LARKANA, Dec 23: PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Sunday demanded of President Pervez Musharraf to keep his words and hold free and fair elections.

Addressing a huge public meeting at the People’s Stadium amid tight security, she cautioned her party workers to maintain vigilance against possible rigging, and expressed the hope that judges, teachers and police personnel would not indulge in rigging and would perform their duties honestly.

Ms Bhutto said her party had survived all conspiracies hatched against it, such as the Karsaz blast, emergency and reluctance of Pervez Musharraf to doff his uniform.

Referring to the spate of suicide bombings the country had experienced over the past several years, Ms Bhutto said some religious schools were turning children into killers.

She said the government had done nothing to stop militant violence.

“They always try to stop democratic forces but don’t make any effort to check extremists, terrorists and fanatics.”

Ms Bhutto said President Musharraf stressed the need to reform madressahs, but did nothing practically. She, however, made it clear that she respected genuine madressahs.

“But there are political madressahs, the political madressahs that teach their pupils how to make bombs, how to use rifles and how to kill women, children and the elderly.

“Who they are who tell children to carry out bombing on Eidul Azha?,” she said, referring to the attack on Friday in Charsadda.

She said the former government gifted the people with lawlessness, sky-rocketing prices and massive unemployment.

She said the government had left the people of Sindh and Balochistan high and dry when last year’s floods hit the two provinces and questioned where had the huge foreign aid pledged by international donors in the wake of these floods gone?

She appealed to the people of Larkana to support her party’s five-point manifesto.

Ms Bhutto said that late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had dreamt of a green revolution in the country, but anti-people forces conspired, derailed the democratic process, trampled over the Constitution and hanged the first popularly-elected prime minister.

“Mr Bhutto was the chairman of Islamic summit and the people did not recognise usurpers like Gen Ayub, Gen Yahya, Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf.

“The people who chose the path of truth were jailed, whipped and sentenced, but they never compromised on principles,” she said.

About the 2002 elections, she said despite rigging, her party had bagged the highest number of votes, but through a plot, dictators delayed the assembly session, indulged in horse-trading, formed ‘Patriots’ and imposed an unpopular and puppet government on the people.

PPP candidates for National and provincial assembly seats from Larkana also addressed the public meeting.