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Interview/Benazir Bhutto
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November 2005

PPP leadership
meets in London
Mohtarma Bhutto vows to return, adopts several resolutions
Islamabad Nov 28, 2005: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson of the PPP Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has ruled out
any compromise with the regime on the issue of her return to the country and
taking part in the next elections. Let there be no doubt or mistake that I
will return to the country before the next elections and take part in them
as well come hail or storm, she said while addressing the joint meeting of
the Central Executive Committee and Federal Council of the Party in London
on Sunday.
The meeting which started at ten in the morning continued till midnight and
was attended by over fifty senior leaders of the Party. Besides discussing
Mohtarma Bhutto's return to the country the meeting discussed threadbare the
political situation in the country, the disturbing change in the civil
military equation, the plight of the quake affected people, increasing
poverty, the manipulation in oil prices, the witch hunting of political
opponents and the abnormal increase in non development expenditure. It also
adopted a number of resolutions.
Following are the resolutions adopted in the meeting.
Earthquake
The meeting expressed profound grief and shock over the October 8
devastating earthquake that killed over eighty thousand people in parts of
Frontier and Azad Kashmir and rendered over three million people homeless.
It expressed sympathy with the affected people, called for the mobilization
of all national resources, appealed to the international community to
generously help in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the quake
affected people.
The meeting expressed concern that the regime failed in responding in time
to the calamity and there was unpardonable delay in it. It noted that
mobilization of national resources was of paramount importance in the
reconstruction effort.
The meeting demanded a review of military spending, purchase of six Saab
planes at one billion dollars, suspension of the building of a new General
headquarters in Islamabad, purchase of new luxurious cars, writing off loans
and other wasteful expenditures. It noted that the deferment of F-16
purchase is any eyewash as Congressional approval for these planes was still
far away and no immediate savings are effected by deferring their purchase.
It is illogical to keep raising the non development expenditure at a time
when the regime was going with a begging bowl asking for international
assistance. While international assistance was welcome, a proud and self
respecting Nation ought to stand on its own feet.
The meeting noted that the regime kept boasting about the huge foreign
exchange reserves but was reluctant to use them for rehabilitation and
reconstruction work.
Unless the rulers set the internal house in order, it is unlikely that the
international community will come forward to the rescue and rehabilitation
of tens of thousands in need of urgent assistance.
While the PPP believes in a strong defence for Pakistan, it opposes wasteful
and luxurious expenditure for the comfort of a few while the majority live
in misery and hunger. It also demanded disclosure of the names of middlemen
involved in the saab deal.
The meeting called for bringing the relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction work in the wake of earthquake under the scrutiny of
Parliament. It rejected the militarization of the relief and reconstruction
work and called for greater role for the civilian institutions in planning
and executing the rehabilitation and reconstruction work.
The meeting noted that the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
Authority (ERRA) had been set up under and executive order without inputs
from the Parliament and the civil society. It called for creating ERRA
through an Act of the parliament rather than an executive order.
The meeting noted that the regime was taking steps to set up a Parliamentary
Committee to give an impression that relief and reconstruction work is being
carried out under the Parliament. It demanded that the Parliamentary
Committee be fully empowered to review, and oversee all aspects of policies
with respect to rehabilitation and reconstruction of the earthquake affected
areas. The Committee should have the powers to review and recommend
amendments to decisions already taken with regard to the creation of
structures for rehabilitation and reconstruction and also prepare a credible
accountability mechanism for the state agencies relating to rehabilitation
and reconstruction.
Return of MBB, Political Victimization
It demanded that cases fabricated against the Chairperson of Pakistan
Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto may be withdrawn and all legal venues
for honourable return and participation in the system be opened.
Reiterated its confidence in the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
declaring that the people of Pakistan were the best judge of who served them
sincerely and honestly.
Declared that it would make every effort to strengthen its organisation and
prepare for the return of Mohtarma for which every citizen was anxiously
awaiting. A date for the return of Mohtarma would be announced. Rejecting
the regime’s demand Mohtarma Bhutto announced that she would not only return
to Pakistan but also take part in the forthcoming elections. She ruled out
any compromise with the regime on this issue and declared to face all the
case fabricated against her by the regime within Pakistan and abroad
declaring also that she would not be blackmailed by the regime.
It demanded an end to political victimization, return of all exiles and an
end to use of accountability as a tool of political manipulation and for
re-engineering Pakistan’s political landscape. Both Mohtarma Bhutto and Mina
Nawaz Sharif be allowed to return to the country in safety and with honour
to play their role in the reconstruction and political and social stability.
It deplored and condemned the reprehensible role of NAB in victimizing the
political opponents of the Government by instituting false cases and
hounding and chasing political opponents of the regime in the name of
accountability just because the victims refused to change their political
loyalties. Those against whom NAB had filed corruption cases are rewarded
with berths in the cabinet after they changed loyalties. Their continuing as
members of the cabinet while NAB cases are still pending against them is a
stinging indictment of the Bureau itself.
Honor Killing
The meeting lamented that the tragic honour killings continued in the
country. It condemned the remarks of general Musharraf in the US that women
in Pakistan get themselves raped for visa and dollars. It also condemned the
regime’s inability to address the lacunae in the law on honor killings
namely that of compromise and allowing the murderer to be forgiven by the
heirs or "walis" of the victim. These flaws be done away with by making the
state as the "wali".
Six years of military and quasi-military rule
General Musharraf usurped state power unconstitutionally and illegally, used
the state machinery to hold a fraudulent referendum, massively rigged the
General Elections 2002 and local bodies’ polls of 2005, changed the
electoral laws retrospectively to prevent Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian
Nawaz Sharif from participation in the elections. Some of the worst examples
are suspension of the Defection Clause of the Constitution and not summoning
the National Assembly session till the members were forced to change
loyalties, re-writing of the Constitution through executive fiat and making
Legal Framework Order (LFO) part of the Constitution for effecting a deal
with MMA.
Poverty
It expressed deep concern and anguish that the people of Pakistan were
committing suicides because of poverty and unemployment but the rulers were
unmoved and continued with their profligate expenses.
It noted that a major reason for the rising inflation was the increasing
rise in prices of petroleum even as the international oil prices were going
down. It noted with deep concern that the regime failed to take note of the
massive corruption and manipulation as pointed out in the Parliament in the
fixing of oil prices by the cartel of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the
name of Oil Companies Advisory Company (OCAC). It demanded a thorough probe
into the scam, hauling up and accountability of the corrupt elements
involved in it and handing over the task of price fixation to the Oil and
Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) as laid down in the law.
That the country is facing grave economic crisis is acknowledged in reports
of the State Bank and international bodies. Investments have shrunk, exports
have declined, the nation’s precious resources are being wasted on
unproductive white elephant projects, poverty has increased, industrial
production has declined and the farmers are facing grave economic crises due
to wrong policies and mismanagement of the government.
Condemning the price rise and unemployment it recalled that under PPP
government, poverty levels had reduced. Now according to UNDP, poverty
levels had risen shockingly high. Democracy and development go hand in hand.
Removal of the PPP democratic government and dictatorship in the country had
only increased the economic woes of the people.
Law and Order, minorities, sectarianism
It expressed deep concern over the failure of the regime in maintaining law
and order and the rising incidents of acts of terror, sectarianism and
lawlessness particularly in the South Wazirastan Agency and Baluchistan. It
condemned the rise in incidents of violence against minorities, women and
other vulnerable sections of society and noted with concern that places of
worship were being targeted by terrorists and religious fanatics alike. It
strongly condemned the recent incident of attack on churches and houses of
Christians in Sanglahill by extremist elements and noted that such incidents
only exposed the double faced policy of the regime and the hollowness of its
claims of enlightened moderation.
As attention is focused on terrorism issues of poverty alleviation,
unemployment and price hike continue to be ignored.
Water Crisis and management
It expressed concern over the negligence of water for drinking as well as
for agriculture and called for build the water resources of the country by
building small dams and lining the canals. It said that the military
dictatorship was fomenting water crisis to make the provinces fight with
each other to further their own dictatorship. The people should reject such
conspiracies.
Release of political prisoners
It demanded the immediate release of Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and Makhdoom
Javed Hashmi both of whom are worst examples of the regime’s vendetta and
political victimization.
It also called for the immediate release of all political prisoners
including Bismillah Kakar and others.
Lawyers’ Role
The meeting commended the lawyer community for their courageous role in the
restoration of democracy by rejecting the 17th Amendment that changed the
federal, Parliamentary character of the 1973 Constitution into a
Presidential one, the National Security Council and the retention of uniform
by Musharraf as acts that have subverted democracy and democratic
institutions and subordinated the civil society to the military command. It
commended the role of the legal fraternity in espousing the cause of
constitutionalism and rule of law in the country and hopes that it will
continue it in the future.
Labour
The meeting condemned the anti labor policies of the regime, the massive
retrenchments of low paid employees, the growing appointments of serving and
retired military officers on civil post and the militarization of civil
services. It demanded the repeal of IRO 2002 and Sections 27 B and 2A of the
Banking Companies Order and Removal of Services Act.
It expressed concern over reports and asked the regime to clarify whether
moves were afoot to deprive the workers of pension, medical facilities and
social security benefits that were started by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
It expressed that fishermen in Sindh were being deprived of their livelihood
illegally by federal state agencies. It noted that fisheries was a
provincial subject that federal agencies had no business in interfering in
the matter and called for restoration of the rights of fisher folks.
It called for respecting the rights of workers, peasants, haris and fisher
folks and end to their victimization and full restoration of their rights.
Parliament’s Role
The meeting deplored the continuing marginalization of Parliament and
militarization of the state’s institutions and called for immediate and
complete restoration of Parliament’s sovereignty. It noted with concern the
refusal of representatives of some institutions to submit themselves to
parliamentary scrutiny.
It called for parliamentary scrutiny and approval of all expenditures out of
public exchequer, including the military expenditure and demanded that all
treaties, agreements, financial or otherwise, negotiated with foreign
parties be made public and placed before the Parliament for scrutiny.

Founding principles of Party
ingrained in peoples’ subconscious
Islamabad November 29, 2005:
The Pakistan Peoples Party is celebrating the 38th founding day of the Party
this November in a grim socio-economic and political environment in which
the founding principles are as important a framework for the emancipation of
the people as these were when the Party was founded, the Chairperson of the
Pakistan Peoples Party and former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
said in a message today.
"The founding principles of the Party ‘Democracy is our politics’ and ‘All
power to the people’ are ingrained in the consciousness of the people which
will never be erased
"Born during the struggle against a military dictatorship the Pakistan
Peoples Party is proud of its record of continuous struggle against civil
and military dictatorship which continues till today.
"The Party was established to enable the common people help shape their own
destiny. Our Mission is the great mission of emancipation, of honour and
respect, of a society free of bonapartism, free of poverty and of holding
high the banner of human dignity for which the great Quaid e Awam gave his
life.
"For the Pakistani people, and for those oppressed everywhere, the PPP is a
beacon of hope. The PPP dreams of a proud and progressive Pakistan marching
on towards a glorious future.
"It was the PPP which led the resistance against dictatorships and gave the
country a unanimous Constitution, nuclear capability and a democratic
culture.
"The Party’s momentous achievements were made possible by the enormous
sacrifices made by the workers of the Party for which they deserved the
gratitude of all patriotic people. No amount of state terrorism, jailing,
torture and even execution could stop our workers from struggling for the
pursuit of their democratic and progressive beliefs.
"It is a historical fact that when the democratic and progressive elements
of civil society were tortured, jailed and hanged for their democratic
struggle there were also those in the country who colluded with the
Dictators and abetted in their crime of stifling the democratic voice. This
makes the sacrifices of our workers even more glorious. The Party salutes
all these valiant workers for their dedication, commitment and sacrifices
made for the cause.
"I ask the workers to go out to spread the message of hope and deliverance,
which is the message of the PPP. I urge you to tell the silent, demoralized
and suffering majority of people that a bright morning awaits at the end of
a long and dark night. Tell them to come forward and support the PPP for the
dream to come true.
"The PPP workers should gear themselves to face the challenges that lie
ahead. With the PPP and its valiant workers around I assure the people of
Pakistan that we will continue to strive for their rights and for the
banishment of dictatorship and bonaprtism from the country".

Mohtarma Bhutto
awarded World Tolerance Award 2005
Islamabad, 29 November 2005:
Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto was today awarded "World Tolerance Award" for the year 2005
in Leipzig, Germany by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev for ‘her
vision, personal strength, commitment to her ideals and passion for creating
a better and peaceful world in the 21st Century’
The World Award Committee is chaired by noble prize laureate President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev and composed of distinguished International World Award
Jury.
The citation said, "You became the first woman to lead a Muslim country in
modern times when you were elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988.
Throughout the times of political struggle and year spent in exile you
pledged to transform Pakistani society by focusing attention on the programs
for health, social welfare and education for the underprivileged. Your
continued efforts to improve the condition of women in your country, even
under the most difficult circumstances are in inspiration to millions of
women around the world. You have emphasized the need to put an end to the
divisions in Pakistani society, including reducing discrimination. You have
launched a nationwide program of health and education reform."
Among the personalities honoured at last year’s awards were Oprah Winfrey,
Dlonne Warmick, Blanca Jagger, Christiene Amanpour, Whitney Houston.
Vivienne Westwood, Valentina Tereshkowe (the first woman in space), Naomi
Campbell, Iris Berben, UN Goodwell Ambassador Waris Dirie and the women of
the Special Olympics.
Pope John Paul-II, eminent Opera Singer Luciano Paverotti, Renowned
Broadcaster Larry King, Former Polish President Lech Walesa, Entrepreneur
Richard Branson, Singer Yousuf Islam (Cat Stevence) and famous Film Producer
Roman Polanski are a few personalities who have received World Award and
Women’s World Award for achieving excellence in their respective fields.

PPP demands NAB
probe into Oil Companies Advisory Committee
Oil marketing
companies be stripped of powers to regulate oil prices
Islamabad Nov 24, 2005:
Pakistan Peoples Party has asked for a NAB inquiry into the oil price scam
demanding also that the task of fixing oil price be withdrawn from the
cartel of oil marketing companies under the name of Oil Companies Advisory
Committee (OCAC) and handed over to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA)
the statutory body created for this purpose.
In a statement today Party spokesman Senator Farhatullah
Babar said that serious bungling in the oil prices had come to surface in
replies given to Senate questions that can no longer be covered up.
In reply to a question about progressive increase in
transportation margin allowed to each oil company last year the Petroleum
Minister said in the Senate today that the margin, which was only two rupees
per litre in July 2004, had been increased to nearly ten rupees a litre by
December that year.
"Increasing the transportation margin to the companies
from two rupees a litre to ten rupees a litre in a short span of six months
is a scandal of monumental proportions that needs to be investigated and
probed".
An increase of eight rupees per litre in transportation
margin to the oil marketing companies amounted to an unprecedented five
hundred percent jump. It amounts to scandalously robbing the poor people of
the country of tens of billions, he said.
He said that if say ten million litres of oil were
transported daily within the country the transportation margin given to oil
companies in July was 20 million rupees but for the same quantity of oil
transportation in December the daily transportation margin went up to one
hundred million. It translates into a windfall gain of nearly 30 billion
rupees to the oil companies in a year. If this is not a scandal what else is
it, he asked?
He said it is ridiculous to claim that oil prices are
fixed in accordance with a formula approved by the government. "What is the
rationale for the formula that allows an increase of five hundred percent in
transportation margin to the oil companies in just six months"?
Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the Petroleum
Minister had still not answered as to how much of windfall gain went to each
oil company. If the matter was probed many a skeletons in the cupboard will
be exposed, he said.
Oil prices worldwide had come down but in Pakistan these
were going up. The OCAC was a cartel of oil marketing companies that made
hay while the poor groaned.
It is intriguing that a statutory body called the ‘Oil
and Gas Regulatory Authority’ (OGRA) existed for fixing oil prices but the
government still allowed the cartel of oil marketing companies to determine
oil prices. Worst still, the so-called accountability mechanism refuses to
move despite overwhelming evidence, he said.

Mohtarma
Bhutto expresses solidarity with fishing community
Islamabad November 20, 2005: Former
Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has felicitated the fishermen of Pakistan on the World
Fisheries Day being celebrated Monday November 21.
She said that it was a pity that the fisher folks in Sindh and Baluchistan
have been compelled to hold protest meetings today against the government's
apathy towards their problems. The Party reiterates its support to the
demands of fishing community and calls upon the regime to address their
genuine grievances, she said in a message on the occasion.
While expressing solidarity with the fishing community she said the Party
rejects plans for auctioning fisheries rights in Sindh province as unjust
and amounting to depriving the local fisherman of their traditional source
of living and trade.
The demand of the Sindh fishermen not to abolish the existing license system
is lawful, in accordance with past practices and consistent with the Sindh
Fisheries Act 1980, she said.
"The uprooting of fisherman in Sindh, the forcible ejection of tenants of
Okara and other military farms in the Punjab and the sacking of labour and
civilian employees showed how dictatorship hurts the rights of a people".
Mohtarma Bhutto also asked the authorities to consider the long standing
demand for the construction of a Jetty for the small fishermen at Karachi
Fish Harbour.
Despite being thousands in numbers the small fishermen are deprived of a key
facility of Jetty at Karachi Fish Harbour as the existing one caters only to
the commercial trawlers. The small fishermen also have a right to have a
jetty that caters to their requirements, she said.
The PPP Chairperson deplored the anti people policies being followed since
the dismissal of the PPP government. Systematically the vested interests
were exploiting the underprivileged and usurping their economic rights
whether they were the coastal fishermen or the tenants on Okara military
farmlands or the low paid labour, she said.

Mohtarma
Bhutto’s tributes to Shanawaz Bhutto on 20th anniversary
Islamabad, 20 November 2005: Former
Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has issued the following statement on the twentieth death
anniversary of Shaheed Shah Nawaz Bhutto falling on Monday November 21,
2005.
"On this day of November 21, 2005, the twentieth birthday anniversary of the
Shahadat of Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the youngest son of Prime Minister Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto, I would like to thank all those who have sent messages sent to
me on the occasion of the birthday of my youngest brother Shah Nawaz Shaheed.
"This is the twentieth birthday of his since he was killed. Had he lived,
Shah Nawaz would have been 47 years old. His daughter has grown up without a
Father. His Mother had her heart torn with the loss of her precious child.
My brother, sister and I were forever wounded with the murder of our
brother.
"However, Shah Nawaz was determined to fight for freedom, for the dignity of
each human, for the pride of our Nation and for the rights of our people. He
gave his life in the epic struggle for the emancipation of our people from
political and social exploitation. He never wavered in the defense of his
principles ever ready to risk his life, a sacrifice he gave so that the rest
of us could live in peace, hope and dignity. May God Bless Shah's soul".

PPP files
reference against CM Baluchistan
Islamabad, 18 November 2005: Pakistan
Peoples Party has filed a reference with the National Accountability Bureau
against the Chief Minister Baluchistan, Jam Mohammad Yousaf for causing huge
financial loss to the national exchequer by corruption and corrupt
practices.
The complaint was filed by Ch Muhammad Aslam on behalf of the PPP the other
day which says, "A news report claims that Respondent was deeply involved in
Rs. 82, Million loan written off from the Industrial Development Bank of
Pakistan in 2004 as Chief Minister Baluchistan. According to details
available Mr. Jam Mohammad Yousaf now Chief Minister Baluchistan got a loan
of Rs. 82 Million in 1980 from the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan
for Bela Ghee Mills owned by the Chief Minister Baluchistan Mr. Jam Mohammad
Yousaf. The Managing Director of Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan
presented documents in a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee
on Finance and Revenue held in the Parliament House Islamabad and was
presided over by Mr. Anwar Ali Cheema MNA. The meeting of the National
Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was called upon for the
discussion on the story state of affairs in the Industrial Development Bank
of Pakistan. In the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on
Finance and Revenue, the Managing Director of the Industrial Development
Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) presented a list of powerful people who got massive
loans written. On the top of the list of powerful people who got massive
loans written off was Baluchistan Chief Minister Baluchistan Jam Mohammad
Yousaf. The Managing Director of the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan
(IDBP) told the National Assembly Standing Committee on the Finance
Committee on Finance and Revenue that on the one side the Bank was running
into Rs. 25.30 Billion loss and on the other side the loans drawn from the
bank of powerful people were written off. The Managing Director IDBP also
disclosed to the National Assembly Standing Committee and Revenue that
recently the IDBP got Rs. 8 billion for the Government in the name of paying
the salaries for the Bank staff."
The complaint called upon the Chairman of the NAB to initiate investigation
in connection with matters set out herein above and further proceed to file
a reference against the respondent for violating the provisions of Section 9
of the Ordinance punishable under Section 10 of the Ordinance in Competent
court of law and proceed against those concerned for violating Section 9 of
the Ordinance.

Mohtarma
Bhutto condemns Sangla Hill frenzy
Calls for inquiry, arrest of culprits and compensation to victims
Islamabad November 18, 2005: Former Prime Minister and
Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has
condemned the burning down of three churches and a missionary run school on
Saturday by some extremists in Sangala Hill in the Nanka district of Punjab
and demanded investigations into the incident and arrest of the culprits and
punishment to them under the law.
On Saturday three churches, a missionary run school, two hostels and several
houses belonging to the Christian community were torched by an enraged mob
after they were reported incited o violence by some extremist elements.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that the incident showed
that the regime's claims of moderation and tolerance notwithstanding the
dictatorship had openly permitted the misguided bigots and extremists to
preach violence against the minorities and disadvantaged groups from the
pulpits.
Press reports say that the attacks were provoked after gambling partners of
a Christian youth accused him of torching the Holy Quran that provoked angry
calls from the mosques by religious zealots to teach the Christians a
lesson. The Lahore archbishop Lawrence Saldanaha has alleged that assailants
were brought by buses from outside for the assault on some 300 families
living in the area.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that the minority community leaders had voiced their
apprehensions about an impending assault on them much in advance and the
regime had time to take pre-emptive measure if it was serious in protecting
the minorities. The failure of the regime in protecting the lives and
property of citizens despite clear apprehensions expressed is condemnable
and calls for action against those who failed in the performance of their
duty, she said.
She said that the extensive damage to property could have been prevented if
the administration had performed its duty and if the Musharraf regime was
sensitive to rights of the minorities. Mohtarma said that Chief Minister
Punjab and his administration did not seem to care about the rights of the
people. She said that the massive human rights abuses that took place on the
orders of the Chief Minister in the Punjab upon the arrival of Mr. Zardari
to Pakistan in April 2005, the barbaric treatment meted out to Asma Jehangir
UN Rapporteur during a public protest against Marathons, the crude
manipulation of the law in the local elections to arrest political rivals
and otherwise force them to abdicate their parties and their conscience as
well as a host of other issues demonstrated a systematic pattern of
oppression and repression of the most immoderate, intolerant and extremist
kind by the Chief Minister and his administration. The attack on the
minority community was another example in a sordid tale of extremism that
existed in the province, which refused to respect the laws of the land or of
pluralistic societies.
The former Prime Minister said that it was not the first or isolated
incident of its kind against minorities and their places of worship despite
the injunctions of the Founder of Pakistan towards respecting freedom of
worship. Similar incidents had taken place in the past as well without any
action on the part of the regime. It is a deplorable feature of Musharraf's
so called moderation that extremists first accuse someone of blasphemy and
then openly preach from the pulpit lynching of the accused and then walking
away free from the crime, she said.
In July 2002 in a shocking incident a blasphemy accused was stoned to death
in Jaranwala. Blasphemy accused having also been murdered in custody by
fellow prisoners and police guards. There have also been cases of gunning
down of those acquitted by courts of law of charges of blasphemy.
The human rights bodies and civil society must ponder as to why the
attackers in all such cases have not been brought to book during Musharraf
dictatorship, she said.
She said that no body condoned blasphemy but no one should be permitted to
take law into their hands for settling personal scores in the name of
blasphemy.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that an entire community had been terrorised in
Nankana's Sangala Hill area and it was imperative that the rulers restored
the shattered confidence of the minority community.
She demanded that those who have suffered losses must be compensated and
reassured to feel secure in their homes and places of worship.
Mohtarma Bhutto also condoled with those who have suffered so grievously in
the violence.

Senate body requisitioned to probe hiring of foreign
consultants
Islamabad Nov 17, 2005: The opposition
in the Senate has requisitioned a meeting of the Senate Committee on Social
Welfare and Special Education to probe the hiring of foreign consultants
hired by the Ministry for its various projects.
The notice signed by three opposition members of the Committee namely
Farhatullah Babar and Enver Baig of PPP and Professor Ghafoor Ahmad of MMA
was submitted in the Senate secretariat on Wednesday Nov 16. The notice
said, "The press reports of hiring of consultant allegedly for 64 % of the
total project cost has raised serious questions about the need for foreign
consultants, procedures of their selection and their qualification besides
grave issue of transparency and accountability involved in it".
It is an issue of public importance for which a meeting of the Senate
Committee be called to discuss the same, the notice said.
Under the Rules of Procedure of the Senate a requisitioned meeting has to be
called within two weeks by the chairperson of the Committee and if he or she
fails to do so the Secretary of the Committee shall automatically call the
meeting within three weeks. Senator Nighat Agha is the Chairperson of the
Senate Committee on Special Education and social Welfare.
The press reports said that the minister for special education had appointed
a consultant despite objections by senior officers of her own ministry about
the procedure and lack of transparency in hiring consultants. In the
reported case a foreign consultant was hired by the minister at a fee of
30,000 pounds which was almost two third the total grant given for the
project by the foreign donors.
The opposition senators have asked the Ministry to bring up the record of
all the foreign and local consultants hired by it for different projects.

Mohtarma
Bhutto thanks world leaders for support
Islamabad November 17, 2005: Former
Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has thanked all heads of States/Governments of donors
countries for their assistance in the relief and rehabilitation of quake
affected areas in Pakistan.
'By your sharing our sorrows and contributing to our relief and
rehabilitation efforts, we have been highly encouraged in our time of
tribulation', she said in a letter addressed to the heads of state and
government.
Following is the text of her letter.
"On behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the people of Pakistan, I take
this opportunity to thank you for coming to the assistance of the Pakistani
Nation in its hour of need following the devastating earthquake of October
8, 2005. Your Country's generous support to the victims of the tragedy
reaffirmed the principle moral that a friend in need is a friend indeed.
"The moral and material support extended by your country is an extension of
your sympathy in response to the suffering of the earthquake affected people
of Pakistan. This sympathy and support means so much to us as we try to
rebuild the shattered lives and cities that now pose enormous challenges to
a nation afflicted with great poverty and backwardness. By your sharing our
sorrows and contributing to our relief and rehabilitation efforts, we have
been highly encouraged in our time of tribulation. The people of Pakistan
will remember this support for a long time to come.
"I look forward to the continuing cooperation between our two countries in
the global village where we are supposed to share the joys and sorrows of
one another".

Pakistan:
Donors Need Accountability on Human Rights
New York, November 16, 2005 — A recent
attack by Pakistani police on a camp of earthquake survivors highlights why
international donors must insist on human rights protection in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Human Rights Watch said today. International
donors are gathering in Islamabad on Friday to discuss aid for victims of
the October 8 earthquake.
Pakistani police used canes and rifle butts to break up a march on November
11 by approximately 200 earthquake survivors protesting eviction from their
makeshift camp in the Kashmiri city of Muzaffarabad. Though the police
denied attempting to forcibly evict the earthquake survivors, witnesses told
Human Rights Watch that police arrived early last Friday at the Jalalabad
Garden camp and told the quake victims to leave by sunset. Several
protestors, including children, were injured as a result of police efforts
to break up the demonstration. The authorities subsequently backtracked and
only a few refugees have moved from the camp, which is still functional.
“The challenges of responding to the earthquake do not give the Pakistani
police license to attack quake victims,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at
Human Rights Watch. “Homeless people understandably are worried if they are
asked to move without assurances that they will have the scarce necessities
of life at a new location.”
In the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir, an internationally disputed
territory, the military essentially runs the region as its own fiefdom. The
Pakistani government does not tolerate dissent in Kashmir, and the
authorities ban or harass opposition political parties.
In recent weeks, the Pakistani military authorities have also discouraged
negative media coverage of Pakistan’s response to the earthquake. Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf expressed his displeasure at excessive criticism
at a press conference in October.
On Monday, Pakistan’s government-run electronic media regulatory authority,
PEMRA, stopped three local partners of the BBC from broadcasting two daily
30-minute “earthquake specials” produced by the BBC’s Urdu service. PEMRA
officials, accompanied by dozens of armed policemen, seized equipment from
one of the local partner’s Karachi offices and ordered two satellite
television partners to stop running news content from the BBC. Pakistan’s
information minister declined to comment on the incident when approached by
the BBC.
“Now is the time for more information about the relief effort, not less,”
said Adams. “Donors should make it clear to the Pakistani government that
attempts to muzzle reporting on relief efforts are unacceptable.”
Human Rights Watch called on the international community to ensure that
there is greater civilian oversight of relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction efforts. So far, there has been little sign of any civilian
oversight of aid inflows. Aid should be handled through a process that
involves the Pakistan-administered Kashmir government, political parties in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir as well as local, national and international
non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups, particularly those
working in the field.
In addition, Human Rights Watch called for independent auditing of relief
funds and materials to ensure transparency and accountability. Contracts for
reconstruction should be handled through proper procurement procedures that
allow bidding by private agencies, and not just military entities.
Aid should be distributed without regard to political affiliation. In
particular, there should be no discrimination against Kashmiri nationalists
who do not support Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan or refugees who have
entered Pakistan-administered Kashmir from Indian-administered Kashmir since
1991. These groups have faced systematic discrimination and violations of
their human rights at the hands of the Pakistan Army, its security agencies,
and the Pakistan-administered Kashmir government acting at the behest of
Islamabad.
“Given its record of abuse and corruption, the Pakistani military should not
be given carte blanche in the relief efforts,” said Adams. “To keep the
process honest, civil society must be given a significant role both in
delivery and oversight.”
Human Rights Watch urged donors to be as generous as possible in order to
avert a humanitarian catastrophe as winter approaches in the mountainous
regions of Northern Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
For more information, please contact:
In London, Ali Dayan Hasan: +44 07887 817110 (mobile)
In Washington DC, Veena Siddharth: +1 202 612 4341 (office)
In Brussels, Vanessa Saenen: +32-486-506512 (mobile)

Postponement of Briefing by ERRA and Federal Relief Commission denounced
It is a manifestation of the mindset not to submit to Parliamentary scrutiny
Islamabad November 16, 2005:
Pakistan Peoples Party has condemned the sudden postponement of briefing by
Earthquake Reconstruction Authority.
(ERRA) and Federal Relief Commission (FRC) to the joint meeting of the
defense committees of Senate and National Assembly scheduled for Thursday.
A joint briefing by ERRA Chairman Lt General Zubair and FRC head Major
General Farooq scheduled for today (Thursday) in the Parliament House was
postponed late Wednesday evening for what has been officially described as
the preoccupation of the heads of two organizations with the donors
conference on Saturday November 19.
It is a lame excuse that the heads of the two organizations were busy with
the donors’ conference, Senator Farhatullah Babar spokesman of the PPP said
in a statement today. "The briefing by the two organizations to the joint
Parliamentary committee was notified knowing full well that the donors’
conference had been scheduled for Saturday".
"It is a manifestation of the mindset that disdains Parliament, does not
believe in transparency, hates transparency and refuses to submit to
accountability".
He said that this was not the first time that the Parliamentary scrutiny has
been avoided. Recently the Chairman Fauji Foundation a former Lt General,
Chairman NAB a serving Lt General and Director General Rangers a serving
major General have all used different pretexts to avoid appearing before
parliamentary committees to answer specific questions relating to them.
The cancellation shows that a deliberate effort is afoot to keep the
reconstruction work shrouded in secrecy and kept out of the ambit of
Parliament and accountability, he said.
General Pervez Musharraf has been robbed of whatever little chance there was
for him to enter the Donors Conference with fake claims of transparency,
accountability and national consensus in the reconstruction effort, he said.
The reconstruction work is estimated to cast over five billion dollars or
300 billion rupees which is almost one third of the national budget. The
refusal to even brief the Parliamentary Committee is a clear message that
one third of the national budget is planned to be spent by a few individuals
without parliamentary scrutiny.
The chance to dispel the perception that the edifice of reconstruction rests
solely upon the wisdom of one or few individuals and not on national
consensus has been lost, he said.
It will be a catastrophe if the donors turned their backs because the
‘comprehensive plan’ was perceived to be lacking in consensus or was not
resting on solid institutional foundations or that its sponsors were not
prepared to even brief the Parliament about it.

Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto reiterates her resolve for political liberty and democracy
Islamabad, 16 November 2005:
Former Prime Minister and the Chairperson Pakistan People Party,
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was amongst several world leaders that spoke at the
Abu Dhabi Global Business Enterprise Leadership Conference yesterday. Others
who spoke on the occasion included former U S President Bill Clinton, former
Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidate Senator John Edwards, Minister
of Education, UAE and Richard Branson founder of Virgin records and Virgin
airline.
Mohtarma Bhutto spoke of her life and how she made the transition into
politics. Her speech was widely welcomed by participants. According to the
Khaleej Times, she got a standing ovation.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in her address said, "My election broke the myth
that a woman could not be elected Prime Minister in a Muslim country. It
stirred a debate in the entire Muslim world. The lead scholar in Saudi
Arabia gave a Fatwa, a religious edict, against my election. But other
religious scholars supported me. I especially remember the religious
scholars in Egypt, Syria and Yemen. The religious scholar in Yemen said that
Islam permitted a woman to govern a Muslim country. He said the Holy book of
the Muslims referred to the rule of Queen Sheba in laudatory terms noting
that her reign brought prosperity to her people. But the fanatics in
Pakistan were deeply upset at my election. They dreamt of spreading the
ideological frontiers of Islam through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central
Asia to the borders of Europe. Elements of the military that had fought the
Afghan Jihad as a religious war against godless communism also opposed me.
They refused to salute me and engaged in covert conspiracies to overthrow
me."
Regarding here opposition by the fundamentalists, she said, "My opponents
turned to a then not so well known Osma Bin Laden for help. They called him
back from Saudi Arabia where he had returned following the decision of the
Soviets to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989. They asked him for ten million
dollars to bring down the Government I led. In return they promised to
legislate a religious bill turning Pakistan into a theocratic state. Until
today the fanatics who believe in a war between the Muslims and the
Non-Muslims fear my popularity and the strength of my Party. They see us as
a symbol of a modern Muslim state, pluralistic, democratic, tolerant,
respecting freedom and human rights. They fear the empowerment of the people
which challenges authoritarian forms of government."
About her continued victimisation, she said, "I faced many challenges since
1996. My husband was arrested the night my government was overthrown. He was
held hostage to my political struggle for 8 long years. I am continuously
told that the web of legal cases woven around my family and myself can be
broken if I announce my abdication from political life. I do not do so. I
know that my duty to my people comes first, for the sake of my children and
all the children of Pakistan. My duty to Pakistan's democratic struggle is
one baptized in blood. During this struggle, I lost both my brothers who
were killed in the prime of their lives."
She said, "it is critical that women enter the 21st Century ready to accept
the challenges of a modern world. Despite the constraints of a political
system that was all too often rigged against democrats, and a social system
that was biased against women, when I became prime Minister of Pakistan I
used my office to try to reverse centuries of discrimination. My tenure was
a textbook affirmative action program against gender discrimination. We
increased literacy by one-third, even more dramatically among girls. 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 held a Muslim Women's Olympics. We held the first meeting
of a Muslim Women's Parliamentary Conference. The record I accomplished is
one in which I have great pride. Despite the reversals in my homeland -- the
progress that we made raised the bar of expectations and cannot long be
ignored."
"When political forces, political parties and political leaders can finally
come to realize and fully appreciate that they have a fundamental obligation
to society, the world can gallop into the unlimited social, educational,
global and scientific promise of the 21st century", she said.
Following is the press text of her speech:
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour for me to appear before this unique, truly extraordinary
gathering of leaders from all around the world, converging on the United
Arab Emirates as an emerging centre of economic, political and intellectual
innovation.
Blessed by resource and unlimited opportunity, it is significant that it is
here in the UAE, where I have chosen to live and raise my children.
Here I pay tribute to the late President Shaikh Zayed.
He was a father to his people, to the larger Arab world and he was also like
a father to me.
I shall always remember him in my heart for allowing me a home away from
home, here in the UAE and for his contributions to Pakistan's development.
And I will never forget the warmness of your welcome, the openness of your
hospitality and the humanity of your people.
To all of you, Salaam Aleichem, May Peace Be With You.
I am asked to share my life story with you and to speak on leadership.
I am a daughter of the desert sands of Sindh in Pakistan. It is an ancient
land, a land of saints, Sufis and mystics.
I grew up in the shadow of Moen Jo Daro, the 5000 year old civilization
which once traded with Baghdad and Bukhara and through them with Europe and
the Far East.
My father would tell me fascinating historical tales of conquest and
victory.
I learnt of how the Greek Conqueror Alexander the Great was bitten by a
mosquito in Sindh developing a fever that killed him in Babylon.
I learnt of how the mighty can be brought down by the weakest. I learnt that
in the greatest adventures one must never forget the smallest details.
Islam first came to South Asia through Sindh. An Arab conqueror by the name
of Mohammad Bin Qasim landed on the shores by sea bringing the message of
equality that would spread far and wide in the year 712 A.D.
There was a great emphasis on roots and on the values of courage, integrity
loyalty, knowledge, honour, duty, responsibility and pride passed on from
generation to generation.
Sindh was largely a tribal society when I was child. Identity lay in the
family, in the tribe, in the soil and in religion. One's duty was to uphold
the good name of the whole, of which we as individuals were a part of.
I heard that I was an heir to the greatness of Islam which proclaimed
equality between the rich and the poor, between the male and female, between
the strong and the weak.
I read and re-read how the powerful conqueror of Sindh Mohammad Bin Qasim
was sentenced to death in the cause of justice. He had failed to protect the
dignity of a woman and was punished losing his life.
It showed me the importance of the rights of women and it underlined the
importance of justice in Islam for building a truly civilized society. That
example, seared into the memory of a young child, become a part of my life
and my struggle.
There was much poverty in those days in my country. There were few roads,
drinking water was scarce, people were so poor that they were often
shirtless and shoeless. Little children ran naked in the dusty, dirty
village lanes with open sewerage gutters. Cow dung was used for cooking and
as fertilizer.
A midst this squalor and deprivation, there were a few large families with
enormous land holdings and industrial wealth.
My father told me it was wrong that so many should be so poor when so few
were so rich. He told me that the Islamic law of inheritance ensured the
distribution of wealth rather than its concentration. He imbibed in me the
spirit of social reform and the principle of social equality-goals that he
fought for and which became mine.
I came from a political family. My grandfather formed the first political
party in Sindh and brought out its first newspaper. He led the movement to
separate Muslim Sindh from Hindu Bombay in the thirties which culminated in
the demand for Pakistan in the forties -- A separate homeland for Muslims of
South Asia.
I grew up as a pampered child of privileged family with political and social
dominance.
From the young age of 5, I was under public scrutiny, the daughter of
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Because of that public scrutiny, I was taught to always be on guard, on
watch, not to make a slip, to keep my head high, to hide my emotions, to
perform my duty, to smile and walk on because "when you smile, the world
smiles with you" and "when you cry, you cry alone".
I was shy and led an insulated life. Except for my cousins and a few close
friends, I did not mix much with other children. We feared that fame brings
fair weather friends and kept to ourselves. We learnt that the price of fame
can be loneliness - to avoid gossip we kept our distance, always protected,
shadowed, chaperoned.
Obedience to parents, to teachers, to God were the hallmarks of my young
life.
Moral duty was drilled into us; "To whom God gives much, much is expected."
In 1966, in our ancestral home in Larkana, when I turned 13, my Mother made
me wear a Burqa, the all enveloping black cloth covering the body from head
to toe. As the veil billowed over my body and covered my eyes, I felt hot,
constrained and the world looked grey through the mists of the veil.
For centuries women in my family had worn the veil. For centuries women had
either married cousins or, if they were unavailable, remained unmarried.
This ensured that the property women inherited under Islam did not leave the
family.
But now my life was to change. My father was an emancipated man, a reformer
who broke the bastions of tradition and changed the direction of his family,
his country and our region.
He took one look at me in the Burqa as I arrived home and said, " I don't
want my daughter wearing the veil." He told me that Muslims believe that the
best veil is the veil in the eyes of a person.
It was a man, a very special man, my father, who set me on the road to
modernity.
When I turned sixteen, my father decided to send me abroad for education.
My female relatives opposed my father's decision. They begged him to change
his mind. The destiny of a young woman in those days was to make a good
marriage, a good home and raise good children.
Before I left for Harvard, my father took me to our lands in Larkana.
Here the peasants sweated under the sun taking care of the fields of wheat
and cotton.
My father said, "see how hard these men work. You must seek knowledge abroad
and then return to serve your own people. Do not be so dazzled by the bright
lights as to forget your roots and the land that gave you birth."
Then he took me to our family graveyard where for generations our ancestors
lay. "Whenever you go in the world" he said "this is where you will
ultimately return. You are part of this dust and this dust is part of you."
As a farewell present, my father gave me the Holy Book of the Muslims inlaid
with precious mother of Pearl. He hugged me and kissed me. He often joked
that I was too argumentative. His parting words of advice to me were "Don't
argue with Immigration Officers or taxi drivers."
And so at 16 I left with my mother and my Afghan Pashmina coat for Cambridge
Massachusetts-to a new world.
For the first time I met people who did not know who I was, or where my
country was.
"Pakistan: where's that?" they'd ask.
While I was a student at Harvard, A separatist movement in present day
Bangladesh had torn my country apart. I refused to believe Pakistani troops
could commit genocide in then East Pakistan. I got into furious arguments
with those I found criticizing my country.
Patriotism burned deep in my heart.
At 17 I addressed the Asia Society and wrote a letter to Life Magazine
defending the Egyptian President Nasser's decision to built the Aswan Dam.
As a child of my age, I was influenced by the social ferment around me. It
was a time of student power.
It was a time of war. American forces were engaged in Vietnam. As an Asian
at Harvard, I felt strongly about the war in Vietnam.
I joined other students to protest it.
It was a time of white minority rule in parts of Africa. The fight against
apartheid shaped my commitment to stand up for the principle of equality
between men irrespective of race or colour.
The women's movement had began and with it the debate about women's role in
society.
As a Muslim women I felt strongly about gender rights. The Prophet of Islam
(PBUH) had married a working woman, a business woman. He had stopped
violence against women prohibiting the burial of the girl child. Islam
proclaimed that paradise lay beneath the feet of the mother and that on the
day of judgment we'd be called by our mother's names.
The movement for women's rights empowered and emboldened me.
It was a time when Martin Luther King defended the rights of the African
American and Robert Kennedy spoke for the underprivileged of America. It was
an era of civil rights and morality where values, rather than force, shaped
the destiny of society and of humanity.
These important steps helped shape my outlook on life, helped me focus on
fighting injustice, promoting freedom, safeguarding the rights of the
discriminated and dispossessed.
I was in America during the impeachment proceedings that brought down it's
President Nixon.
I saw the awesome power of the people to change policies, to change leaders
and to change history.
I marveled at the power of a people to bring down a government. I lived in a
dictatorship. Those criticizing the President ended up in prison or faced
assassination attempts.
From Harvard I went to Oxford University in London.
Brought up with the belief that all people are equal, irrespective of race,
religion, colour, caste or creed, I was shocked to see racism rear its ugly
head.
The British Politician Enoch Powell was threatening to throw all Asians into
the sea.
I loved Oxford with its cobbled streets and college spires. I walked the
streets my father had once walked. I learnt to punt on the river and attend
strawberry and cream picnics.
While I was at Oxford the Conservative Party chose a women, Margaret
Thatcher, as leader of the opposition. The idea of the first female British
Prime Minister became an intense topic of discussion amongst students.
There were many who believed that the Conservative Party could never win an
election because it was led by a woman.
My father, who had become Prime Minister by now, thought otherwise.
He invited Mrs. Thatcher to Pakistan as his guest during the summer, to
ensure that I would be there. I attended his dinner for Mrs. Thatcher. Later
Mrs. Thatcher invited me to the British House of Parliament, the House of
Commons the seat of the mother of all democracies. I was introduced to the
world of politics.
My interest in international affairs was growing but I still did not want to
enter politics.
My father would regale me with stories about Joan of Arc, Mrs. Bandarnaike
the world's first woman Prime Minister and Mrs. Gandhi of India. Moreover,
Mrs. Golda Meir had been Prime Minister of Israel during the Arab-Israeli
war of 1967. All the civilizations of the world had women Prime Ministers
except for the Islamic civilization. Yet it was Islam which had given the
clarion call for gender equality. My father believed that I was the one who
would right the historic balance.
Despite my reluctance, he clearly saw a political role for me. He groomed me
for politics and motivated me with role models.
I joined the Oxford Union Students Debating Society because my father wanted
me too. Many British Prime Ministers had started their political careers as
Presidents of the Oxford Union. Even though he did not say it, I felt my
father wanted me to run for office there too. So I did.
At Oxford I was the first female foreigner to be elected as President of the
Oxford Union.
It is said that the Oxford Union is the training ground for British
politics. The entry and exit doors have "Push" and "Pull" written on them.
We joked that politics was all about pushing and pulling up the greasy
ladder of success.
It was there that I first learnt to debate.
I returned to Pakistan in the summer of 1977 planning to join the foreign
service.
Within a week of my return to Pakistan, my life changed dramatically.
A military coup took place. Army tanks had surrounded the Prime Minister's
house. Our life and family was never to be the same again.
My father was taken away. I ran to the door as he walked out of the house. I
watched the car leave the drive way taking my father to an unknown
destination, with the sun glowing off the car's metal plate with the Prime
Minister Seal.
As Prime Minister of Pakistan, I declined to return to live in the Prime
Minister's House. It held too many painful memories for me.
My father was later released and greeted by hundreds of thousands of people.
They swarmed around him pouring out their love and affection.
Shortly there after I was woken in the night with armed men barging into my
room waving guns and jumping over the place. They were all over the house.
My father was arrested again and taken away.
He was released, re-arrested, and finally hanged amidst international
outrage at the age of fifty.
A few hours before my Father's murder, my Mother and I went to see him in
the squalid death cell where the military tyrants had kept him. We went to
bid him farewell. His courage in the face of death remains with me.
It was then, in that final meeting that I decided come what may, I would
continue his mission and his work for a democratic Pakistan with equal
rights for all its citizens.
During the long dark night of military dictatorship, lasting eleven years,
my mother and I were repeatedly arrested, kept apart, in solitarily
confinement amidst harsh conditions. Every attempt was made to break our
will but we remained strong bolstered by the love of the people who
supported us.
Our supporters were whiplashed, tortured, shot and hanged. But they never
wavered. Some went to the gallows with my father's name on their lips,
others were buried with their coffins covered in the tricoloured party flag.
My mother was baton charged and denied proper treatment. Today she suffers
from a form of Alzheimer's her doctors say was brought on by improper
treatment of that head wound.
I spent nearly six years behind bars, often in solitary confinement. During
the summers it was unbearably hot and during the winters it was brutally
cold. The conditions in the cell were primitive. Mosquitoes, flies,
cockroaches, dust storms and dryness were constant companions as was
loneliness and a lack of communication with the outside world.
I spent long hours in prayer. My belief in God sustained me when each moment
seemed an hour, each hour a day. Through out this period, I was confident
that we would triumph, confident that truth would prevail, confident that
those who are patient and persevere are rewarded with victory. I never lost
hope. I never gave up.
I was told that the death cells were being emptied for me as part of the
psychological warfare to break my spirit. But I held to the belief that life
and death are in God's hands.
By the time I was freed into exile through international pressure, I was
anorexic. My hearing and eyesight were affected forever. My face muscles
hurt when I talked. They had atrophied through the years of silence. Freed
from the grey walls of my prison cell, I found it hard to adjust to
sunlight, to the noise of peoples voices, to ordinary conversation.
My family background and long years of imprisonment made me the rallying
point for the democratic movement. I returned to Pakistan in 1986 welcomed
by millions of Pakistanis who demanded an end to dictatorship.
And when I got married and expected my first child in 1988, the military
dictator called for elections. He thought a pregnant woman could not
campaign. I could, and I did, and, with the support of the brave people of
Pakistan, I was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.
It was not an easy campaign. The religious parties that had supported the
Afghan Jihad in Afghanistan opposed me. They claimed that the marriage of
any man who voted for me would be null and void in the eyes of God. They
claimed that the only place for a woman was behind the veil and the four
walls of the house-Not in government.
They said it was a religious duty to kill me because I was challenging the
right of men to rule the country and defying the tradition enforced on
women. But I did not give up. And won.
Circumstances propelled me onto the road of leadership.
I find that leadership is born of a passion and it is a commitment. My
commitment to democracy helped me walk the high mountain of success as well
as the low valleys of imprisonment and exile.
Leadership demands a price from an individual and it also demands a price
from the family.
I do not understand the work-life balance.
For me, success is 99% perspiration and one % inspiration.
My election broke the myth that a woman could not be elected Prime Minister
in a Muslim country.
It stirred a debate in the entire Muslim world. The lead scholar in Saudi
Arabia gave a Fatwa, a religious edict, against my election. But other
religious scholars supported me. I especially remember the religious
scholars in Egypt, Syria and Yemen. The religious scholar in Yemen said that
Islam permitted a woman to govern a Muslim country. He said the Holy book of
the Muslims referred to the rule of Queen Sheba in laudatory terms noting
that her reign brought prosperity to her people.
But the fanatics in Pakistan were deeply upset at my election. They dreamt
of spreading the ideological frontiers of Islam through Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Central Asia to the borders of Europe.
Elements of the military that had fought the Afghan Jihad as a religious war
against godless communism also opposed me. They refused to salute me and
engaged in covert conspiracies to overthrow me.
My opponents turned to a then not so well known Osma Bin Laden for help.
They called him back from Saudi Arabia where he had returned following the
decision of the Soviets to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989. They asked him
for ten million dollars to bring down the Government I led. In return they
promised to legislate a religious bill turning Pakistan into a theocratic
state.
Until today the fanatics who believe in a war between the Muslims and the
Non-Muslims fear my popularity and the strength of my Party. They see us as
a symbol of a modern Muslim state, pluralistic, democratic, tolerant,
respecting freedom and human rights. They fear the empowerment of the people
which challenges authoritarian forms of government.
Undeterred by the opposition, my party began the restructuring of the state.
We broke the bureaucratic public sector stranglehold becoming the first in
the region to privatise, deregulate and decentralize our economy.
We opened up our markets transforming our economy from permits and
permission to initiative and entrepreneurship.
As Prime Minister of Pakistan, I successfully built good relations with
India through negotiations with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
I bargained with Afghan leaders to influence the formation of a moderate
government in Kabul.
My government opened up trade and common links with Central Asia.
But the elements of the military establishment that had fought communism in
Afghanistan and now wanted to take on the west did not give up. They twice
destabilized the governments I led.
During both my stints in opposition, Pakistan was on the brink of being
declared a terrorist state, during both times, the World Trade Towers were
attacked and so were targets in India, including its Parliament.
It was during the eclipse of my government in 1996 that the Taliban seized
all of Afghanistan. It was after my overthrow that Al Qaeda was established
In Afghanistan and set up camps to train, recruit and arm young men from
across the Muslim world.
Three years after my overthrow, the Trade Centres were attacked.
The course of history changed with the change of leadership in Pakistan.
In 2001, following President Bush's ultimatum to stand up and be counted as
friend or foe, Islamabad said that it had adopted the policy of peace with
India and Afghanistan which I had initiated.
However, the vendetta against Bhutto's daughter, the leader, the military
Generals hanged, still continues. I am forced into exile where I now live.
But I have not given up and remain the symbol for a democratic future for my
country.
I faced many challenges since 1996. My husband was arrested the night my
government was overthrown. He was held hostage to my political struggle for
8 long years. I am continuously told that the web of legal cases woven
around my family and myself can be broken if I announce my abdication from
political life. I do not do so.
I know that my duty to my people comes first, for the sake of my children
and all the children of Pakistan. My duty to Pakistan's democratic struggle
is one baptized in blood. During this struggle, I lost both my brothers who
were killed in the prime of their lives.
I have three children. They were very small when our troubles started. My
youngest was three. I was their sole caretaker when my husband was in prison
for 8 years. I believe women can combine career and motherhood.
It is critical that women enter the 21st Century ready to accept the
challenges of a modern world.
My time in exile has coincided with the era of terrorism and the threat of
the clash of cultures, of a potential breakdown of communication between the
Islamic and non Islamic world.
I try to act as a bridge between different cultures, countries and
continents.
I travel extensively internationally and explain the peaceful and tolerant
message of Islam to international audiences to correct the misperceptions
propagated by the extremists who exploit it to promote their politics of
hate.
I visited India to promote a South Asia where there is peace and prosperity
through open borders and trade. My political opponents have now accepted the
wisdom of the policies for which I was once termed a "security risk."
When I was at Oxford, I won the Presidency of the Oxford Union debating that
"The Pen is more powerful than the Sword."
I believe in the battle of ideas, and that no force can win a victory
against an idea, a policy or a vision that is based on truth and justice.
I still believe the Pen is more Powerful than the Sword although the world
has changed since I was a student at Oxford.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Despite the constraints of a political system that was all too often rigged
against democrats, and a social system that was biased against women, when I
became prime Minister of Pakistan I used my office to try to reverse
centuries of discrimination.
My tenure was a textbook affirmative action program against gender
discrimination. We increased literacy by one-third, even more dramatically
among girls.
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 held a Muslim Women's Olympics.
We held the first meeting of a Muslim Women's Parliamentary Conference.
The record I accomplished is one in which I have great pride. Despite the
reversals in my homeland -- the progress that we made raised the bar of
expectations and cannot long be ignored.
In my commitment to political liberty and to democracy, I have never
wavered.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When political forces, political parties and political leaders can finally
come to realize and fully appreciate that they have a fundamental obligation
to society, the world can gallop into the unlimited social, educational,
global and scientific promise of the 21st century.
It is our job, yours and mine, to find answers.
It is our job, yours and mine, to find consensus.
It is our job to marginalize the extremes.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Robert F. Kennedy once said that "the future does not belong to those who
are content with today.. Rather it will belong to those who can blend
vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great
enterprises of society."
Vision, Reason and Courage.
Those are the true qualities of leadership and I leave you with those
thoughts.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Mohtarma Bhutto condoles with
Amjad Ikhlaq over his father’s death
Islamabad, 14 November 2005:
Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan People Party, Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Senator Asif Ali zardari have condoled with
the Administrative Officer, Zardari House Islamabad, Amjad Ikhlaq over his
father’s death who passed away recently.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence message addressed to Amjad Ikhlaq,
wrote, "Senator Asif Ali Zardari and I are writing to condole the sad demise
of your father. The loss of a parent is a great tragedy. Our sympathies are
with you at this difficult time. Please accept our heartfelt condolences and
convey the same to other members of the bereaved family."
She also prayed to Almighty Allah for the eternal peace for the departed
soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with
equanimity.
The following PPP leaders also condoled with Amjad Ikhlaq on telephone:
Senator Farooq Naek; Ms Naheed Khan MNA, Dr. Azra Afzal MNA, Ms Rukhsana
Bangash MNA, Azra Bano MPA, Saima Bukhari MPA and Sabiha Syed MPA, Mr.
Jameel Soomro MPA, Ex AJ&K Minister Iqbal Butt FC Member, Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto's Secretary Brig. (Retd) Amanullah, MBB's Staff Officer Mahmood
Ahmed, Incharge Central Secretariat (Commissioner (Retd)) Kamran Zafar,
Mehrunnisa Affridi (Ex. MNA) President NWFP Women Wing, Chief Coordinator
Ibne Muhammad Rizvi, Bilawal House Incharge Muhammad Urs, Mr Asif Zardari's
PS Dr Qayum Soomro, Central Secretariat Staff Ansar Gillani and Javaid Mir.

Mohtarma
Bhutto condoles with Aftab Shahban Mirani
Islamabad, 14 November 2005: Former
Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan People Party, Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto and her spouse Senator Asif Ali zardari have condoled with Aftab
Shahban Mirani over his sister’s death.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence message addressed to Aftab Shahban
Mirani, wrote, "Senator Asif Ali Zardari and I are writing to condole the
sad demise of your sister who passed away on November 10, 2005 in Karachi.
Please accept our heartfelt condolences and convey the same to other members
of the bereaved family."
She also prayed to Almighty Allah for the eternal peace for the departed
soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with
equanimity.

Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto pays rich tributes to Amrita Pritam
Islamabad, 14 November 2005: Former
Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has paid glowing tributes to the renowned poetess, novelist and Women
Rights Activist, Amrita Pritam in a message to the Literary Reference
organised by the Chairman World Punjabi Congress, Fakhr Zaman in Lahore
today.
Following is the text of the message:
"I wish to compliment The World Punjabi Congress and its Chairman Fakhr
Zaman for organising a literary reference to pay homage to eminent poetess
and novelist of the sub continent Amrita Pritam who died on October 31.
"Amrita Pritam is one of those rare writers who attain the status of a
legend in their own life time. Throughout her life she fought a courageous
battle against extremism and obscurantism advocating peace and harmony.
"As member of the Parliament, she forcefully articulated the cause of women
empowerment and raised her powerful voice against gender discrimination. She
never compromised on intellectual integrity and lived with poise and dignity
a life that was full of creativity.
"Her poignant commentary on the massacre at the time of partition must stir
the souls of the coldest readers in any age and in any clime. Moved by the
traumatic events of her age she learnt the need to seek refuge in Sufism in
the most troubling times. Her cry "Today I ask Waris Shah to rise in his
grave and speak" shook the conscience of millions in the region.
"The recipient of highest National Awards in India and several International
Awards, Amrita Pritanm will continue to inspire generations with her message
of love and peace.
"It would be a befitting tribute to the memory of Amrita Pritam if her works
in the Punjabi and Hindi languages are also translated into the regional
languages of Pakistan and widely distributed. I hope the World Punjabi
Congress and its Chairman Fakhr Zaman will give it a serious thought."

Senator
Khawaja Demands an immediate audit of NCHD/PHDF
Islamabad November 12, 2005: PPP Senator
and member of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
Senator Akbar Khawaja has issued the following statement today.
"The ruling by Senate Chairman on Friday to refer the matter of audit of
government doles to a private NGO called the Pakistan Human Development Fund
(PHDF) to a House Committee is welcome.
"It is recalled that the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
in its meeting in June 2005 had also taken note of the matter and
recommended audit of all funds given to National Commission for Human
Development (NCHD) and parked at the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF)
by the Auditor General of Pakistan. These recommendations were also placed
before the House and endorsed by it.
"At the June meeting several members of the Senate Committee on Finance
expressed grave concern over the delay in the audit of NCHD/PHDF by The AG
as required under Article 169 of the Constitution. The Committee had also
unanimously decided that any release of government funds to NCHD/PHDF must
be subject to the satisfactory audit report by the Auditor General of
Pakistan (AGP).
"Although issues of misuse and illegal parking of NCHD funds at PHDF has
been raised earlier also in the Senate but state officials are tight lipped
as General Musharaf is a Patron of PHDF and Mr. Shaukat Aziz sits on PHDF
Board of Directors.
"Media has widely commented on the unconstitutional transfer of NCHD funds
to PHDF and termed it as one of the biggest financial scams of the Military
Regime.
"The government on Friday admitted the transfer of over 2 billion rupees
from public exchequer to a private NGO called the PHDF. When the truth is
out it may well be found out that another $18 million foreign funds
collected for NCHD were also unconstitutionally transferred to PHDF.
"It is a scandal of monumental proportions that while Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto and genuine political leaders are being hounded and chased in the
name of accountability the regime is trying to cover up corruption in its
own ranks.
"The Pakistan Peoples Party stands for transparency and accountability and
therefore as a member of the Party it is my duty to urge civil society to
raise its voice, expose the scandal, stop the pilfering of peoples’ hard
earned money and put to an end the politically motivated witch hunt of
opposition leadership in the name of accountability".

Inquiry
before Swiss Magistrate on November 19
Islamabad November 11, 2005: Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto will appear before the Swiss Inquiry Magistrate on November
24 and November 25 to assist the inquiry triggered by politically motivated
allegations of abuse of office made by the regime in Islamabad said
spokesman of the Party in a statement today.
It may be recalled that none of the allegations have been proven in Pakistan
as they are false. Therefore it is surprising that the Geneva authorities
have allowed the investigations to go ahead without proof of abuse of office
by Mohtarma. It may also be noted that the SGS company had charges of
corruption dropped against them and are no longer being investigated in
Pakistan or in Geneva.
Mohtarma Bhutto last appeared before the investigative Magistrate on
September 19.
Assisted by a Swiss defence lawyer Mohtarma Bhutto had informed the
Investigation Magistrate at the last appearance that the Swiss companies
allegedly involved in money laundering were not hers. She had also said that
the pre-shipment inspection contract was awarded to SGS in a transparent and
open manner and there was no underhand dealing involved in the award of
contract.
The military rulers in Pakistan have been pushing this investigation only to
put pressure on Mohtarma Bhutto to quit politics. They have spent enormous
sums of money on the matter and have not stopped despite the earthquake in
Pakistan.
Mohtarma Bhutto has however refused to be blackmailed in the last nine years
and refuses to be blackmailed even now, he said.
The former Prime Minister was fighting military dictatorship in the country,
which had broken and bent every rule in the book and resorted to back dated
laws to eliminate her, the spokesman said.
The military dictatorship was against the women as was manifested by the
callous remarks of General Musharraf in Washington saying that the women in
Pakistan got themselves raped to make money or get foreign visas.
Mohtarma Bhutto said she would contest the charges rather than give in to
the Musharraf demand to quit politics and not contest the next elections as
she opposes military dictatorship, he said.

PPP
compiles comprehensive report on rigging in Local Bodies elections
Islamabad, 09 November 2005: Pakistan
Peoples Party has undertaken compilation of a comprehensive report on
rigging in the local bodies’ polls and the first instalment of the report
focussing on Khairpur Mirs in Sindh has been completed.
The report compiled by former district Nazima Nafisa Shah gives a detailed
account of how the elections were stolen by the provincial chief minister
and the minister for Communication and Works Saddardin Shah.
The report gives specific examples of how the opposition candidates were
threatened and violence, intimidation and human rights violations were
committed by the ruling coalition candidates.
The report says that in Khairpur Mir’s all powers over administration were
handed over to the son of Pir of Pagaro, Saddardin Shah, the Minister of
Communications and Works. It is on record, that he called the last District
Police Officer Imran Yaqoob to dinner earlier in the year and asked him to
assist him in the elections.
The District Police Officer went on record himself in the press stating that
he has been asked by the ruling party minister to win the elections for him
but he clearly declined, saying that his job was to maintain law and order
and no further. Subsequently, the District Police Officer was transferred
and replaced by a ranker Fayyaz Qureishi with a single point agenda to win
the election for the Pir. Nearly all police stations were given to the
henchmen of the Pir’s son or his protégés’ henchmen, all in the context of
the forth-coming elections. All postings and transfers of all district
officials despite the presence of a district government were carried out by
the agents of the Minister who was awarded the responsibility of elections
and given the licence to do all as he pleased.
Regarding pre-poll rigging the report says, "The Minister, Communication and
Works Saddardin Shah, masterminded the operation of rigging and used the
services of the District Police Officer and the District Coordination
Officer. The District Coordination Officer allowed his office to be used as
election cell, where Minister Saddardin Shah used to organize meetings. Such
references were sent to the Chief Election Commissioner for enquiry but
excepting for in ineffective letter of enquiry no further action was taken.
The pre-poll methods of rigging were to discourage the Awam Dost candidates
from contesting or even fielding candidates for the contest. A large number
of candidates who filled forms with the party were intimidated and
threatened. At the time of the scrutiny, proposers and seconders, Nazims and
Naibnazims, were harassed, kidnapped in large numbers. Those who had
relatives in the police or revenue or any other government office were
threatened personally by the Minister who said that they would have to be
removed from service if they failed to cooperate with the government party.
This resulted in several of Awam Dost candidates running out of contest".
"A large number of ballot boxes and ballot papers were leaked out to the
official candidates, as the anecdotal evidence suggests. Anywhere between
500 to one thousand ballots were provided to them before the polling day, as
the reports from the presiding staff shows. Large-scale victimization, led
to the entire Naro Taluka to go uncontested, as many Nazims, Naibnazims,
members unofficially withdrew from the race to save their honour, life,
property", the report says.
Regarding polling day rigging the report states, "Violence, Firing and
raiding and intimidation took place through which several polling stations
were attacked by groups of dacoits and criminals accompanied by the Khairpur
Dost candidates, carrying firearms who overpowered the polling stations and
began to stamp the ballots and stuff the ballot boxes. Khadim Aradin, in
charge of Hur Force in Nara, along with several other Hurs in half a dozen
cars, went to polling stations Babur Wada in Naseer Fakir Jalani, in Bozdar
Wada High School, in Luqman Soomra Mohallah, in Seri in Union Council
Mandan, and overpowered the polling staff and began to stamp votes in favour
of the Khairpur Dost Panel. In the ensuing violence as a result of the
criminal onslaught in the district two people were kil
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