Two Leaders, on a Collision Course

In mid-December, Benazir Bhutto sat down in her Islamabad home for an intimate dinner and exclusive interview with NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth—one of her last with a Western journalist before her assassination on Dec. 27. Bhutto had just returned from a campaign trip outside the Pakistani capital, where she had been greeted by enthusiastic crowds. "She was very up, very confident, about the upcoming elections," Weymouth recalls. "She was totally focused on her prospects for victory."

Still, the Pakistani opposition leader, who had survived an assassination attempt on her return to Pakistan in October, was keenly aware that her life was at risk. Bhutto told Weymouth that she had been warned that a second attempt would be made on her life on or around Dec. 21.

She was highly critical of President Pervez Musharraff, claiming he had allowed the Taliban and Al Qaeda to regroup and spread throughout Pakistan. "I feel like one night they're going to come knocking at my door," Bhutto said. She was determined to prevail in the country's Jan. 8 presidential elections. "She didn't seem afraid," Weymouth recalls. "She was more concerned about restoring democratic rule to her country and on getting the international community to make sure the elections were free and fair."
 
Here are excerpts from Weymouth's Dec. 12 interview with Bhutto, followed by a separate conversation with Pervez Musharraf.

The Candidate
Benazir Bhutto
Fresh from a day of campaigning, Benazir Bhutto expressed both hope and dismay about Pakistan's upcoming parliamentary elections. She was distressed by the Pakistan she found when she returned home—a suicide attack on her that killed over 150 people, and the growing strength of the Muslim radicals inside the country. She said she hoped to put Pakistan on the road to democracy and to contain extremism. But she also warned that President Musharraf might try to rig the elections. She spoke with NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth in Islamabad on Dec. 12. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How do see your prospects in the election?
BHUTTO: We [are] all worried that the elections are going to be rigged in favor of the ruling party.

Do you think it's possible to prevent that?
Well, [election] observers are coming from the European Union [among others]. So I think if we can get observers to ensure that the ballots don't get siphoned off, it'll be a huge setback to the rigging plans.

The election commission [appointed by Musharraf] is another issue, isn't it?
The chief election commissioner—it's very difficult to get him to move. Mostly he justifies what happens. For example, our candidate in Baluchistan was kidnapped and not allowed to file his nomination papers.

Who kidnapped him?
We assume a secret agency. So he missed filing [for the candidacy]. He appeared again and said, "Let me file. They kidnapped me to stop me filing." They did not allow him to file. We want this rectified.

Is [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif playing a role in all this?
Yes, he's playing a very positive role by participating [in the elections]. When he came [back to Pakistan, from exile in Saudi Arabia], his alliance wanted him to boycott [the elections]. I said to him, the point is to try to work together. But if we boycott, there is no need for them to rig the elections, because they'll win an overwhelming majority and they'll get to do whatever they want in the parliament. But if we fight we'll force them to rig, and if both of us fight they'll have to rig really big.