Benazir Bhutto has questioned whether President Musharraf's decision to proclaim emergency was in the best national interest. The President made a statement at the Corps Commanders meeting on Saturday that to impose emergency was a difficult decision for him, but he did it to ensure effective governance in the country.
In Benazir's opinion, the President had an alternative. He could have carried on with the roadmap towards democracy agreed with her? "But that possibility has evaporated".
At a reception hosted at the Senate on Saturday evening, by party legislators for the diplomatic community, she reiterated that General Pervez Musharraf must step down.
She added that right now Pakistan had been placed at a turning point in history "by him [President] by suspending the constitution and declaring the state of emergency".
"Pakistan under dictatorship is a pressure cooker. Without a place to vent, the passion of our people for liberty threatens to explode. The current military dictatorship that rules the country with an iron fist is opposing the inevitable forces of history. There is not enough barbed wire, or bullets, or bayonets, to defeat my people's unquestionable desire for democracy, for control over their own lives, for human rights, gender equality, and labour and minority rights and for a chance to build a better life for their children. These are indeed the dreams of the Pakistani people and of all people, and are universal values," she said."
"The direction we follow will not only impact the future of my nation, but I strongly believe it will have a direct and immediate impact on the stability of the region and the stability of the world."
She thanked the international community for their support to the people of Pakistan in calling upon General Musharaf to lift the curbs on the media, release political prisoners, retire as Army Chief on schedule, and hold elections on schedule. "Democracy is morally right and even more important to this forum [Parliament]. Democracy is the only viable way to contain the growth of extremism, militancy and fanaticism that now threatens the world."
She reiterated that President's action had forced her to call people out onto the streets, something she "had been eager to avoid for fear of bloodshed. It was to prevent this".
She is now in Lahore to organise a long march for Tuesday to begin at Lahore and end at Islamabad. But one can anticipate that the enterprise would be botched, like the call for public meeting at Rawalpindi.
To be sure, the government may block the long march at Lahore. "All marches, processions and political gatherings are banned at the moment. So, I'm afraid the march has been outlawed," State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem.
In spite of her denial, some quarters were wondering whether she was still in conversation with the regime.
The BBC on Sunday asked whether the falling out [with Musharraf] was quite what it appeared on surface. It added that a few "cynical observers think Friday's drama in Islamabad and elsewhere was an exercise in mutual face saving; a clandestine understanding that is meant to benefit both' after it was noticed that she was able to move outside unimpeded so quickly after her Friday's home arrest.
Some people have begun to think that her negotiations with the government might still be on. But, the President quashed that possibility by doubting whether Benazir enjoyed countrywide appeal. "In the rural area, people may not have liked some of her recent statements," he told a foreign correspondent, in reply to journalist's questions.
She denies the contact, and says that her high international profile prevented Musharraf from arresting her. The international interest in Pakistan is giving her security, although at the same time she might become a bigger target for assassins.