Mohtarma Bhutto addresses Middle East Institute in Washington

Mohtarma Bhutto addresses Middle East Institute in Washington

Says People do not want repeat of sham 2002 electionsDictatorship fuelling, not containing extremism.Islamabad, 25 September 2007: “The people of Pakistan want change. Change of systems, change of programs, change from a climate of threat to one of stability and prosperity. They don’t want to see the sham of 2002 repeated again, resulting in an illegitimate government that has no mandate to govern and fails to give security of life or economic growth that can provide hope and opportunity to those unemployed or living on the margins of poverty”, former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said this while speaking at the Middle East Institute, in Washington today. A large number of opinion makers, intellectuals, scholars, lecturers and students attended the function. Former US ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlain heads the Middle East Institute.The former Prime Minister giving a detailed account of prevailing situation in Pakistan said, “It is a critical fork in the road between democracy and dictatorship and between moderation and extremism. In its resolution lies not only the future of Pakistan, but also its ability to contain the spread of militancy and extremism which now threatens the territorial integrity of Pakistan. Some argue that extremism can better be confronted by a military backed regime. It will not surprise you that I disagree with this view quite vigorously. I think it is a strategic miscalculation that has had a negative impact in the battle against violent fanaticism, posing grave dangers both to Pakistan and the larger world community. The attacks on the World Trade Towers, the Cole ship at Yemen, the embassies in Africa, the blasts in Bombay and in the Indian Parliament took place when I was in opposition”.Regarding the military regime’s inability to control the spread of extremism in Pakistan, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said, “Large sections of Pakistan’s tribal areas have been ceded to non Pakistanis in the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militias. In fact, after defeat and demoralization following the fall of the Kabul, these violent elements have re-organized themselves under the shadow of the military regime. They attack NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan every day. They conduct suicide attacks within Pakistan killing innocent people. On September 20, 2007, Al – Qaeda declared war on the Pakistan army. Military dictatorship has fueled extremism. A democratically elected government enjoying the support of the people can bring peace to the people of Pakistan and eliminate extremism. Eliminate terrorism by taking extremism off the radar screen of the region. I was the civilian female leader of a democratic Pakistan that invested political capital in the tribal areas that a military regime has failed to control. As Prime Minister I brought the rule of law and the fruits of development to the people in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. My government broke up the international drug cartel’s militias that have now reasserted themselves under the Musharraf rule and are funding Al – Qaeda to have a narco-fiefdom. My Administration brought the authority of the government and the rule of law to FATA in the 1990s. And we can do it again. I would also add that as Prime Minister I took the necessary steps to close down political madrassas whose curriculum taught hatred and para-military terrorist techniques. I did this before they became a threat to the world community. I considered them a threat to the stability, security and progress of the people of Pakistan. It is only dictatorships which have used the Islamic card to legitimize their rule at the expense of the neglected people of Pakistan. Dictatorships, lacking a popular base, need the religious card, played in one shape or another, to justify their stranglehold on power. They need a crisis to obtain international support, both political and financial. Extremists have never been able to achieve more than 11% of the vote in a free election, and they will do worse, not better if free elections are held today. Dictatorship in Pakistan is not containing extremism, it is fueling. Each of Pakistan’s four military dictatorships has assaulted the major infrastructural building blocks of democracy -- by attempting to marginalize political parties, dismantling NGO’s and undermining civil society, by constraining labor and student unions, and allowing the intelligence agencies and government members to physically assault and intimidate the free press. Each military dictatorship has undermined the independent judiciary by sacking of judges. In the last twenty years, my government is the only one which has neither removed a Chief Justice nor attacked the premises of the Supreme Court.”Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto expressing grave concerns about the political element in Musharraf’s party that presided over the rise of extremism and said, “Dictatorships, by dismantling the infrastructure of democracy, allow the mosques to become the only outlet of political expression in Pakistan. The Musharraf regime has appointed extremists to head many of the mosques. For example the head cleric of the Red Mosque in Islamabad who led a mutiny in the summer of 2007 was appointed by the regime of General Musharraf. When he was caught smuggling weapons into Islamabad in 2004, he was released by the Minister of Religious Affairs. The same Minister has twice defended suicide attacks before a Pakistani audience while retracting them for the international community. When Pakistanis gather to pray on Friday in the mosques they are often subjected to long lectures by radical clerics appointed by the government even as the government claims publicly to be against extremism. The voices of moderation are exiled or imprisoned. The voices of extremism are protected. Moderate and centrist political parties, thriving human and political rights NGOs, the media, and progressive leadership within our security and intelligence agencies must be brought together to confront extremists who pose the greatest internal threat to Pakistan. This is a battle that can only successfully be waged in a democratic Pakistan by a legitimate government that enjoys the support of the people. This is a battle that I am prepared to wage, to lead and to win.”Regarding dialogue with General Musharraf, she said, “The goal of my dialogue with Musharraf has never been personal. The goal was always to ensure that there be fair and free elections in Pakistan, pursuant to the Constitution, supervised by a robust team of international monitors and observers, as quickly as possible. My goal was quite literally to save democracy in Pakistan, to give democracy a chance to nurture and grow and strengthen.”On the issue of presidential election in Pakistan, she said, “Once General Musharraf files his nomination papers, the PPP would decide whether it would resign from the present Parliament or whether it would boycott the elections. While the PPP would not vote for General Musharraf as President from this Parliament unless there is a constitutional amendment, it would not resign if he took the necessary steps to show that he was moving toward fair elections and a level-playing field. If General Musharraf will retire from the post of Army Chief by October 5 - given his pledge to retire before the year’s end; second seek national reconciliation by passing an immunity law for those parliamentarians not proven guilty in the last decade; and third repeal the ban on a twice elected prime minister seeking office — a law that he put into place contrary to the constitution; the PPP will notresign from the Assemblies. The Pakistan People’s Party is holding a meeting with its ARD allies to decide this issue on October 3. Civil unrest is what the extremists want. Anarchy and chaos suits them. The political element in Musharraf's party that presided over the rise ofextremism has worked with every Pakistani administration since my government was destabilized in 1996.”About the general elections in Pakistan, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said,“My Party and I seek fair, free and impartial elections to be held by an independent election commission under an interim government of national consensus. We want a level playing field for all candidates andparties. The Musharraf Election Commission has failed to give civil society and the opposition confidence.”Regarding her return home from exile, she said, “I chose Karachi as the city to return to because it is the city where the founder of Pakistan rests. Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah campaigned to create Pakistan as a democracy where all citizens would be equal irrespective of their race, their religion or their gender. I go to Karachi to rekindle the dream of Quaid e Azam for the people of Pakistan. My father gave his life standing up for Quaid e Azam’s dream of Pakistan. And so Karachi is full of symbolism for me. I do not know what awaits me, personally or politically, once I leave the airport. I pray for the best and prepare for the worst. But in any case, I am going home to fight for the restoration of Pakistan’s place in the community of democratic nations. I do not fear the extremists for I have put my fate in the hands of the people of Pakistan, and my faith in God.”