NEWYORK, June 8: PPP leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday asked the Bush administration to put pressure on President Pervez Musharraf to start democratic process in the country.

She said: “The Musharraf regime is no bulwarks against Islamist takeover.”

“It is democracy alone that can undermine the forces of religious extremism as well as give hope and opportunity to the people of Pakistan,” underscored Ms Bhutto in an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal.

“A return to democracy is not just important for Pakistan—it is important for the entire world.”

“Yet Mr Musharraf and his regime are promoting the perception that he is the only bulwark between the West and the nuclear armed fundamentalists.”Debunking the line of Gen Musharraf’s government that politicians are ‘corrupt’ and ‘incompetent’ hence incapable of governing, Ms Bhutto pointed out that Pakistani public viewed the corruption charges against politicians as an attempt to divert attention from the institutionalized corruption of the military.

Ms Bhutto asserted that the “anti-dictatorship sentiment in Pakistan has reached a fever pitch, and Pakistan aspires to be a democratic nation.

Condemning the May 12 killings in Karachi, where in lawyers, human rights activists and ordinary Pakistanis were slaughtered in the streets as they rallied in the streets to protest the unlawful suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, she said General Musharraf “will not brook any opposition.”Ms Bhutto said that instead of building the strong, stable and enlightened democracy as he promised when he took over in 1999 in a coup “Gen Musharraf has undermined secular forces by openly rigging elections, clamping down on the media and free speech failing to pursue investigations of innocent civilians who have disappeared, as well as intimidating political opponents by any means, including physical attacks.”

Opinion

Editorial

Ukraine initiative
Updated 21 Feb, 2025

Ukraine initiative

Whether Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative succeeds or not, it will be difficult for Kyiv, Europe to face Russian military machine without US support.
High cost of SOEs
21 Feb, 2025

High cost of SOEs

THERE are losses and then some. The finance ministry’s latest overview of the federally owned state enterprises...
Poor impression
21 Feb, 2025

Poor impression

RECENT developments in the Senate have provided cause for concern on how parliamentary business is being conducted....
Premature alarm
Updated 20 Feb, 2025

Premature alarm

Improvement in headline inflation gives policymakers chance to fix investment policies, implement structural reforms.
Forsaken province
20 Feb, 2025

Forsaken province

AND the endless cycle of violence continues. The brutal killing on Tuesday night of seven Punjab-bound passengers in...
In poor health
20 Feb, 2025

In poor health

THE absence of decent and affordable healthcare in the country continues to ruin lives. An example of this is ...