Bhutto returns to sea of support in Pakistan

KARACHI (Reuters) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ended eight years of self-exile on Thursday, returning to Karachi where hundreds of thousands of supporters thronged the streets to welcome her home.

"I am thankful to God, I am very happy that I'm back in my country and I was dreaming of this day," a tearful Bhutto told Reuters as she disembarked an Emirates flight from Dubai and kissed a Koran once she stepped on Pakistani soil.

Bhutto returned to lead her Pakistan People's Party into national elections meant to return the country to civilian rule.

For years Bhutto had vowed to return to Pakistan to end military dictatorship, yet she is coming back as a potential ally for President Pervez Musharraf, the army chief who took power in a 1999 coup.

Before saying goodbye to her two daughters and husband, Asif Ali Zardari, in Dubai, Bhutto described Pakistan as being at a crossroads between democracy and dictatorship.

Musharraf is going through his weakest period, and there is strong speculation he will end up sharing power with Bhutto after national elections due in early January.

The United States is believed to have quietly encouraged their alliance in order to keep nuclear-armed Pakistan pro-Western and committed to fighting al Qaeda and supporting NATO's efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

Dressed in a green shalwar kameez (loose tunic and trousers), her head covered by a white scarf, Bhutto stood in plain view atop a truck designed to withstand a blast as it edged through a mass of people outside the airport, ignoring police advice to keep behind its bullet proof glass.

"Now that the people have given their verdict, it is necessary that the elections should be free and fair," she said before setting off at the head of a procession into Karachi.

After three hours her truck had gone half kilometer to reach the airport gate, so great was the crowd, and as dusk fell the main road into the downtown area was completely clogged.

Some 20,000 security personnel have been deployed to provide protection against threatened suicide bomb attacks by militants.

Intelligence reports suggested at least three jihadi groups linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban were plotting suicide attacks, according to a provincial official.

"She has an agreement with America. We will carry out attacks on Benazir Bhutto as we did on General Pervez Musharraf," Haji Omar, a Taliban commander in the Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border, told Reuters by satellite telephone.

While the rest of Pakistan was transfixed by Bhutto's homecoming, Musharraf spent most of the day at his army office in Rawalpindi, with no official engagements scheduled, an aide said.

Bhutto's return pleased investors in the Karachi Stock Exchange, whose main index has risen 47 percent this year.

"There is a feeling that the political scenario will stabilize now and there will be consistent economic policies," said Muzzamil Mussani, a dealer at JS Global Capital Ltd, as the index hit a life high of 14,802.61 points, up over 1 percent.

HOMECOMING RALLY

The route to a site near the tomb of Pakistan's founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, where Bhutto was due to address a rally, was lined with die-hard loyalists.

"I sold the goats in my house to travel to Karachi and welcome Benazir Bhutto. Since the day she announced her arrival, we lit oil lamps every night, and my old mother offers long prayers for her safety and success," said Imdad Chandio, a villager from the barren hinterland of Sindh province.

Red, black and green tricolor of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party festooned streets and billboards displayed giant images of Bhutto and her late father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the country's first popularly elected prime minister, who was ousted and executed by his army chief, General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq.

Musharraf has already granted an amnesty to protect Bhutto from corruption charges brought by the government of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister he overthrew and later exiled.

But the Supreme Court is challenging Musharraf's right to bestow an amnesty. It is also hearing challenges to the president's right to have stood for re-election while still army chief in a ballot he won easily on October 6, even though he has promised to be sworn in as a civilian leader.

Judge Javed Iqbal expected a ruling in 10 or 12 days time.

(Additional reporting by Imtiaz Shah and Asim Tanveer)