By Ayesha Naseem (Ayesha
was arrested by Saudi security officials and kept in detention for two hours for covering Benazir Bhutto
function at Mehran
restaurant in Jeddah)
Here's her news story:
 JEDDAH,
FEB 12:
PAKISTANI
opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday congratulated Saudi
Arabia on staging its landmark municipal elections, noting that
the Kingdom has stepped into the 21st century and that women may
soon get a chance to participate.
In a free-wheeling
and broad discussion, Bhutto spoke before a crowd of 200 members
of the Pakistan People s Party (PPP) at a meeting at the Marhaba
restaurant.
On Thursday, Bhutto buried the hatchet with her long-time rival
Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) who lives in exile
in Jeddah, when they agreed in a meeting to work together for real
democracy and free and fair elections in Pakistan.
Bhutto had arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday, accompanied by her
husband Asif Zardari, who was released on bail in November after
spending eight years in jail on charges of corruption and murder.
Bhutto said she hopes that the three opposition parties
including the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) party will unite
against General Parvez Musharraf, who broke his promise to give up
his military post on Dec. 31. All three parties want Musharraf to
resign as president and as military ruler. But she asserted that
the MMA party may attempt to use the united front to serve its own
purposes. She did not elaborate.
She also expressed surprise over allegations that Abdul Qadeer
Khan, considered the father of nuclear science in Pakistan, leaked
nuclear secrets to other nations. She said if the allegations are
true he must be punished, but the people of Pakistan remain unsure
whether he actually did reveal the country s secrets.
Bhutto also decried honor killings as not Islamic and advocated
that laws be passed to protect young women.
Bhutto spent most of the day in Makkah before returning to
Jeddah late Friday. She will travel to Riyadh today and return to
Jeddah tomorrow. | 
