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LARKANA, Pakistan : Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto is expected to meet with party leaders Sunday as she keeps up a tightly secured tour of her ancestral district following the October 18 deadly blasts.
Bhutto left Karachi on Saturday for her first public trip outside of the city since she was targeted in the suicide bombings that killed 139 people and shattered her homecoming parade after her return from exile.
Thousands of supporters greeted Bhutto as she flew into Sukkur city before being driven in a bullet-proof jeep to her ancestral district of Larkana in a remote corner of southern Sindh province.
She offered prayers at the family mausoleum and scattered rose petals on the tomb of her father, the late prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, before heading to her family home in nearby Naudero.
Bhutto has vowed to stay in Pakistan despite the bombings and lead her party in general elections set for January, which are seen as a key step to the nation's return to democracy after eights years of military rule.
But the two-time premier faces ongoing security fears. She was flanked by heavily armed private security guards at every step on her Saturday trip.
"What sort of politics is this where political parties cannot hold rallies? I want to be among my people but because of the security threat I cannot hold rallies," Bhutto told reporters.
Despite her frustration, Bhutto vowed to continue to fight against extremism, which she said was derailing the Islamic nation's return to democracy.
"I am very happy to back among my own people. You have stood by me in good or bad times," she told about 500 supporters outside her house late Saturday.
"It is encouraging for me and gives me strength to continue my mission for democracy and a stable Pakistan, free of terrorism, free of militancy and free of extremism," she said.
Bhutto, the first female leader of an Islamic nation, is expected to meet with leaders of her Pakistan People's Party at her home on Sunday, her aides said, although her detailed itinerary is being kept under wraps for security reasons.
The October 18 attacks in Karachi happened just hours after Bhutto set foot on Pakistani soil for the first time since 1999, when she fled into self-imposed exile in London and Dubai.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, with Bhutto alleging a link to rogue elements in the establishment and a pro-Taliban militant denying his involvement.
Musharraf's government has rejected her demands to bring in international experts to track down the masterminds of the blasts and those who financed it.
Bhutto was cleared of corruption charges by Musharraf earlier this month, paving the way for her return to Pakistan and a possible power-sharing pact with the general, who seized power in a 1999 coup.
The United States and Britain have been quietly pushing the pact as the best chance of fighting Islamic extremism gathering force in Pakistan, and for political stability in the nation of 160 million people.
- AFP/ir
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