, NAB immediately called the file of the Case which it had no business to do to influence the Case. Consequently, the application was rejected as the Court came under NAB's influence."

She further wrote, "Sessions Judge Karachi East, Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani is the brother of Brigadier (retd) Shafat Nabi Sherwani who is presently working as Deputy Prosecutor General, NAB, Sindh. Mr Zardari apprehends that his applications for acquittal and exemption from personal appearance in the Court were rejected due to pressure from NAB."

Giving the background of the case Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, wrote, "It may be recalled that following the overthrow of the PPP government, a Commission was established to investigate the Murtaza Murder Case headed by a Supreme Court Judge. That Commission established by Bhutto-Zardari opponents exonerated Mr. Zardari from involvement in Murtaza Bhutto's murder. Moreover, investigators hired by the then government in 1996 said that it could not rule out that the murder of Murtaza Bhutto was a conspiracy to overthrow the government of his sister."

"Judge Sherwani should not hear the Case because it raises issues of propriety and separation of prosecution and judgment. Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done which is not the case in Pakistan. I hope you will raise this issue as it is one which impinges on justice, human rights and good governance", she concluded.

Shaheed Bhutto 78th Birthday being celebrated all over the world