Former premier Benazir Bhutto on Monday wrapped up a visit to her ancestral home in southern Pakistan, hailing her supporters for defying security threats and promising them democracy.
Bhutto flew to the southern district of Larkana on Saturday, her first trip outside Karachi since twin suicide bombings on October 18 that targeted the two-time premier on her return from exile and killed 139 people.
The 54-year-old spent the weekend visiting the tombs of her father and brothers and then calling on a bereaved family who lost their 22-year-old son in the blasts to offer prayers.
”Democracy will soon return — the time will come when people get their rights,” Bhutto told supporters from the top of her bullet-proof Jeep at the airport in Sukkur city, from where she is flying to Karachi.
Bhutto has vowed to stay in Pakistan despite the bombings and lead her party in general elections, which are seen as a key step in the nation’s return to democracy after eight years of military rule by President Pervez Musharraf.
”Your devotion and commitment has infused a new spirit in me,” Bhutto told about 2 500 workers from her Pakistan People’s Party who gathered at the airport to see her off.
Large groups of supporters also lined the roads and waved flags in the towns she passed through on the 100km journey from Larkana to Sukkur, an Agence France-Presse correspondent said.
Bhutto, the first female leader of an Islamic nation, was surrounded by heavy security amid fears that she may be targeted for assassination a second time.
No one has claimed responsibility for the Karachi blasts.Officials have hinted at the involvement of Islamic militants, while Bhutto has accused rogue elements of the security forces and government of involvement.
”It appears that there is an unseen force which wants to remove me. The investigations into the Karachi blast have not been concluded,” Bhutto said earlier on Monday in comments aired by private Geo television.
”The country is being pushed into another crisis. All democratic forces should join hands to work for the political stability of the country,” she added. — Sapa-AFP