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PM on Karachi

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Prime Minister Benazir has said that Karachi will become normal after a year or so as things had gone too bad which needed a long spel of time to recover, provided currnt operation is completed successfully.

She further said that Karachi's development programme worth billions of rupees cannot be completed unless the terrorists and killers' groups are uprooted.

Talking to newsmen here on Sunday, she said terrorists in Karachi had been destroying railway lines, and attacking other installations of public utilities as a result of which development work got stopped.

Benazir said the MQM leaders should give up terrorism and return to Pakistan where they should face the trial of criminal cases and then they could come in national politics.

She said political activities could not take root in an environment in which Klashnikov and rocket launchers rule citizens. She said restoration of law and order is must to restart political activities.

She said in 1970, PPP got half of the National Assembly scals of Karachi, but since the city is under the control of terrorists the PPP appeared weak. She said in spite of terrorism, foreign investment is coming to Karachi and other parts of the country.

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said she believed in dialogues to solve the political problems and therefore wanted to make the talks in Karachi a success. She said East Pakistan could saved if differnces in those days were solved through negotiations.

She said her brother resorted to terrorism in early 80s and went to Afghanistan. All doors of politics were slammed on him. He returned to politics only when he gave up terrorism and faced the trials in courts.

She said the policies of her government would open a lot of opportunities of jobs for the white collar classes. She said the middle income groups would be the major beneficiaries of her economic policies.

Replying to a question, she said Pakistan's ambassador in the United States did not fail in her job.

Benazir said American senators could not be influenced as they are citizens of a sovereign country.

However, she said, Pakistan has scored a political mileage in her relations with United States. "But it will take some time before we completely convince the American senators about our point of view."

Replying to another question, prime minister said Lucknow or Delhi were not centres of terrorism. They used to be centres of learning, art and literature, but some elements in Karachi from those areas talk in the language of terrorism.