PESHAWAR, Jan 7: Leaders of the All Parties Democratic Movement and lawyers said here on Monday that people of the country had lost hope of a strong democratic federation after the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

A large number of people gathered at the Peshawar Press Club for a reference organised by the APDM for the late leader of the Pakistan People’s Party.

Peshawar High Court Bar Association president Latif Afridi said the untimely death of Ms Bhutto had dampened people’s hopes of having a democratic government.

“One thing is clear that as long as the army rules and we have dictatorship in the country people will continue to be killed and it will go on,” he said.

“We have a bad image already and we expected that if the PPP came to power the image would improve. But after the killing of the PPP leader the image has further deteriorated,” said Mr Afridi.

He called on lawyers, political workers and the civil society to first get rid of military rule and restore independence of the judiciary to set the country on the path of democracy.

The speakers were of the view that Ms Bhutto had matured and emerged as a bold leader while visiting all the four provinces after her return home and speaking fearlessly at rallies. She had the capacity to unite the provinces. She was a chance for having a democracy again in the country.

Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Mukhtiyar Yousafzai said members of the Bhutto family had been killed under a conspiracy. Other political leaders had also been killed in the past to break the federation by military governments, he alleged.

He held the military government responsible for the plight of the people and their frustration and helplessness in the current situation.

He demanded an end to intelligence agencies’ role in politics and restoration of the judiciary as it was before Nov 3, 2007. He said the people deserved to live in a federation with self-respect and peace.

Provincial PPP chief Rahim Dad said Ms Bhutto had gone to Liaquat Bagh to address her party’s workers although she was aware of the risk to her life.

He said Ms Bhutto was of the view that she faced no threat from Taliban but from only three people, including present and former chiefs of intelligence agencies and the former Punjab chief minister.

He said the country should be ruled by the people not the establishment.

Provincial Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf’s provincial president Shah Farman and civil society representative Rukhshinda Naz condemned the assassination and termed it ‘the murder of democracy’.

They demanded an end to military rule.