KARACHI, June 3: Senior PPP leader Yousuf Raza Gilani warned on Sunday that pushing former prime minister Benazir Bhutto “to the wall” would be detrimental to the federation and would weaken the Constitution.

He was speaking at the launch of Whither Pakistan: Dictatorship or Democracy, a compilation of Ms Bhutto’s speeches, articles and interviews.

“Pushing Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister and leader of the largest political party of Pakistan, to the wall would weaken the federation and the Constitution because she is a symbol of the federation and the 1973 Constitution,” said Mr Gilani, Vice-Chairman of the PPP and former speaker of the National Assembly, in his keynote speech.

He said the “ruling elite” should appreciate the services of Ms Bhutto “who is a visionary, world class leader. She is a leader who never left her workers, thus she dedicated the book to those countless unknown political soldiers who rendered huge sacrifices in the struggle for democracy and justice.”

Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali, foreign minister during Benazir Bhutto’s second government, said Ms Bhutto “wants to set aside the policy of confrontation and wants the promotion of peace through dialogue and trade activities.”

“She is a proponent of an economic bloc that will be a balance between the East and the West. She is clear that peace can’t be established in the Middle East without the resolution of the Palestine issue and peace in South Asia needs the settlement of the Kashmir dispute,” he added.

He said the PPP chairperson had a clear vision about Pakistan’s foreign policy and she knew that disputes should be settled by the implementation of the United Nations resolutions. He referred to Ms Bhutto’s speech in New Delhi in which she said: “let us invent peace.”

He said the PPP leader did not care what the US and UK thought about Pakistan, “but we attach importance to the people of Pakistan and we are sure that a soft revolution will sweep Pakistan soon.”

He termed it the “Chambeli Revolution,” which would establish a durable democratic set-up in the country.

Former governor of Sindh, Kamaluddin Azfar, said Ms Bhutto would be the undisputed leader if a world parliament was constituted. He said she had told the West that their battle between Church and State had been resolved long ago but “our battle still remains to be resolved.”

He said the PPP advocated the good neighbour policy that would make all neighbouring countries friendlier towards Pakistan.

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Khuhro, said the PPP had not joined hands with the religious right because it was a liberal and progressive party. He said rumours about a secret deal with the regime showed the dictatorship wanted to divide the liberal and progressive political parties and deflect public attention from the real issues.

Former ambassador to the United States, Syeda Abida Hussain, said Ms Bhutto had unmasked the fact that poverty, oppression and exploitation gave birth to terrorism, militancy and religious extremism in society.

Referring to the recent ISPR statement about the Corps Commanders’ conference, she claimed that Gen Musharraf had made himself controversial and his policy indicates that he is seeking to make the command of the Pakistan army controversial as well.

Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities’ Alliance, Shahbaz Bhatti, said that religious extremists were seeking to bring a Taliban-like system in Pakistan and its repercussions could turn Pakistan into another Afghanistan.