From the Associated Press
Bhutto’s Return

Reuters Photo By Dylan Martinez

Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto returned to Karachi today amid jubilant crowds and the drums of supporters, ending eight years of self-imposed exile. The former prime minister, who was forced out of office twice amid allegations of corruption, has been offered amnesty by President Pervez Musharraf.

The beleaguered president, whose rule has been beset by protests after he tried to oust the country’s top judge this spring, will likely seek to share power with Bhutto and her liberal, secular party. But Bhutto cannot return to power without a constitutional amendment, since Pakistani leaders may only rule for two terms.

“I counted the hours, I counted the minutes and the seconds, just to see this land, to see the grass, to see the sky. I feel so emotionally overwhelmed,” said Bhutto, who wore a white headscarf and clutched prayer beads in her right hand.

She said she was fighting for democracy and to help this nuclear-armed country of 160 million people defeat the extremism that gave it the reputation as a hotbed of international terrorism.

Provincial authorities said crowds of around 150,000 greeted Bhutto as her truck with a bulletproof glass cubicle wound through the streets of Karachi. Bhutto is to make a speech from the tomb of Pakistan’s founding father, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

President Musharraf has been a key ally of President Bush in the war on terror. Bhutto also supports the U.S.-led war on terror; she is hated by Islamist radicals.