LAHORE, Oct 5: PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Saturday said that the Oct 10 general elections had already become controversial and farcical as the regime had tasked the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to bring in a hung parliament, with the ‘king’s party’ playing a leading role.

Candidates who would be brought to assemblies had been marked before the polling, as a result of which the electoral process had lost its credibility, she said while replying to various questions at a telephonic press conference she addressed from London.

This was her first direct contact with the Lahore journalists after she left Pakistan in April 1999.

She said the rulers would not like the PPP, or any other party of the ARD, in a position to form government as they knew that in such an eventuality the army would have to return to the barracks.

Referring to a pre-poll survey by a foreign radio a few days ago which showed that the PPP would have a slight edge over its rivals, the former prime minister said in case the final results were not in conformity with this assessment, it would mean that polls had been rigged.

She made it clear that the Oct 10 elections would not lead to the restoration of democratic process or the transfer of power. Instead, she said, they would mark only the first step towards the goals set by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy. The second phase of the ARD’s struggle, she said, would begin after the electoral process was over.

In case the regime manipulated results, which she believed it would, parties in the ARD would sit together to decide their future course of action. She indicated that in the prevailing situation political parties would not get their rights easily and they would have to launch a struggle.

Ms Bhutto said many people were of the opinion that elections should be boycotted. But, she said, her party decided to participate as it was in favour of using every platform which could help the nation get closer to democracy.

She alleged that the PML(QA) was the creation of the ISI although intelligence agencies were not supposed to involve themselves in such things. Intelligence agencies, she pointed out, were meant for infiltrating the terrorist networks and thwart their plans.

As for the presence of Gen Musharraf on the political scene, she said, in view of the situation on the borders the army chief was not supposed to assign himself any political role. Instead, she said, the COAS should be in the field and play his role to defend the country.

In response to a question, Ms Bhutto said she wanted to return to the country but she had deferred the plan because she had been excluded from the electoral process and the regime was creating obstacles. In case the PPP and other parties in the ARD succeeded in getting sufficient seats, doors would open for her return to the country as also other leaders in exile, a reference to the Sharifs.

She answered in the affirmative when a reporter asked the possibility of the PPP forming a coalition with the PML-N in case the two parties together were in a position to get a majority in the assembly.

Responding to another question, she said military interventions in the future could be averted only through national consensus.

She said the Constitution had been violated by the army when the elected governments were overthrown. But, she said, no one was held responsible for transgressing his jurisdiction.

Referring to difficulties in the enforcement of the relevant provision dealing with subversion of the Constitution, the former prime minister said the ultimate responsibility in this respect lay with the judiciary. Many Supreme Court judges had already been sent home, which carried a message for others thinking of functioning independently.

The PPP chief said ARD leaders wanted to keep their doors open to facilitate the transfer of power in a peaceful manner. It was for this reason that some ARD leaders had met Gen Musharraf and the editor of a Lahore newspaper had gone to Saudi Arabia to discuss the matter with Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Door for further talks with the regime were still open, Ms Bhutto said, making it clear that despite this gesture her party would adhere to its principles.

Ms Bhutto said Gen Musharraf was in power because he had a gun in his hands and he would stay in power as long as there was a wedge between him and the army. But in case parties in the ARD got a two thirds majority in parliament, the general would have to quit.

When a reporter invited her attention to Gen Musharraf’s statement that the army intervened because some political leaders had written letters for the purpose, she said the general should make these letters, if any, public.

“How could you have prevented cataclysmic attacks on the World Trade Centre even if you were in power at the time the incident had taken place, as you claim you could, when you could not avert the murder of your own brother — Murtaza Bhutto — despite being the prime minister at the time”, a reporter asked.

Ms Bhutto said her brother had been murdered to pave the way for the dismissal of her government. As for steps which could have prevented the Sept 11 tragedy, she recalled that her government had taken several steps which had made it impossible for people like Al-Qaeda to enter or operate in Pakistan.

PPP leaders Mian Misbahur Rehman, Naveed Chaudhry and Sajjad Bukhari were present at the telepress conference.