ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has said the nation has little to rejoice on the country’s 59th Independence Day as “a handful of adventurers have hijacked the country, its constitution and its institutions”.

“Pakistan was supposed to be a state in which everyone was equal before law in accordance with the principles of Islam and all civilised societies. Unfortunately a handful of generals who have seized the state apparatus have placed themselves above the law and the Constitution,” she lamented in a statement released by her party on Sunday.

Ms Bhutto blamed President Gen Pervez Musharraf for all the ills she saw in the country.

“Citizens disappear mysteriously as state agencies kidnap them with impunity. Stinking corruption at the top level, worsening law and order situation, erosion of vital state institutions, the hounding of genuine leaders of people and denying the citizens their right to freely choose their representatives has undermined people’s faith,” she said.

“A few powerful individuals have hijacked economic opportunities. Poor people are committing suicides due to joblessness and poverty as the rulers continue to grab lands, engage in loot and plunder.—Our Reporter