Bhutto said in will husband should lead party

Reuters

CHOSEN ONE: Slain Palistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto reportedly stated in her will that her husband Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of her Pakistan People's Party, should replace her at the party's helm.

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The party of assassinated Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto will publish her will in which she calls for her husband to lead the party and says she fears for the country's future.

Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27.

Her will was read out to party leaders in private hours after her funeral but it had not been made public.

A Bhutto party spokesman said the will was being released to end any doubts about Bhutto's wishes for the leadership of the party.

"I fear for the future of Pakistan. Please continue the fight against extremism, dictatorship, poverty and ignorance," Bhutto said in the will.

The one-page, hand-written document was dated October 16, two days before she returned to Pakistan from eight years of self-exile, according to copies shown on Pakistani television.

Bhutto had said she feared for her safety upon her return, and had spoken of the danger she faced from Islamist militants and other elements opposed to her.

The government and the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States have said she was killed by al Qaeda-linked Islamists led by a militant chief based on the Afghan border.

British police have been helping Pakistani authorities investigate her killing but have yet to release any findings.

After her murder her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, and their 19-year-old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, were made joint chairmen of her Pakistan People's Party.

In her will, Bhutto said Zardari should lead the party.

"I would like my husband Asif Ali Zardari to lead you in this interim period until you and he decide what is best," she wrote.

"I say this because he is a man of courage and honour. He spent 11 years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united."

Zardari, who was jailed on corruption charges but denied any wrongdoing, is regarded as a divisive figure.

But with Bilawal still too young to run for parliament and yet to complete his university studies in Britain, it is Zardari who is the de facto leader of the party as it prepares for a February 18 general election.

A Bhutto party spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, confirmed the document shown on television was her will. He said there had been questions about why the will had not been made public at the time of her funeral.

"Everybody now can see it. It's her own writing and any doubt or misgivings there are about leadership of the party will be set aside," Babar said.

The PPP is likely to gain a considerable sympathy vote in the parliamentary elections because of Bhutto's murder.

Zardari is not running.

- Reuters