KARACHI, Oct 26: Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party Benazir Bhutto on Friday said that her democratic struggle was for modernity and against terrorism and extremism. “Our struggle does not represent a struggle between dictatorship and democratic forces alone,” she said this while talking to a select group of newsmen at Bilawal House in a conversation broadcast live by some private TV channels.

Ms Bhutto stressed that democracy was essential for saving the country, and called upon all democratic and moderate forces to join hand for a smooth transition to democracy. She noted that it was the deviation from a transition to democracy in 2002 that terrorism and extremism got a boost together with poverty and hunger in the following years.

She urged political forces to forget the past and look forward, adding that there should be no discrimination on the basis of language, ethnicity or gender. “I want a transition to democracy and I want an independent Election Commission,” she said, and vowed to defeat dictatorship with the help of people’s power.

In reply to a question, she said that the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was not meant for the PPP alone. She said her party expected from the proposed interim government to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, adding that local governments should either be suspended or packed up for obtaining such manipulation-free elections.

“The remnants of Ziaul Haq, who are part of the present government, are making attempts to sabotage the NRO and the reconciliation process,” she remarked, and urged all political parties to get together and frustrate such elements.

She said it was all the more necessary that the upcoming general elections were held in a free, fair and transparent manner.

Paying glowing tribute to the victims of the Oct 18 terrorist attack on her rally, she said their sacrifices would not go waste. They would be remembered as a symbol of struggle for democracy in Pakistan, she declared.

Ms Bhutto reiterated her demand for the inclusion of foreign experts in the investigation into the tragedy to reach the culprits, and said that she had already identified suspected plotters in her letter to General Pervez Musharraf.

She made it clear again that she would not accept any findings declared without a thorough investigation conducted with the assistance of foreign forensic and other experts equipped with essential technical tools. She observed that if the suspects she had nominated in her letter were not involved in the attack, then they should not fear an independent investigation. “They should come forward and clear themselves,” she suggested.

She told a questioner that the fact that the twin blasts victims belonged to the four provinces of the country proved that PPP was the symbol of unity of the federation. She noted that Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Hamid Nasir Chattha and former Punjab minister Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo had called on her the very next day after the twin blasts and inquired about her health.

Ms Bhutto urged the government to release Baloch political leaders and allow them to participate in the upcoming elections. She also demanded that “missing” activists be located and released. Ms Bhutto also thanked the chief justice of Pakistan for taking suo motu notice of the issue, and observed this had led to the release of several innocent people.