Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who plans to return home on Thursday despite being asked by General Musharraf to delay it by a few days, says she envisages building “common markets” in South Asia from the “mountain peaks of Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal” as part of a strategy to push forward the peace process with India.

In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, Bhutto, speaking on future relations with India, said: “The military establishment has finally taken a leaf from the PPP policy and manifesto for peace and security in South Asia. When we proposed confidence-building measures between India and Pakistan, we were dubbed a security risk. Now all opponents of our policy agree on the need for peaceful relations with India despite our differences over Kashmir.”

“Learning from Europe following the Second World War, we will build democracies and common markets from the mountain peaks of Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal. We will open up markets, we will open up roads and we will open up endless opportunities for the people of South Asia for a more prosperous future that brings peace, security and human dignity.”

Bhutto has been packing her bags and selecting members of her retinue who will board the flight to Karachi this Thursday, ending eight years of exile. She is determined not to change the date of her return, despite three telephone calls from President Musharraf in as many days, asking her to postpone her departure from Dubai.

Bhutto says she still has “grave misgivings and doubts” about the fairness of the polls promised by Musharraf. “There were serious discrepancies in the electoral rolls and other technical issues relating to the holding of elections”.

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