ISLAMABAD - Paying tributes to Benazir Bhutto and martyrs of Karsaz attack in Karachi, PPP leader Rehman Malik said Wednesday that he will soon expose a senior PPP leader who conspired against Shaheed BB.
In a statement he said, “A senior PPP leader had met with then US Vice President Dick Cheney who offered to replace Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.” “Shaheed Benazir herself disclosed it to me in presence of another senior PPP leader saying that Asif Ali Zardari will be in jail and she will be disqualified forever.”
He said both Zardari and Mohtarma Benazir were disqualified later on. He said, “It was another operational episode that how I got the entire conspiracy frustrated through the tape scandal which is a matter of public record”.
Senator Malik, the Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior, said that October 18 was a sad day in the history of Pakistan and an occasion to pay homage to martyrs who laid down their lives while welcoming their beloved leader Benazir Bhutto on this day in 2007.
He said that Benazir Bhutto travelled back defying all odds and threats to her life and against the advice of many. In a statement, he said that Benazir Bhutto had decided to return as she had made commitment with the people of Pakistan.
He added that she had rejected the offer by Pervez Musharraf to return after the election. “She wanted to lead the nation from the front and once she made up her mind, nothing could stop her,” he said.
Malik said that Musharraf had sent an offer through a general that if she ‘opts not to come, then all the cases made against her will be finished and taken back’, but she ‘declined the offer so the messenger went empty handed’.
The PPP leader said that Benazir Bhutto’s plane was delayed at airport based on security threat but it did not deter her. “I finally conveyed it to Musharraf that Benazir Bhutto has decided to come back, hence stop all the hindrances and efforts both local and abroad,” he said.
Malik said that Benazir Bhutto was the one who ensured the return of Nawaz Sharif and it was she who convinced Nawaz Sharif to contest the election.
Senator Malik said that Benazir Bhutto was strength for the people and strong supporter of democracy. He said that terrorists attacked her caravan resulting in the martyrdom of more than 200 of her workers and democrats but nothing could deter her and the will of her workers.
“There is none who could compete with the wisdom and politics of Benazir Bhutto and on this day, I salute her courage and sacrifice for the people and democracy and the people who sacrificed their lives along with her,” said Malik.
