Benazir for common market from Kabul to Bay of Bengal

“Learning from Europe following the Second World War, we will build democracies and common markets from the mountain peaks of Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal. We will open up markets, we will open up roads and we will open up endless opportunities for the people of South Asia for a more prosperous future that brings peace, security and human dignity.”

Bhutto has been packing her bags and selecting members of her retinue who will board the flight to Karachi this Thursday, ending eight years of exile. She is determined not to change the date of her return, despite three telephone calls from President Musharraf in as many days, asking her to postpone her departure from Dubai.

Bhutto says she still has “grave misgivings and doubts” about the fairness of the polls promised by Musharraf. “There were serious discrepancies in the electoral rolls and other technical issues relating to the holding of elections”.

“The PPP has called for a non-partisan caretaker government, restrictions on the powers of mayors during the electoral process, ban on use of state resources for election campaigning and end of interference of intelligence agencies in trying to influence the course of elections.” She remains confident that the PPP will win any future electoral contest, despite recent polls carried out by the Dawn newspaper and others which suggest that rival Nawaz Sharif’s PML(N) is far more popular with Pakistani voters.

“We are optimistic of winning because Pakistan’s electoral history suggests that the PPP has won the largest number of seats in every fair election,” she said. “If we succeed in ensuring free and fair elections, the PPP is bound to win. We have the popular support, we have the organisation, the programme and the candidates,” she said.