Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto ridiculed on Sunday the ruling coalition's stance that a uniformed head of the state was imperative to take Pakistan through in country's war on terrorism.
"As a former Prime Minister, I say with authority that I can deal with terrorism as president of Pakistan without being Chief of Army Staff (COAS)," she said while addressing an Iftar party organised by the Pakistani community in Houston, United States.
Demanding fresh polls, the former two-time premier said: "A strong, stable Pakistan is dependent on freedom, which means free elections, free judiciary, free media and free political activities."
According to statement issued here, she said that the issues of poverty were being neglected in Pakistan as the country was gripped by a power struggle between dictatorship and the forces of democracy and added that democracy and development went hand in hand.
Bhutto said that the dismissal of her government twice was brought about by the shenanigans of the establishment and since then the country drifted into a nightmare of military dictatorship, terrorism, violence, suicide bombing and economic instability.
The former prime minister denounced terrorism saying it was the enemy of humanity as it terrorised society as a whole.
Recalling the days when the terrorists held Karachi hostage, she said that the PPP government was able to end the insurgency with the support of the people of the city.
"The forces of sectarianism, violence, ethnicity, terrorism, Kalashnikov culture and drug trade proliferated when Pakistan came under a dictatorial system," she said.
The former prime minister said that the constitution forbidden Army Chief from indulging himself in politics and supported her argument by quoting various articles from the constitutions.
About corruption, she said that corruption was rampant in Pakistan under military rule and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was being used as a political arm by the current regime.
Emphasising the need of good relations with India, she said that both countries needed to signal the world community that they are competent to deal with outstanding issues and that South Asia could stop the slide towards becoming one of the most dangerous places in the world.
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