Bhutto launches election campaign
Sunday, 2 December 2007
PESHAWAR, Dec 01 (AP): Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto launched her election campaign in troubled northwestern Pakistan Saturday, a day after unveiling her party's platform despite calls from other opposition groups to boycott the January 8 vote.
Bhutto traveled in a bulletproof black Mercedes under police escort from the capital, Islamabad, to Peshawar where she appealed for support from ethnic Pashtuns predominant in the border region assailed by Islamic militancy.
She was greeted by hundreds of flag-waving supporters of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) who chanted 'Long Live Benazir!'
"I ask our Pashtun brothers to come forward for peace. They have supported the Pakistan People's Party in the past and once again they must support the PPP," she said.
"The PPP will give them security, peace and employment and will bring development to their areas so their problems can be solved."
Bhutto, a two-time prime minister whose return to Pakistan from exile in October was targeted by suicide bombers, is the first major political leader to launch a campaign since President Pervez Musharraf quit his army post and became a civilian leader this past week.
Peshawar, about 100 miles west of Islamabad, is far from her political heartland in southern Pakistan. The city near the Afghan border is a stronghold of Islamic groups who currently control the provincial government, and many conservative Pashtuns do not look favourably on the participation of women in politics.
Bhutto, whose pro-Western outlook also could make her unpopular among Pashtun voters, made her first stop at the home of a party activist to express condolences over the recent death of his father. Dozens of police, some with metal detectors, guarded the area, and commandos with rifles were positioned on rooftops.
Party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said she will also meet with party leaders to discuss how to ensure the success of their candidates.
Bhutto says she would only boycott the vote if all opposition parties do the same. But by unveiling her party's policies on Friday and now starting her campaign she has signaled an intent to participate reviving speculation she could cooperate with Musharraf if her party wins the election.
Her campaign platform promises more money for education, health and environmental protection, and cheap loans to help small businesses create jobs.
Meanwhile, AFP from Islamabad adds: Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will meet early next week to discuss whether or not to boycott the upcoming election, party officials said Saturday.
Bhutto has said that her party will participate in the election scheduled for January 8 under protest but Sharif has said the polls would be meaningless unless the judiciary is restored to its pre-emergency rule status.
"Sharif will hold a meeting with Bhutto in Islamabad Monday," his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party leader, Raja Zafarul Haq said.
The PPP also confirmed the two former prime ministers were in contact, and that a meeting was likely to take place next week.
"They have approached us for an appointment and a meeting is expected next week," Bhutto's spokesman Farhatullah Babar said, adding Bhutto and Sharif could meet as early as Monday or Tuesday.
The proposed meeting will be the first between the two key players in Pakistani politics since their return from exile.
Bhutto traveled in a bulletproof black Mercedes under police escort from the capital, Islamabad, to Peshawar where she appealed for support from ethnic Pashtuns predominant in the border region assailed by Islamic militancy.
She was greeted by hundreds of flag-waving supporters of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) who chanted 'Long Live Benazir!'
"I ask our Pashtun brothers to come forward for peace. They have supported the Pakistan People's Party in the past and once again they must support the PPP," she said.
"The PPP will give them security, peace and employment and will bring development to their areas so their problems can be solved."
Bhutto, a two-time prime minister whose return to Pakistan from exile in October was targeted by suicide bombers, is the first major political leader to launch a campaign since President Pervez Musharraf quit his army post and became a civilian leader this past week.
Peshawar, about 100 miles west of Islamabad, is far from her political heartland in southern Pakistan. The city near the Afghan border is a stronghold of Islamic groups who currently control the provincial government, and many conservative Pashtuns do not look favourably on the participation of women in politics.
Bhutto, whose pro-Western outlook also could make her unpopular among Pashtun voters, made her first stop at the home of a party activist to express condolences over the recent death of his father. Dozens of police, some with metal detectors, guarded the area, and commandos with rifles were positioned on rooftops.
Party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said she will also meet with party leaders to discuss how to ensure the success of their candidates.
Bhutto says she would only boycott the vote if all opposition parties do the same. But by unveiling her party's policies on Friday and now starting her campaign she has signaled an intent to participate reviving speculation she could cooperate with Musharraf if her party wins the election.
Her campaign platform promises more money for education, health and environmental protection, and cheap loans to help small businesses create jobs.
Meanwhile, AFP from Islamabad adds: Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will meet early next week to discuss whether or not to boycott the upcoming election, party officials said Saturday.
Bhutto has said that her party will participate in the election scheduled for January 8 under protest but Sharif has said the polls would be meaningless unless the judiciary is restored to its pre-emergency rule status.
"Sharif will hold a meeting with Bhutto in Islamabad Monday," his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party leader, Raja Zafarul Haq said.
The PPP also confirmed the two former prime ministers were in contact, and that a meeting was likely to take place next week.
"They have approached us for an appointment and a meeting is expected next week," Bhutto's spokesman Farhatullah Babar said, adding Bhutto and Sharif could meet as early as Monday or Tuesday.
The proposed meeting will be the first between the two key players in Pakistani politics since their return from exile.