Dubai: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto yesterday acknowledged she needed to win the hearts and minds of the people to counter the menace of extremism.
"I feel Pakistan, its army and its people are under attack because extremists have become so strong that they can target the armed forces in tribal areas," she said.
Audio: Click here to listen to Benazir Bhutto's statement from Dubai (mp3)
Bhutto was speaking at a press conference in Dubai on the eve of her return to Pakistan after eight years in self-imposed exile.
Emphasising that the military alone could not solve the problem, she said: "It is important for us to win the battle of hearts and minds.
Audio: Click Benazir Bhutto talks about beating extremism (mp3)
"And for this, we have in mind empowerment programmes to provide people in the tribal areas jobs and education. We feel that the people there have been exploited.
"They join militias for salaries because they are poor and have no work," she said.
Audio: Benazir Bhutto talks about her deal with President Musharraf (mp3)
"I believe that while the use of military force is important at times, the emphasis should also be on political solutions. I would like Pakistan to regain control of the tribal areas because, if we don't, others might gain control and we might end up losing northern parts of the country as we lost the eastern region in 1971."
Not easy
Bhutto said negotiations between her and President General Pervez Musharraf had not been easy because there had been opposition from aides on both sides.
She, however, sought to clarify that no "deal" had been struck and that negotiations had always revolved around the country's transition to democracy.
"Even trusted colleagues said [Musharraf] was trying to trick the PPP [Pakistan Peoples Party] but I felt we had to communicate to move forward," Bhutto told a crowded press conference yesterday amid tight security arrangements.
She expressed her gratitude to the leaders of the UAE and particularly mentioned the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan for allowing her to bring up her children in Dubai.
On the National Reconciliation Ordinance, which grants amnesty to politicians involved in corruption charges, being put on hold by the Supreme Court, she said: "The Supreme Court did not take any action when Nawaz Sharif, who was convicted for tax evasion, was sent to Saudi Arabia under the deal. The court did not take any action when nuclear scientists Abdul Qadeer Khan was given amnesty despite accepting on television that he sold nuclear technology to several countries. I believe that the court would not intervene this time as the country is headed for democracy."
Anti-sniper shields and some 20,000 police personnel apart, Benazir Bhutto will have the sheer numbers of her own supporters by way of a security cordon when she returns home today amid warnings of Al Qaida attacks, officials said.
Police marksmen will keep vigil on rooftops and flyovers. Bomb disposal squads have been busy clearing any apprehensions along that may exist along the route that she plans to take during her 18-hour procession from Karachi airport to the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder.
"The threat of suicide bombing is there. There are two or three groups of suicide bombers in Karachi, according to intelligence reports," conceded Sindh province home secretary Ghulam Mohammad Mohtarram.
The groups were being linked to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaida network, Afghanistan's hardline Taliban militia and a Pakistani pro-Taliban militant leader who has reportedly threatened to "welcome" Bhutto with suicide bombers, he said.
"Whatever we can do we will do for the protection of Benazir Bhutto. The person of Benazir Bhutto will be covered. But it will be very difficult to prevent such bombings if they happen in the crowd," he said.
Her Pakistan People's Party (PPP), however, said it expected that she would be adequately protected by some one million supporters. "It's a mixture of our own diehard supporters and the administration, which has promised foolproof security," said PPP central executive committee member Safdar Abbasi.
Bhutto said earlier this week she was more worried that former army officers could try to assassinate her than about an Al Qaida or Taliban attack.
