August 24, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Saani 14, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has asked the nation to unite with the democratic forces to defeat the designs of anti-people forces and support the candidates nominated by the People’s Party Parliamentarians.

In an open letter to the people, she said: “The PPP believes that only the people of Pakistan have the power to choose their own government, to choose the policies which guide our nation, to choose elected representatives who will act for the people and not against them.”

“On Oct 10, we, the people of Pakistan, will vote for a new national government. The military regime is telling us that they know what is best for the country. The ruling generals are telling us that democracy is broken. The ruling generals are saying that the people of Pakistan are incapable of making the right decisions,” she said.

“The generals will say many horrible things about me and the PPP in the coming two months. They will try to discredit me and the PPP. But we will be here for you on Oct 10, waiting for you to make your choice for a future that is bright, hopeful and prosperous.

“As our great country moves closer to the October elections, I ask you, the people of Pakistan, to remember that the generals are afraid of you, and do not want to give you a free and fair vote. I ask you to remember what your lives were like under Gen Zia and to ask if you want that life of repression again.

Ms Bhutto said: “The PPP is the only party in Pakistan that represents the future of our country, a future based on the ideals of a progressive and democratic society in accordance with the principles, philosophies and politics of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his political heir Quaid-i-Awam Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.”

Addressing the people, she said: “My dear Pakistani brothers and sisters, our great country is forced to make a fateful decision; can we be a nation and a people uniting together to create a strong and prosperous country, or do we allow fear of the ruling generals to continue to destroy our future.

“The ruling generals are repeating the grave mistakes of another military dictator, Zia. His days were the worst days of repression which gave birth to the drug and kalashnikov culture as well as to militant groups, sectarian groups and ethnic groups. Three years passed since the present rulers seized power. They did nothing to improve education, health and prosperity.

“We served you and in revenge the establishment targeted us. Our followers suffered enormously because of their commitment to the middle classes, the working classes and the impoverished people of Pakistan.

“Under the three PPP governments, there was dramatic improvement in access to electricity, to clean water, to healthcare and to education. The two previous PPP governments brought foreign investment into Pakistan, brought new jobs, and brought the Internet and new technology into our great country.

“When the generals rule the country, they bring fear, repression and more misery. When the PPP is elected by you, the people of Pakistan, we bring new opportunity, new jobs, and new hope for you, for your children, and for your families. The generals will do anything to try to stay in power. They will pass more illegal laws, they will try to rig the polls, and they will intimidate those who fight for freedom and democracy.

“The generals do not talk about how to revive our great country’s devastated economy. The generals do not talk of how to help you, the people of Pakistan, make your lives more prosperous and secure. The generals talk only of controlling you, because they want to control you, they pass new laws to stop me from contesting.

“To the generals, to their use of fear, of threats and intimidation, the PPP says no. We stand for a Pakistan governed according to your wishes and addressing your needs. We stand for a Pakistan where all people have access to education, where all people have access to clean water, where all people have affordable and safe housing.

“The PPP stands for a Pakistan where all people can expect their children to live safely and without fear. The PPP stands for a Pakistan where there is opportunity and the potential for you to excel, each in your own fashion and in your own way.

“The PPP stands for a Pakistan that is respected by the world community, a Pakistan which attracts foreign investment and which creates more jobs for our youth. The PPP stands for you and will be judged by you alone,” the letter concluded.