Islamabad: Charging Pakistan 's Military ruler Pervez Musharraf with attempting to "institutionalise dictatorship", former Premier Benazir Bhutto has warned that his move to exclude her from the poll process would embolden militants and marginalise the moderate forces.

"I cannot be banned from politics nor disqualified from taking part in elections. Elections without the PPP (her Pakistan People's Party) will sham elections without credibility. Those would embolden the militants and hardliners while marginalising the moderate forces," Bhutto said in an interview to 'The News'.

"Musharraf's attempts to block me under laws that violate the Constitution make a mockery of his pledge to hold free and fair poll," Bhutto who is in exile, mostly living in London, said, adding that she was "still planning to contest the elections. My advisors are looking into this".

She termed Musharraf's proposed Constitutional amendments as "Bhutto specific" saying that he was trying to "institutionalise dictatorship".

"The amendments puts all the powers into the hands of a military-backed President," she said warning that the Presidential powers would "sooner or later" lead to a tussle between the President and the new Parliament "even if the elections are rigged and a Parliament is formed on the basis of rigged elections".

"Another Military ruler, General Zia, also fell out with a hand picked Prime Minister and the same can be repeated," said Bhutto.

The former Premier also cautioned that without moderate forces like her, the trouble could spill for the South Asian region as well as the larger world community.

"The world walked away from Afghanistan in 1989 when it could have stayed to build democracy. That gave rise to Taleban and al-Qaida. It is important that the world community now support democracy in Pakistan otherwise the consequences could be horrific," she said vowing to resist the changes proposed by Musharraf tooth and nail.

She also cautioned that the Musharraf's proposed Constitutional package would give rise to ethnic tensions in the country in the long run.

The former Premier, however, neither refused nor confirmed whether she met her successor Nawaz Sharif during her recent trip to Jeddah, to work out a joint strategy for the October elections.

Meanwhile, the acting secretary general of Bhutto's party, Mian Raza Rabbani said that the party had no plans to change Bhutto as its life chairperson.

Talking to another daily 'The Nation', Rabbani said that there was no split in the party on the leadership of Bhutto and the issue would not be discussed in the party's Central Executive Committee to be held in Karachi on July 22.

PTI