Benazir was taken into confidence regarding imposition of emergency

Former premier Benazir Bhutto was taken into confidence regarding imposition of emergency in the country and was asked to leave the country as per already finalised deal with General Musharraf, a senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader told The News.

Islamabad, Nov 4 : Former premier Benazir Bhutto was taken into confidence regarding imposition of 'emergency ' in the country and was asked to leave the country as per already finalised deal with General Musharraf, a senior Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader told The News.

"The option of imposing emergency and leaving the country was the agreed upon conditions in the deal between Bhutto and Musharraf," the PPP leader said.

"We are ashamed of the role played by Bhutto and some other PPP leaders and will take appropriate action and measures to sustain the anti-dictatorship image of the party," he added.

The senior PPP leader said that hatred among some party leaders against its leadership was increasing day by day.

He revealed that during the meeting of Central Executive Committee of the PPP one night before Bhutto left the country, almost all the leaders asked Bhutto to remain in the country and lead the workers to resist the possible imposition of martial law under the cover of emergency.

He disclosed that Bhutto assured the top PPP leadership during the meeting that if she left the country in the next few days, she would be back before November 9, the day she was supposed to address a mass public gathering in Rawalpindi.

The leader said that Bhutto was repeatedly requested during the meeting not to leave the country till the announcement of verdict on Musharraf's eligibility by the Supreme Court, however, she didn't give any importance to the suggestion.

Farhatullah Babar, Information Secretary of the PPP, said this is a baseless allegation and that his party in the same meeting has announced to oppose imposition of emergency or any other unconstitutional step.

The News quoted him as saying that the PPP will definitely resist the imposition of emergency.

Rehman Malik, who was accompanying Bhutto in Dubai, neither rejected nor confirmed the inclusion in the 'deal' of any clause of imposition of emergency and leaving of Bhutto for Dubai at the government's behest.

He however, said if emergency was imposed, he and his party would strongly condemn it.

ANI