An interview with Benazir Bhutto

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My last column likened the desperate conditions in the Greater Middle East and South Asia to the summer of 1914 and the onset of World War I — but in slow motion. Despite the naive and unhelpful comments of several presidential aspirants who say they would consider using nuclear weapons to attack al Qaeda in friendly states or take out Islam's holiest shrines, a meeting last week in the Gulf could reverse these dangerous trends in Pakistan. That glimmer of optimism rests in the discussions between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto over her return from exile in a power-sharing arrangement.

Politics makes for strange bedfellows. Gen. Musharraf's hold on power is failing. While Mrs. Bhutto's terms as prime minister are regarded by her critics as corrupt and incompetent, charges she categorically rejects, under the proper circumstance, she is the one Pakistani politician who stands a chance of bringing a measure of stability to that nation. What follow are her answers as to how she sees the future of Pakistan and her role in shaping that future.

Q: What will it take to bring you back in some power-sharing arrangement?

A: "We share the view of the International Crisis Group that, 'Military rule in Pakistan is producing a failing state that will endanger its own and its region's security unless democracy and rule of law are restored through free and fair elections this year.' The contacts between the Pakistani People's Party [the PPP headed by Mrs. Bhutto] and the Musharraf regime are aimed at restoring democracy and the rule of law. The PPP believes the participation of the people of Pakistan and the redressal of their social and economic problems is important to undermining the forces of terrorism and extremism. The PPP-Musharraf contacts are aimed at facilitating the transfer to democracy through the holding of fair, free and impartial elections, a balance of power between the presidency and the parliament and a government that is elected by the people and a Parliament without constraints that limit the terms of twice elected Prime Ministers. We believe that the rigging of elections would create anarchy and chaos damaging Pakistan as it confronts the growing tide of extremism."

Q: How dangerous do you see the situation in Pakistan now and what would be your short- and long-term aims if you did return to a position of influence and authority?

A: "The situation in Pakistan is dangerous. While the mainstream political parties have been marginalized, the terrorist forces have tried to regroup. They control parts of the tribal areas and have tried to expand their influence across the country. Reports on the Red Mosque incident in the capital indicated that some elements within the regime had helped the militants. For example, when the militant cleric Ghazi [who was killed in the attack]was arrested a few years [ago] trying to smuggle weapons into the capital, he was released on the intervention of the Minister of Religious Affairs.

"A PPP government would commit itself to the restoring of the rule of law in all of Pakistan, including the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas]; the active engagement and pursuit of al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists including their top leadership; to the interdiction of the drug trade that funds terrorism; to cleaning up those political madrasses that house militants while teaching hatred and violence. Additionally a PPP government would reorder national priorities so that the social, educational, housing, health and economic needs of the citizens of Pakistan are addressed, restoring their hope and faith in political institutions and thus moving them away from the desperation of extremism."

Q: What realistically can be done in FATA to take on the extremists?

A: "I have moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan to allow political parties to function in FATA. The absence of political parties causes a vacuum that the extremists fill.

"The breakdown of the rule of law in North and South Waziristan and in other sections of the FATA is a direct consequence of the Islamabad's history of appeasement of the forces of terrorism. The so-called "treaty" that the regime entered into with pro-al Qaeda and Taliban militants basically ceded territories of Pakistan to their control. We should recall that both PPP governments, from 1988-90 and 1993-96, aggressively administered these territories, and purged them of the most egregious drug barons that formed an international drug cartel. Thus we proved that Waziristan and the FATA can be administered, if there is the will and the political courage to do so."

Whether these talks will lead to a peaceful return of Mrs. Bhutto to Pakistan this fall and more importantly to power-sharing that can return Pakistan to a democratic track as well as cope with the situation in the Northwest frontier, are crucial questions. And whether Mrs. Bhutto can indeed deliver on these lofty aims is by no means certain.

However, given the perilous state of the region, Mrs. Bhutto must be given the chance. A Musharraf-Bhutto ticket, inconceivable only a few months ago, may prove to be the best means of reversing the dangerous trends that are so threatening to peace and stability.