Bhutto visits shrine, on conditions for election participation

Описание: (6 Dec 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Benazir Bhutto walking through shrine of poet Pir Meher Ali Shah of Golra Sharif
2. Wide of shrine
3. Bhutto walking with party members
4. Close of Bhutto praying at shrine
5. Zoom into tomb of Pir Meher Ali Shah
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Benazir Bhutto, leader of Pakistan Peoples Party:
"So we are planning to put up these benchmarks demanding a transition to democracy through fair elections open to all leaders and all political parties. And if these elections are stolen as we expect then we will be all ready and in line to give a call to this nation on January 9. So we want to make the preparations. Either the elections will be fair and the people will get their own parliament and if the elections are not fair then the movement will start."
7. Bystanders look on
8. Bhutto leaving
STORYLINE:
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto visited the shrine of a Sufi saint on the edge of the capital Islamabad on Thursday as campaigning ahead of polls planned for 8 January 2008 get underway.
After paying her respects at the tomb of the respected mystic and poet Pir Meher Ali Shah of Golra Sharif (1859-1937), Bhutto, who leads the Pakistan Peoples Party, spoke to reporters.
She said her party would be using benchmarks to test and ensure the polls were fair to everyone taking part.
The votes are to decide Pakistan's national and provincial assemblies.
Bhutto also warned that if the elections were rigged, her party would be ready to mobilise her countrymen.
"If these elections are stolen as we expect, then we will be all ready and in line to give a call to this nation on January 9. So we want to make the preparations. Either the elections will be fair and the people will get their own parliament or the elections will not be fair and the movement will start," she said.
Representatives from Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party and that of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were reported to be nearing agreement on Wednesday over a joint set of conditions for their participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Both parties claim the government plans to rig the vote, and have threatened a boycott unless their demands are met.
They're expected to demand restoration of an independent judiciary and the constitution and the creation of a neutral caretaker government and independent election commission, and will most likely set a deadline for government compliance.

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