[NYTr] Bhutto condemns Pakistan's proposed ban on rallies

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Dave Muller - southnews

AFP - Oct 23, 2007


Bhutto condemns Pakistan's proposed ban on rallies

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - - Former premier Benazir Bhutto Monday condemned a
ban on large rallies in the run-up to general elections proposed by the 
government after last week's deadly suicide attack on her convoy.

The government is drawing up a code of conduct for campaigning for the 
polls set for January, which are seen as a key step to restoring 
democracy after eight years of military rule by President Pervez
Musharraf.

The ban was flagged after two blasts ripped through Bhutto's homecoming 
parade late Thursday, killing 139 people and shattering her planned 
triumphant return to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile.

"We think it is wrong for the government to make that decision... and I 
would advise the government not to do so," Bhutto said at Bilawal
House, her home in Karachi, in comments broadcast by private television
stations.

She called instead for the election commission to consult with police
in areas where rallies were taking place and make decisions on a 
case-by-case basis.

Bhutto said on Sunday she would have to "modify our campaign to some 
extent" but has pledged to remain in Pakistan to lead her party in the 
polls despite the carnage at her mass procession, the nation's worst 
suicide bombing.

The two-time prime minister meanwhile said it appeared that authorities 
had "something to hide" after a minister dismissed her call for 
international experts to help with the inquiry.

"We reject the demand for involvement of foreign experts in the probe. 
Our own law enforcement agency personnel are capable of investigating 
the incident," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said.

Officials said they now suspected two suicide bombers were involved in 
the attack. They had earlier said the other blast was caused by a 
grenade hurled by an unknown assailant.

The UN Security Council condemned Monday the bombings and "underlines 
the need to bring perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of this 
reprehensible act of terrorism to justice..."

In a non-binding statement it urged all states "...to cooperate
actively with the Pakistani authorities in this regard."

Deputy information minister Tariq Azeem said the carnage had made a ban 
on large public rallies "inevitable". Opposition parties would be 
consulted before the code was finalised and introduced by a government 
order, he added.

Street marches would also be banned under the code of conduct which 
would instead permit small, pre-arranged and well-secured meetings amid 
fears of attacks by militants, he said in Islamabad.

The party of former premier Nawaz Sharif -- the man whom Musharraf 
ousted and again deported when he tried to return on Pakistan in 
September -- also rejected the ban as "unfair and unacceptable."

"The government does not want political leaders to reach the voters. We 
will challenge such restrictions in the Supreme Court," said Raja Zafar 
ul-Haq, chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League.

Sharif has pledged to make another attempt to come home in coming weeks.

The ban on rallies was also denounced by Pakistan's main alliance of 
hardline Islamic parties, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal.

"Musharraf is unpopular. There is a hatred against him, he cannot face 
the public -- therefore he wants controlled and managed elections," 
senior leader Liaquat Baloch told AFP.

Musharraf, a key US ally in the fight against extremism, is under 
international pressure to hold free and fair polls amid a slump in 
popularity.

The general has faced months of political turmoil including a wave of 
Islamist violence unleashed when troops stormed the Al-Qaeda-linked Red 
Mosque in Islamabad in July.

Musharraf dropped corruption charges this month against Bhutto, the 
first female leader of an Islamic nation, clearing the way for her 
return home.

The amnesty was supposed to be a prelude to a power-sharing pact
between the pair in the hope Bhutto's popularity could shore up
Musharraf's grip on power ahead of the elections.

But the amnesty and Musharraf's victory in this month's presidential 
election are being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Bhutto meanwhile visited the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder in Karachi 
Monday, making her second public outing in as many days since the 
attempt on her life.


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