Huge crowds turn up to greet Bhutto

KARACHI – Benazir Bhutto made a dramatic return to Pakistan on yesterday, ending eight years of exile to launch an ambitious political comeback, as tens of thousands supporters gathered to greet her amid massive security.

Bhutto was in tears as she descended the steps of a commercial flight that brought her from Dubai to Karachi, where jubilant crowds of flag-waving, drum-thumping supporters waited to give her a rousing welcome. When an Associated Press reporter asked her how it felt to be home, Bhutto, wearing a white headscarf and clutching prayer beads in her right hand, said it felt ‘good.Very good’.Bhutto, a two-time prime minister who fled Pakistan in the face of corruption charges in 1999, has returned at a moment of uncertainty in this nuclear-armed nation, which is struggling to counter spreading Islamic militancy.With parliamentary elections due in January, she hopes to campaign for a record third premiership.Authorities have deployed thousands of security forces to protect the 54-year-old from possible attack by Islamic radicals.But the precautions failed to deter her Pakistan People’s Party from mounting a spirited street party.Hundreds of buses and other vehicles festooned with billboards welcoming her back were parked bumper-to-bumper along the boulevard from the airport to the city centre.A huge red, green and black party flag hung from one apartment block.Supporters, including members of Pakistan’s minority Christian and Hindu communities and Baluch tribesmen with flowing white turbans, walked toward the airport, while groups of men performed traditional dances, beat drums or shook maracas along the way.Azad Bhatti, a 35-year-old poultry farmer from the southern city of Hyderabad, said he had ‘blind faith’ in Bhutto’s leadership.”When Benazir Bhutto is in power there is no bomb blast because she provides jobs and there is no frustration among the people,” he said.”Whatever she thinks is for the betterment of the people.”Bhutto paved her route back in negotiations with President General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power by deposing then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a 1999 coup.Nawaz was swiftly deported when he tried to return to Pakistan last month.Musharraf is promising to give up his command of Pakistan’s powerful army if he secures a new term as president.Nampa-APWhen an Associated Press reporter asked her how it felt to be home, Bhutto, wearing a white headscarf and clutching prayer beads in her right hand, said it felt ‘good.Very good’.Bhutto, a two-time prime minister who fled Pakistan in the face of corruption charges in 1999, has returned at a moment of uncertainty in this nuclear-armed nation, which is struggling to counter spreading Islamic militancy.With parliamentary elections due in January, she hopes to campaign for a record third premiership.Authorities have deployed thousands of security forces to protect the 54-year-old from possible attack by Islamic radicals.But the precautions failed to deter her Pakistan People’s Party from mounting a spirited street party.Hundreds of buses and other vehicles festooned with billboards welcoming her back were parked bumper-to-bumper along the boulevard from the airport to the city centre.A huge red, green and black party flag hung from one apartment block.Supporters, including members of Pakistan’s minority Christian and Hindu communities and Baluch tribesmen with flowing white turbans, walked toward the airport, while groups of men performed traditional dances, beat drums or shook maracas along the way.Azad Bhatti, a 35-year-old poultry farmer from the southern city of Hyderabad, said he had ‘blind faith’ in Bhutto’s leadership.”When Benazir Bhutto is in power there is no bomb blast because she provides jobs and there is no frustration among the people,” he said.”Whatever she thinks is for the betterment of the people.”Bhutto paved her route back in negotiations with President General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power by deposing then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a 1999 coup.Nawaz was swiftly deported when he tried to return to Pakistan last month.Musharraf is promising to give up his command of Pakistan’s powerful army if he secures a new term as president.Nampa-AP