QUETTA, Dec 16: PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Sunday rejected allegations that her party had helped form Taliban movement in the 90s.

Addressing a Press conference at the Quetta Airport prior to her departure for Karachi, she asserted that her government had no hand in the Taliban’s formation and she had inherited the problem from the previous government.

“When the PPP was in power, they (Taliban) did not burn down girls’ schools in Afghanistan, did not prevent women from going to schools and did not destroy Buddha statues in Baimyan.”

She said she had asked the Taliban to work through the UN and establish a broad-based government in Afghanistan, adding that her government had always suggested to the Taliban leadership not go beyond Kandahar and not to try to capture the entire Afghanistan.

She also claimed that Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda organisation had not been in Afghanistan during her second stint in power. She said that at that time the Taliban had been holding dialogue with Ahmed Shah Masood, Rashid Dostum and Haji Ismail Khan.

She said that after her government was toppled, Taliban occupied Kabul and every one saw the reign of terror they let loose in Kabul.

“They were misguided and were asked to harbour Osama bin Laden and later they announced a war against the US, believing that the United

States will not retaliate,” Ms Bhutto said.

She said that being the Leader of the Opposition in those days she had cautioned the Taliban leadership in her National Assembly speech not to declare a war against the US but they did not heed her advice.

Subsequent developments in Afghanistan, she said, had an enormous impact on Pakistan’s internal situation; they moved into Pakistan and now they were fighting against the Pakistan army.Expressing reservations about the electoral process, Ms Bhutto reiterated her demand for the suspension of local governments and called for formation of an independent election commission to ensure free elections.

She criticised the role of intelligence agencies in Balochistan and said they were putting pressure on PPP candidates not contest elections in the province.

In reply to a question about the military operation in Balochistan, Ms Bhutto said her party strongly opposed such operations in various parts of the province.

Addressing a public meeting at the Hockey Ground here on Saturday, Ms Bhutto said that army’s rule and democracy could not co-exist, adding that transparent polls, restoration of democracy, supremacy of the Constitution and independence of judiciary were prerequisites for saving the federation.

“Under army’s rule a dictator usurps the rights of the people and supports reactionary forces while democracy protects fundamental rights of the people.”