Bhutto returning to Pakistan next month
Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan on October 18th
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Friday, 14, Sep 2007 06:19
Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto has said she will return to her home country after eight years in exile on October 18th.
The pro-democracy leader, who opposes the military dictatorships which have dominated much of her country's 60-year history, faces corruption charges on her return.
But she plans to stand for election against incumbent president Pervez Musharraf, whose hold on power currently seems at its weakest during his eight-year period in office.
Political destabilisation following the bloody Red Mosque siege earlier this summer has been followed by a dramatic upsurge in violence in the subcontinental country and the reinstatement of Pakistan's chief justice, against General Musharraf's wishes, has also added to tensions.
Many view Ms Bhutto's candidacy as being a real alternative to another term for Gen Musharraf. She looks a more likely candidate than another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was deported hours after arriving in Pakistan earlier this week.
One tactic Gen Musharraf may choose to adopt is an attempt to create a power-sharing deal with her and talks between the two have reportedly been ongoing in the last few months. No agreement has yet been reached, however, and many in her party oppose such a move.
"We welcome her coming back, but let me say that it will be an insult to democracy if she agrees to share power with a man who ousted the elected government of Nawaz Sharif and has caused irreparable damage to democratic institutions,'' Sadiq ul-Farooq, a senior figure in Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's party, told the Associated Press news agency.