ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: A brigh-ter future is anchored in peace, freedom, equal opportunity and breaking the chains of fascism and dictatorship, chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, said on Saturday.

Speaking at the second Asian Political Parties Conference hosted by the ruling Thai Rak Party of Thailand, she said those were the values “our forefathers fought for in confronting colonialism.”

According to a press release issued here by the PPP media cell, Benazir Bhutto urged all Asian political parties to stand for the values of peace, freedom and equal opportunity.

“As an Asian leader in the 21st century, the greatest challenge I see is to overcome terrorism. Asians need peace, freedom and free markets to fight poverty, hunger, unemployment and conflict,” she said.

Advocating Islam as a religion of tolerance, she said: “Islam is committed to tolerance and equality, and it is committed to the principles of democracy. It is ironic that despite the strong commitment to democracy, most Muslims are living in dictatorships. The Muslim people want freedom, they want modernity, diversity and democracy. They want the right to debate, discuss and dissent. Muslim women want to stop their discrimination.”

Accusing the military government of harbouring terrorism, she said: “The October elections in Pakistan were a mockery of justice. The leaders of Pakistan’s major political parties were banned from contesting. Significantly, Mullah Omar’s teacher was allowed to contest and enter parliament.

“The Pakistan Human Rights Commission confirmed allegations of rigging. The European Union called the elections flawed. The Commonwealth refused to re-admit Pakistan in its fold. The White House called this period a transition to civilian rule.

“The transition must give way to full democracy. It must give way to a full transfer of power from the military to the political parties to prevent a resurgence of militancy, extremism, terrorism and suicide bombings. Muslim youth in Asia must be motivated to live, rather than kill and be killed.

“The rigged elections made the religious parties contenders for power for the first time in Pakistan’s history. Since the elections were rigged, I ask myself why did the general permit the religious parties to sweep the areas bordering Afghanistan? Perhaps the generals wanted to tell the world that the choice in Pakistan is between military dictatorship and religious constraint.” Advocating democracy as a means to curb terrorism, she said: “But there is a third choice — the choice that the people want, the choice that a transparent election can give to them, the choice of democracy and development. Dictatorship does not contain extremism, it provokes it.”

The topic of the conference was “Terrorism — The threat to Asia” and it was attended by over 100 political parties to discuss how they could promote regional understanding.