ISLAMABAD (Rooters) - The party of assassinated Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto published her political will on Tuesday in which she called for her husband to lead the party and said she feared 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. A party spokeswoman, Sherry Rehman, later read out the document at a news conference. She said it was Bhutto's political will. Her personal will, dealing with her assets, was private, Rehman said.
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 honor. He spent 11 Å“ 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, 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.