SECOND TERM AS LEADER OF THE

OPPOSITION, 199699
Benazir Bhutto suffered wide range public disapproval after the intense
corruption cases were made public, and it was clearly seen after Bhutto's
defeat in 1997 parliamentary elections. Soon, Benazir Bhutto left for Dubai
taking her three children with her, while her husband was set to face trial.
Benazir Bhutto assumed the position of Leader of Opposition in parliament
despite living in Dubai, working to enhance her public image while being
supportive of public reforms.
In 1998, soon after India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests, Bhutto publicly called for
Pakistan's own tests, rallying and pressuring Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to
take the decision.
Benazir Bhutto learnt from sources close to Sharif that the prime minister
was reluctant to carry out the tests. Therefore, it was felt, her public call for
the Test would increase her popularity. However, this move backfired when
the Prime Minister indeed authorised and gave orders to the scientists from
PAEC and KRL to conduct the tests.
A wide range of approvals of these tests was conceived by the Prime
Minister; the public image and prestige of Nawaz Sharif was at its peak point.
As for Benazir Bhutto, it was another political defeat and her image gradually
declined in 1998.
However, 1999 would bring dramatic changes for Bhutto as well as the entire
country.
Benazir Bhutto assumed the position of Leader of Opposition in parliament
despite living in Dubai, working to enhance her public image while being
supportive of public reforms.
In 1998, soon after India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests, Benazir Bhutto publicly
called for Pakistan's own tests, rallying and pressuring Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif to take the decision. Bhutto learnt from sources close to Sharif that the
prime minister was reluctant to carry out the tests.
Therefore, it was felt, her public call for the Test would increase her
popularity. However, this move backfired when the Prime Minister indeed
authorised and gave orders to the scientists from PAEC and KRL to conduct
the tests. A wide range of approvals of these tests was conceived by the

Prime Minister; the public image and prestige of Nawaz Sharif was at its peak
point.
As for Benazir Bhutto, it was another political defeat and her image gradually
declined in 1998.
However, 1999 would bring dramatic changes for Benazir Bhutto as well as
the entire country. Bhutto criticized Sharif for violating the Armed Forces's
code of conduct when he illegally appointed General Pervez Musharraf as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan also criticised the Prime Minister.
In early months of 1999, Sharif remained widely popular as he tried to make
peace with India. However, this all changed when Pakistan became involved
with unpopular and undeclared war with India. This conflict, known as Kargil
war, brought international embarrassment for the country, and the prime
minister's public image and prestige was destroyed in matter of two months.
Bhutto gave rogue criticism to the prime minister, and called the Kargil War,
"Pakistan's greatest blunder".
Ali Kuli Khan, Director-General of ISI at that time, also publicly criticised the
prime minister and labelled this war as "a disaster bigger than East
Pakistan".Benazir Bhutto, now joined by religious and liberal forces, made a
tremendous effort to destroy the prestige and credibility of her political
enemy, according to historian William Dalrymple.
In August 1999, Sharif soon faced an event that completely shattered what
remained of his image and support. Two Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighters shot
down a Pakistan Navy reconnaissance plane, killing 16 naval officers. Bhutto
criticised Sharif for having failed to gather any support from the navy.
The Armed Forces began to criticise the prime minister for causing the
military disasters. During this time, Bhutto's approval ratings were
favourable and the Armed Forces chiefs remained sympathetic towards
Benazir Bhutto as she continued to criticise the now-unpopular Sharif.
Benazir Bhutto was highly confident that her party would secure an
overwhelming victory in the coming Senate elections on 1999 on Sharif's
conservatives in the Senate due to widespread unpopularity of the prime
minister.
Controversially, when the coup d'tat was initiated by the Pakistan Armed
Forces,Benazir Bhutto did not issue any comments or criticism, rather

remaining silent in support of General Musharraf, as noted by Dalrymple.

Sheremained supportive towards Musharraf's coordinated arrests of Sharif's
supporters and staff in Pakistan.
Ultimately, Musharraf destroyed Sharif's political presence in Sindh and
Kashmir provinces. Many political offices of Sharif's constituency were
forcefully closed and his sympathisers were jailed.
In 2002,Benazir Bhutto and the MQM made a side-line deal with Musharraf
that allows both to continue underground political activities in Sindh and
Kashmir, and to fill the gap after Musharraf had destroyed Sharif's presence
in the both provinces.
The effects of the arrests was seen clearly in the 2008 parliamentary
elections, when Nawaz Sharif failed to secure support back in those two
provinces.

CHARGES OF CORRUPTION
She was charged and later cleared in a number of corruption cases in
Pakistan. She has also been charged with laundering state-owned money in
Swiss banks, in a case that remains before a Swiss court. Her husband, Asif
Ali Zardari, spent eight years in prison although he was never convicted. He
was kept in solitary confinement and claims to have been tortured. Human
rights groups also claim that Zardari's rights have been violated. Former
prime minister Nawaz Sharif has recently apologized for his involvement in
the prolonged imprisonment of Zardari and the cases filed against Bhutto.
Zardari was released in November 2004. It is alleged that they stole
hundreds of millions of dollars by demanding 'commissions' on government
contracts and other dealings. Over the past 10 years the couple have faced
about 90 cases combined, none of which have been proven. Eight cases still
remain, however Bhutto maintains that all the cases are politically motivated
and says she is ready to face them. In 2005, Asif Zardari said in an interview
on Pakistan Television that the military establishment had offered to release
him and drop the charges on him if he agreed to quit politics and leave the
country. However, Zardari refused to do so.
In 2000 Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau, with the thankless task of
investigating corruption, drew upon these documents and other sources and

released details of assets and accounts belonging to Bhutto and Zardari.

Even to jaded observers, the scale of their holdings was stunning: hundreds
of properties, dozens of companies, and dozens of bank accounts. A partial
listing of only foreign holdings reported by the National Accountability
Bureau is provided in Table
Summarizing this and other documentation, the New York Times reported
that the material included
". . . letters from executives promising payoffs, with details of the
percentage payments to be made; memorandums detailing
meetings at which these 'commissions' and 'remunerations' were
agreed on, and certificates incorporating the offshore companies
used as fronts in the deals. . . . The documents also revealed the
crucial role played by Western institutions. Apart from the
companies that made payoffs, and the network of banks that
handled the money . . . the arrangements made by the Bhutto family
for their wealth relied on Western property companies, Western
lawyers and a network of Western friends."

Even the Swiss finally had had enough. Seventeen bank accounts linked to
Bhutto and Zardari were frozen. The two were charged with money
laundering in connection with bribes received from the inspection company
SGS and were convicted by a Swiss court in 2003, with fines and suspended
prison sentences.
This was short-lived; the decision was overturned and referred back to
cantonal prosecutors upon appeal. Meanwhile, Zardari was in prison in
Pakistan from 1996 to 2004 on assorted charges.
Benazir Bhutto, with her father executed, two brothers assassinated, her
mother an amnesiac, her husband still troublesome, and she living in exile
between London and Dubai, portrays herself as the victim:

"I never asked for power. I think they [the Pakistani people] need
me. I don't think it's addictive. You want to run away from it, but it
doesn't let you go. . . . I think the reason this happens is that we
want to give love and we receive love."

Save your tears.In the global collection of displaced leaders, Benazir Bhutto
may be the least sympathetic character of all.

AFGHANISTAN POLICY
It was during Bhutto's rule that the Taliban gained prominence in
Afghanistan. Bhutto and the Taliban were openly opposed to each other when
it came to social issues. According to the Taliban codes, as a woman she had
no right to be in power. The Pakistan military, however, were insistent and
Bhutto agreed to provide some support. Her government provided military
and financial support for the Taliban, even as far as sending the Pakistani
army into Afghanistan. Though she and her government have said that they
only provided moral support and nothing more, which is now know to be a
lie. The Taliban took power in Kabul in September 1996. New evidence
suggess that Osama Ben Laden provided Nawaz Sharif with huge sums of
money in order to 'buy support' and destabilise her government.

POLICIES FOR WOMEN

During election campaigns, the Bhutto government voiced concerns over
social issues of women, health and discrimination against women. Bhutto
also announced plans to set up women's police stations, courts and women's
development banks.
Despite these promises, Bhutto did not propose any legislation to improve
welfare services for women. During her election campaigns, Bhutto promised

to repeal controversial laws (such as Hudood and Zina ordinances) that

curtail rights of women in Pakistan. However, during her two terms in power,
her party did not fulfill these promises due to immense pressure from the
opposition.
Her party did, however, initiate legislation during General Musharraf's regime
to repeal the Zina ordinance. These efforts were defeated by the right-wing
religious parties that dominated the legislatures at the time.
When audiences around the globe hear Benazir Bhuttos dramatic story of
democracy and deposal, they are awed by the tireless strength with which
she struggles to bring freedom to the people of her country. As the former
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto is a living icon of the battle for
democracy, and stands with only a handful of female executive leaders who
have shaped the global events of the last century.
First elected Prime Minister at the age of 35, Ms. Bhutto became the
youngest Chief Executive Officer in the world and the first female Prime
Minister in the Muslim world. After just 20 months in office, her government
was unconstitutionally dismissed by a rival political party. Undeterred, she
was reelected as Prime Minister in 1993.
During her terms of office, she was faced with an enormous challenge: how
to effectively govern a poor, politically fractious, and ethnically diverse
nation. Prime Minister Bhutto was praised for moving swiftly to restore civil
liberties and political freedom, suspended under military rule. She launched
a nationwide program of health and education reform. Although no longer
Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto is Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
In her speeches, Prime Minister Bhutto speaks of being a Daughter of
Destiny and shares her dramatic journey as the youngest ever popularly
elected woman in the Muslim world. With knowledge born of her position in
the global power structure, Prime Minister offers a window into the Muslim
World and the epic political power struggles being played out in all corners of
the world today.
Ms. Bhutto resided in Dubai and made frequent trips to the United States.

"Let us not, at this stage, out of impatience or fatigue, become

indifferent." (Islamabad, Pakistan, December 4, 1988)

EARLY 2000S IN EXILE

By the end of the 1990s, the one-time populist prime minister Nawaz Sharif
had become widely unpopular, and following the military coup, Sharif's
credibility, image and career was destroyed by General Musharraf. Musharraf
formed the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PMLQ) in order to politically banish
the former prime minister's party support across the country. The PMLQ had
consisted of those who were initially part of Sharif's party but then moved
with Musharraf in order to avoid persecution and going to jail. 2000 brought
positive changes for Bhutto who widely became unpopular in Pakistan in
1996. In the 2000s, following the declassification of secret Hamoodur
Rahman Commission's papers and other secret documents of the 1970s,
Bhutto's support in Pakistan began to rally. Her image in the country widely
became positive and the PPP seemed to be coming back in the government
as soon the 2002 elections were scheduled to take place. Amid fears of
Bhutto coming back, a threatened Musharraf released many of the political
prisoners of the liberal-secular force, the MQM. Musharraf saw MQM as the
vital political weapon of holding back of PPP. But MQM had only support in
Karachi at that time, and lacked its support in urban areas of Sindh, which
remained a vital threat for Musharraf. Therefore, in 2002, President
Musharraf amended Pakistan's constitution to ban prime ministers from
serving more than two terms. This disqualified Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif from
ever holding the office again. This move was widely considered to be a direct
attack on them.
While living in Dubai Benazir Bhutto cared for her three children and her
mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She also travelled to
give lectures in the U.S. and kept in touch with the PPP's supporters. She and
the children were reunited with her husband in December 2004 after more
than five years. In 2006, Interpol issued a request for the arrest of Bhutto
and her husband on corruption charges, at the request of Pakistan. The
Bhuttos questioned the legality of the requests in a letter to Interpol. On 27
January 2007, she was invited by the United States to speak to President
George W. Bush and Congressional and State Department
officials.BenazirBhutto appeared as a panellist on the BBC TV programme
Question Time in the UK in March 2007. She has also appeared on BBC
current affairs programme Newsnight on several occasions. She rebuffed
comments made by Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq in May 2007 regarding the

knighthood of Salman Rushdie, citing that he was calling for the

assassination of foreign citizens.
In mid 2007,Benazir Bhutto declared her intention to return to Pakistan by
the end of the year. However Musharraf said he would not allow her to ahead
of the country's general election, due late 2007 or early 2008. Still, it was
speculated that she may have been offered the office of Prime Minister
again. At the same time, the US appeared to be pushing for a deal in which
Musharraf remained president, but stepped down as military head, and either
Bhutto or one of her nominees became prime minister.
On 11 July 2007, the Associated Press, in an article about the possible
aftermath of the Red Mosque incident, wrote:
Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and opposition leader expected by
many to return from exile and join Musharraf in a power-sharing deal after
year-end general elections, praised him for taking a tough line on the Red
Mosque.
"I'm glad there was no cease-fire with the militants in the mosque
because cease-fires simply embolden the militants,"
-she told Britain's Sky TV on Tuesday.

"There will be a backlash, but at some time we have to stop

appeasing the militants."
This remark about the Red Mosque was seen with dismay in Pakistan as
reportedly hundreds of young students were burned to death and remains
are untraceable and cases are being heard in Pakistani supreme court as a
missing persons issue. This and subsequent support for Musharraf led Elder
Bhutto's comrades like Khar to criticise her publicly. Bhutto however advised
Musharraf in an early phase of the latter's quarrel with the Chief Justice, to
restore him. Her PPP did not capitalise on its influential CEC statesman,
Aitzaz Ahsan, the chief Barrister for the Chief Justice, in successful
restoration. Rather, he was seen as a rival of Benazir Bhutto, and was
isolated on that issue with PPP.

2002 ELECTION
In Pakistan, a court has rejected former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's
appeal against decisions barring her from contesting next month's
parliamentary elections.
A high court in Ms. Bhutto's home province of Sindh upheld the Election
Commission's earlier decision barring her from contesting the polls. Election
authorities cited new laws enacted by the military government that ban
those convicted of crimes from seeking public office.
Ms. Bhutto lives in self-imposed exile overseas. She has been convicted in
absentia for failing to appear in court to answer corruption charges related to
her time as prime minister in the early 1990s. Ms. Bhutto says the charges
are baseless.

Her political party condemned Friday's court ruling, which effectively ends
her chances of running in the elections. One supporter in the courtroom
shouted, "Shame! shame!" after the verdict came down, and he was
quickly sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court.
Raza Rabbani, secretary-general of Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, said,
"This the worst form of pre-poll rigging that the regime is indulging
in, that the leader of the largest political party in Pakistan is being
debarred from contesting the elections."
Mr. Rabbani said the government fears Ms. Bhutto's popularity, so it is trying
to keep her out of politics.
In a recent interview, Ms. Bhutto told VOA she will continue her struggle to
stage a political comeback, even if she cannot be a candidate.

"I have been prime minister twice. I have very little desire to be
prime minister a third time. But at the same time, I find it very
difficult to turn my back on a situation, where I feel my country and

my people are threatened. I think I can play a role, and I want to

play that role, for peace, for democracy and for development."

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf says Ms. Bhutto will go to jail, if she
returns to the country. The military leader has drawn criticism for his recent
constitutional changes, which extended his rule for five years. President
Musharraf insists the October elections will be free and fair, and will restore
what he calls real democracy in Pakistan.
On Thursday, an anti-corruption court sentenced Ms. Bhutto's husband, Asif
Ali Zardari, to seven years imprisonment for corruption and abuse of power.
Mr. Zardari has been injail awaiting trial since his wife's government was
dismissed in 1996 on charges of misrule and corruption.
Pakistan election authorities earlier barred another former prime minister,
Nawaz Sharif, and his family members from running in the elections