KARACHI, Oct 22: In a move seen by analysts as indicative of emerging political alliances, delegations of the Muttahida Quami Movement and the Sunni Tehreek separately called on PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Monday and condoled with her the death of her party workers and supporters in the Oct 18 bomb attacks.

According to PPP sources, Ms Bhutto appreciated the MQM gesture and said the PPP and the MQM were the parties of the middle and working classes and wanted friendly relations with neighboring countries. She also said the PPP wanted empowerment of the provinces to safeguard their rights.

The MQM delegation, led by Anwar Alam, head of the Coordination Committee, included Senior Sindh Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, Minister Syed Shoaib Bukhari and Abdul Haseeb. This was the second meeting of the MQM with the PPP since Sunday, when its delegation met Syed Qaim Ali Shah and others at the People’s Secretariat.

The MQM delegation said their parties shared the grief of the PPP and the families of the martyred workers and prayed for the early recovery of the injured.

After the meeting, Anwar Alam told the waiting newsmen that during the meeting his delegation also conveyed to Ms Bhutto a message of Altaf Hussain, who had condoled with her the Oct 18 deaths.

He said 98 per cent of the people of the country wanted democracy and called upon all liberal and democracy-loving parties to join hands to eliminate terrorism and extremism. He also reiterated the demand for an independent inquiry into the incident.

A delegation of the Sunni Tehreek also called on Ms Bhutto and expressed sorrow over the death of PPP workers.

ST chief Sarwat Ijaz, Shahid Ghouri, Shakeel Qadri, Syed Mazhar Hussain Shah and Khalilur Rehman were in the delegation.

The ST leaders said the return of Ms Bhutto would usher in an era where the true and liberal face of Islam would be promoted.

Sunni Tehreek leaders said Allah saved the life of Ms Bhutto so that she could eliminate terrorism. They further said that the ST was opposed to people distributing tickets to paradise and hell by issuing fatwas.

PPP leaders Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Aftab Shahban Mirani, Sherry Rehman, Nafees Siddiqui, Fehmida Mirza, N. D. Khan, Agha Siraj Durrani, Rashid Rabbani, Rafiq Engineer and others were also present at both meetings.

Earlier in the afternoon, Ms Bhutto visited the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and paid tribute to the great leader.

Accompanied by her political secretary, Naheed Khan, Dr Safdar Abbasi and other party leaders, Ms Bhutto offered fateha at the mausoleum.

Talking to reporters there, she said that only democracy could save Pakistan from extremism, adding that, “I did not come this far in life to be intimidated by suicide bombers. There is a battle raging in Pakistan for the hearts and minds of a new generation. It is a battle for the future of Pakistan as a democratic nation.”

She said: “The new generation will choose moderation or extremism; it will choose education or illiteracy; it will choose dictatorship or democracy; it will choose tolerance or bigotry; and it will choose peace or war. I returned to Pakistan this week to lead the fight for democracy. With the blood of my supporters on the streets and on our clothes, I reaffirm my commitment to these value.”

On her way back to Bilawal House, Ms Bhutto also drove to the residence of Aftab Shahban Mirani to condole the death of his wife.