18 October 2004	Monday	03 Ramazan 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has said she can deal with terrorism without holding the post of army chief.

According to the PPP media cell, Ms Bhutto said this while speaking at an Iftar party held by the Pakistani community in Houston, US.

Ms Bhutto is currently visiting the US to address select gatherings and meet Pakistani community there.

She said a strong and stable Pakistan was dependent on freedom which meant free elections, free judiciary, free press and free political activities.

She said the issues of poverty were neglected in Pakistan as the country was gripped in a power struggle between forces of dictatorship and forces of democracy, adding that democracy and development went hand in hand.

She denounced terrorism saying that it was the enemy of all humanity as it terrorized society.

Recalling the days when terrorists held Karachi hostage, she said the PPP government was able to end the insurgency because of the support of the people of Karachi.

The forces of sectarianism, violence, ethnicity, terrorism, Klashnikov culture and drug trade proliferated when Pakistan was under a dictatorial system, she said.

Ms Bhutto said the Constitution forbade the army chief from indulging in politics. She said it was due to the efforts of the Pakistani community that Pakistan-specific Pressler Amendment was removed.

Emphasizing the need for good relations with India, she said both countries should signal the world community that they were competent to deal with outstanding issues and that South Asia could stop the slide towards becoming one of the most dangerous places in the world.

She said the PPP welcomed the first visit by Pakistani journalists to Kashmir which took place this October.

"Such steps might appear small but each incremental step forward was a small ray of hope out of the tunnel of darkness in which so many Kashmiris as well as Pakistanis and Indians had lost their lives," she added.