LARKANA, Oct 27: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief said on Saturday that differences with President Gen Pervez Musharraf over the Constitution’s Article 58(2)b — the power to dissolve assemblies — had yet to be resolved.
She was addressing a press conference at her Naudero residence on Saturday night.
Ms Bhutto called for the formation of a “neutral, caretaker set-up, an independent election commission” and curtailment in the powers of nazims before the general election.
She said the voters’ lists should be uploaded on the internet so that people could themselves check whether they had been enrolled or not.
“I have come here to bring about a change and to address the issues of empowerment, unemployment and education.”
She said the Constitution should “govern everything”.
In reply to a question, she said in the 2002 elections PPP had secured a majority of the vote, claiming that if “impartial elections” were held the party would again win by a big margin.
She expressed the hope that all political parties would unite against the government if the elections were rigged.
In reply to a question about the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the PPP leader said she would make no comment about allegations by the PML-Q leadership as “efforts for reconciliation are going on”.
The PPP chief said the ARD and APDM were one over the need for transparent elections and her party still respected the charter of democracy.
In reply to a question about the length of her stay in the country, Ms Bhutto said she would be staying in Pakistan, but due to lecture engagements abroad, she would be out of the country off and on.
